Since 22H2, File Explorer windows sometimes spontaneously move to the front

TraderGary · Aug 17, 2023

Welcome to the forum @mlamiroy !

If you click on "My Computers" below, you can see my full system specs. On your own original post, if you click on your own "My Computer" you can fill out your own system specs. That way the forum members can know exactly what you're using.

hdmi · Aug 18, 2023

mlamiroy said:
So, I've got the same problem. I've got four machines, and only one is affected.
It has an Asus motherboard, and an Nvidia graphics card.
There does not seem to be a real discernable pattern.
There seems to be some confusion in the OS when iexplorer runs some background tasks that for who knows what reason trigger the file/windows explorer to get the focus.

On this system, I am using 2 monitors. If I have explorer positioned only in Monitor 2, the problem never occurs.
It only happens on Monitor 1. (Both are connected to the Nvidia graphics card).
So, by now, if I remember, I position any open explorer windows in Monitor 2 and I can avoid the problem.

On monitor 1 it always happens if explorer is open in combination with only some other programs. Any other open Microsoft program, e.g., will cause explorer to get the focus each time the wallpaper changes. I noticed there are other programs that may be open together with explorer and it won't happen.
I also noticed that even when you are working in explorer itself when the problems occur, and it already has the focus, it will position itself at the top of the folder, i.e., it seems to reload the folder you're working in. (It has happened that I was dragging and dropping a file to a subfolder and it ended up in the wrong one, because it reloaded the moment the wallpaper changed).

Anyway, my 2c.

I use ExplorerPatcher with the option to bring back the Windows 10 Ribbon in File Explorer. I am running on Windows 11 build 22621.2134 and I don't have this problem, nor have any other problems with File Explorer. I also use Open-Shell with some of the options available in the Classic Explorer part of Open-Shell. Ironically, those whose File Explorer is tweaked less heavily than mine are often those who have serious troubles with File Explorer, so... lol

maffle · Sep 21, 2023

1 year later, still no fix.

Windows 11 22H2 bug: File Explorer opens randomly when using another app so this was as usual a lie they are working on a fix.

Anyone know is this got fixed in 23h2?

barreleye · Sep 21, 2023

FWIW, to mitigate the problem, I minimize Explorer windows I want to keep open while I'm doing other things. I don't think I've seen them pop to the front from the minimized state. Can anyone confirm?

maffle · Sep 21, 2023

barreleye said:
them pop to the front from the minimized state. Can anyone confirm?

Of course it does

barreleye · Sep 22, 2023

maffle said:
Of course it does

Well, that was quick. lol

Since I started this thread almost a year ago, there have been a number of hopeful but ultimately false solutions/causes proposed. The only one talking about minimized windows was on page 3, and that poster was talking about multiple desktops, so it wasn't exactly the same thing. And he never followed up on it. I'm going to leave an Explorer window minimized for a few days or until it pops up, whichever comes first. I will report back.

mlamiroy · Sep 22, 2023

barreleye said:
FWIW, to mitigate the problem, I minimize Explorer windows I want to keep open while I'm doing other things. I don't think I've seen them pop to the front from the minimized state. Can anyone confirm?

It does happen in both cases, i.e. whether minimized or not.
For me, it does not happen when the Explorer window is on a second monitor.

On a different note, the frequency of this happening seems to have increased since the August patches.
Before that, I only had it when some specific apps were open. Since then, the number of apps it happens with has increased.
E.g., before it would never happen if I had VLC media player open in full screen. Since the August patches, that's no longer true

ayurai · Sep 25, 2023

barreleye said:
FWIW, to mitigate the problem, I minimize Explorer windows I want to keep open while I'm doing other things. I don't think I've seen them pop to the front from the minimized state. Can anyone confirm?

i not sure as i never minimize every window manually, ( just a windows +D), i will try to create the habit so i can observe that.

IanMosley · Sep 25, 2023

Welcome to the forum @ayurai

If you click on "My Computer" below, you can see my full system spec. On your own original post, if you click on your own "My Computer" you can fill out your own system specs. That way the forum members can know exactly what you're using.

barreleye · Sep 29, 2023

barreleye said:
Since I started this thread almost a year ago, there have been a number of hopeful but ultimately false solutions/causes proposed. The only one talking about minimized windows was on page 3, and that poster was talking about multiple desktops, so it wasn't exactly the same thing. And he never followed up on it. I'm going to leave an Explorer window minimized for a few days or until it pops up, whichever comes first. I will report back.

The minimized Explorer window stayed minimized for over 5 days. After restoring (unminimizing) it, it popped to the front within a day.

Solidjeuh · Oct 5, 2023

Same problem. Watching a movie in vlc player, and the damn explorer.exe windows is getting in front of the movie

minimizing the explorer window solves the problem... But yeah, it's very irritating

M4ster_3 · Oct 8, 2023

Just jumping in with you guys.
I got 2 Systems doing the same thing.
One Amd Ryzen, Asus, Nvidia, 1 Screen
The other Intel, Gigabyte, Nvidia, 2 Screen

And as there are AMD GPU Users also complaining we can for sure say it can´t be pinned down to the Hardware....
Both Systems are on 23H2 now, but the AMD Systems had it also before on 22H2.
The Intel System was clean installed with a 23H2 Iso.
So we can surely say: Even reinstalling with a fresh Iso wont fix this gift from Redmond.

I will take the minimizing workaround for now, but this is rediculous - they can´t tell the people that non of their developers+beta testers ran into this...
The last time i had issues with the Windows Explorer was on Windows 7....

maffle · Oct 8, 2023

M4ster_3 said:
Both Systems are on 23H2 now,

Im done with MS. HOW INCOMPETENT CAN THEY BE!? SO THIS IS STILL NOT FIXED IN 23H2

M4ster_3 · Oct 8, 2023

Nope, and i´m experiencing it on the AMD System (Media PC) while watching Movies/Series on my TV.
And also on the Intel System (Daily Use), f.e. while copying files from a to b on screen 1 and surfing on screen 2 - this is very funny - not.
I get like a heartattack everytime "Are the files copied now...are they not?".

Edit: Also i can confirm the "time frame" as this happens every evening while watching a movie or series...

antspants · Oct 10, 2023

This bug is a pain in the butt.

M4ster_3 · Oct 11, 2023

I find this bug temporary bearable - if it would be fixed in a short time, but it isn´t.
There are bugs in Windows 11 that are going on now from scratch, like the 0x800f081f Update Bug, that no one really knows what the reason for this issue , or how it can be fixed precisely apart from "do some NetFramework update and have a look if this helps" or "adjust a value in the registry and hope for the best".
I mean, common, if there is a config issue while updating, what is the problem telling the user at least a specific report about where the issue might sit "Hey you got a problem, because NetFramework seems broken, try a reinstall of that, and then try the update again."
But no...

antspants · Oct 11, 2023

Easiest fix with this particular bug, I find, don’t have file explorer open when you’re not using it. Which isn’t a biggie, most of the time.

Ghot · Oct 11, 2023

I just saw this or noticed this for the first time, last night.
I had both Firefox and File Explorer open (not full screen)(no tabs on File Explorer, I disabled those).

I wasn't doing anything on the computer, I was playing Woodoku on my phone. LOL
File Explorer was behind Firefox. Suddenly it jumped to the front.

It's not a big deal for me for a few reasons...
1. I only "open" File Explorer when I'm using it.
2. Sometimes, I forget to close it afterwards. But usually I close it when not using it.
3. I don't DO "minimized", except in very rare occasions when I have 5 or 6 windows open.
4. When File Explorer jumped to the front... I just closed it.
5. Do I keep tons of windows open, arranged in a certain order like my life depends on it? No.

Should Microsoft fix this? Definitely.
Will I lose any sleep over this? Not at all.

Only tweakers I use are Winaero, TranslucentTB, and the occasional Vivetool number.

Note: Most of the time I keep Firefox open. I usually have 4 tabs open. When I'm not using Firefox, I do minimize it, just to keep those 4 tabs open.
My screen is old, it has CCFL backlighting, so leaving a window open all the time, burns the image into the screen. I can alleviate the burn-in with the "Display Conditioning", but that takes a while (like 15 minutes), so I just minimize Firefox.

MilfordBadger · Oct 11, 2023

I think I figured how to fix this annoyance.
It is linked to computer's local Group Policies and automatic schedule when Windows updates them every 90 minutes or so.
You can test this by closing all open explorer windows, then opening a fresh one and running gpupdate /force in command prompt.
The explorer should popup to front.

The Fix:
Clear all local group policies. Easiest way is to just delete files and folders in subfolder C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicies
See here a more complete guide: How to reset all Local Group Policy settings on Windows 10

I figured this when I compared one of my Win11 computers which didn't have this bug and noticed that on affected machines there were some local Group Policy files created with references to explorer. I have no idea what had created those policy settings as I haven't created ones myself.
I guess they were created by some installed application or possibly some Microsoft update. In any case, after clearing the C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicies folder the problem seem to be gone.

mlamiroy · Oct 11, 2023

MilfordBadger said:
I think I figured how to fix this annoyance.
It is linked to computer's local Group Policies and automatic schedule when Windows updates them every 90 minutes or so.
You can test this by closing all open explorer windows, then opening a fresh one and running gpupdate /force in command prompt.
The explorer should popup to front.

The Fix:
Clear all local group policies. Easiest way is to just delete files and folders in subfolder C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicies
See here a more complete guide: How to reset all Local Group Policy settings on Windows 10

I figured this when I compared one of my Win11 computers which didn't have this bug and noticed that on affected machines there were some local Group Policy files created with references to explorer. I have no idea what had created those policy settings as I haven't created ones myself.
I guess they were created by some installed application or possibly some Microsoft update. In any case, after clearing the C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicies folder the problem seem to be gone.

It also happens in Windows 11 Home, where the grouppolicies folder by default remains empty.