Solved How can I find out what triggers a completely white application window that is displayed during every Windows startup?


tidozonoada

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Windows 11
Since a little while every single time when I start Windows 11 a completely white application window appears and then disappears again after roughly 10 seconds. It doesn't even have a title bar. It's just a completely white square. Sometimes when I mouse over this white window a tool tip displays, but confusingly not always with the same text. One time it read "PDFgear", but then another time it read "Discord". Both of these applications are also not in the list of startup-apps in Windows Settings.

Does anyone here good suggestions for how I could investigate what exactly is triggering this white window in the first place? (because I'd like to get rid of it)
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11 Pro, version 25H2, build 26200.8655

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo
Is it like this: -
 

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    Windows 11 ProAMD Ryzen 9 8945HS32GB DDR5 SO-DIMMIntegrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    GMKtec K11
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
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    Benq 2250HM
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeIntel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAMIntel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
Uninstall both PDFgear and Discord,then shutdown and restart.
Is the problem still there?
 

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win 10amd ryzen 5-2600ng skill sniper x 16gbnvidea gtx 1050
OS
win 10
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
home built
CPU
amd ryzen 5-2600
Motherboard
gigabyte b450m-ds3h
Memory
ng skill sniper x 16gb
Graphics Card(s)
nvidea gtx 1050
Monitor(s) Displays
benq fp 92
Hard Drives
samsung 860 evo 500gb m2 ssd
PSU
antec ea550g
Case
nzxt noctis 450
Browser
edge
Process Explorer is a tool that can show you which process has opened a given window or file. It's available for free download from the Microsoft website.

I've had occasions when a mysterious window would appear. I was able to use Process Explorer to find out which program opened it.
 

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Windows 11Ryzen 9 7900X64 GBNvidia GeForce GTX 1650
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Ryzen 9 7900X
Motherboard
ASUS ROG STRIX B-650 E-F
Memory
64 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
Hard Drives
C: SSD, 500 GB
D: HDD, 1 TB
J: HDD, 1 TB
Antivirus
Norton
Uninstall both PDFgear and Discord,then shutdown and restart.
Is the problem still there?
After completely uninstalling PDFgear and Discord the issue still persists.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo
Process Explorer is a tool that can show you which process has opened a given window or file. It's available for free download from the Microsoft website.

I've had occasions when a mysterious window would appear. I was able to use Process Explorer to find out which program opened it.
Thank you for the suggestion. I have downloaded Process Explorer and used its Find Window's Process (drag over window) function on the mystery white window.

Process Explorer then indicates that the window's process is Microsoft's explorer.exe.

I'm not sure what to make of this though and what next step I should take.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo

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    Debian 13 KDE .. Windows 11 HomeRyzen 7 5825u64GB DDR4 3200Ryzen 7 5825u
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    Debian 13 KDE .. Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
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    Manufacturer/Model
    HP 24" AiO
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5825u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    64GB DDR4 3200
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    Ryzen 7 5825u
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    RealTek
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    24" HP AiO
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 @60 Hz
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    1TB WD Blue SN580 M2 SSD Partitioned.
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    90W external power brick
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    24" All in One
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    Default Air Cooling
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    HP WiFi UK extended
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    HP WiFi 3 Button
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    1GB full fibre
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    Edge & Firefox
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    Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS
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    Dell 13" Latitude 2017
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    i5 7200u
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    Dell
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    16GB DDR4
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    Intel
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    Intel
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    13" Dell Laptop
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    250GB Crucial 2.5" SSD
    Mouse
    Generic WiFi 3 button
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    WiFi only
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    Firefox
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    ClamAV TK
    Other Info
    Mainly Open Source Software

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo
Google Chrome, I've uninstalled it. This did seem to have an effect: now the mystery white screen no longer appears.


If you decide to go with Firefox instead, this may be helpful...

 

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    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8737 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8737 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
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    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
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    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
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    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Since this article points to a link with Google Chrome, I've uninstalled it. This did seem to have an effect: now the mystery white screen no longer appears.

If you decide to use Chrome again, then disable the task in Task Scheduler. Don't delete it because it will come back again in a later update. It's better to leave it in there "disabled" rather than have the next update re-create it again and leave it active.

Also check anything in services.msc that has any relation to Google Chrome and either disable the service in there, or set it from Automatic to Manual depending up what you want running in the background, or what you don't.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 build: (26200.7623)32GB
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 build: (26200.7623)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Pro
    Memory
    32GB
  • At a glance

    Microsoft 25H2 ProIntel Core Ultra 764GBIntel Integrated Graphics
    Operating System
    Microsoft 25H2 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Pro 14 - PC14250
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7
    Memory
    64GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Integrated Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Micron 1TB SSD
Is it like this: -
The symptom seemed to be similar, but not the cause (I have no LG monitor).
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo
I forgot to say make sure you open services.msc as an administrator. It gives you more control.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 build: (26200.7623)32GB
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 build: (26200.7623)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Pro
    Memory
    32GB
  • At a glance

    Microsoft 25H2 ProIntel Core Ultra 764GBIntel Integrated Graphics
    Operating System
    Microsoft 25H2 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Pro 14 - PC14250
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7
    Memory
    64GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Integrated Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Micron 1TB SSD
Check your task scheduler for this
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro
OS
Windows 11 Pro
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