some desktop icons seem to "sleep" after idle

gomachv · Jul 18, 2023

Currently on 22H2 22621.1992, problem has been there for at least 2 months.

I have all sleep settings off, however when my computer is at idle for say a half hour or so, several of my desktop icons are not clickable. The cursor will not highlight the icon, and clicking does nothing like the icon isnt even there. Firefox, Edge, etc. Other links work just fine. This lasts only about 10 seconds or so, then they are clickable. If I click the icons for Firefox or Edge in the taskbar they open immediately. Has anyone else ran into this before? I am somewhat lost as to even what to search for this phenomenon.

MinisForum HX90
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
32gb ram
Integrated graphics
(4) HP v22v monitors

OAT · Jul 18, 2023

gomachv said:
Currently on 22H2 22621.1992, problem has been there for at least 2 months.

I have all sleep settings off, however when my computer is at idle for say a half hour or so, several of my desktop icons are not clickable. The cursor will not highlight the icon, and clicking does nothing like the icon isnt even there. Firefox, Edge, etc. Other links work just fine. This lasts only about 10 seconds or so, then they are clickable. If I click the icons for Firefox or Edge in the taskbar they open immediately. Has anyone else ran into this before? I am somewhat lost as to even what to search for this phenomenon.

MinisForum HX90
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
32gb ram
Integrated graphics
(4) HP v22v monitors

Hi welcome to the forum,
Your issue is related to the widgets.
If you move your cursor to the right of the screen and hit refresh, those icons will be clickable again.
To make things easier until a fix is out:

Add Restart Widgets to Context Menu in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to add "Restart Widgets" to the desktop context menu for all users in Windows 11. Widgets are small cards that display dynamic content from your favorite apps and services on your Windows desktop. They appear on the widgets board, where you can discover, pin...

www.elevenforum.com

gomachv · Jul 18, 2023

Thank you for your reply. I actually have no widgets, I have them turned off. Im happy to try this but just want to make sure we are talking about the same thing. For example I have a desktop icon for Firefox and also have it in my taskbar. Both shortcut to the same location, however after a long idle, the desktop icon is not clickable for about 10 seconds. The quick link icon in the taskbar is clickable immediately.

Flashorn · Jul 20, 2023

Try to uninstall widgets and see if this does the trick.
From the tutorial, you can re-install if so desired .

Uninstall and Reinstall Widgets in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to uninstall or reinstall widgets for all users in Windows 11. Widgets are small cards that display dynamic content from your favorite apps and services on your Windows desktop. They appear on the widgets board, where you can discover, pin, unpin, arrange...

www.elevenforum.com

gomachv · Jul 20, 2023

I used a different method to remove them, a script that was found elsewhere. This was a while back though when I first installed. I will try that tutorial and see if that fixes it up. I had no idea the widgets were related to desktop shortcuts. Again I appreciate the help, thank you!