WB5: Context menu & window frame display order problem

from Stardock Forums

When I leave my laptop (Dell Inspiron 6000 w/ Radeon x300 128MB) open for a day or so (and close the lid when I am not using it without standby or hibernate), something rather strange happens. The display order of context menu with respect to window frames becomes messed up. Below are the images of the problem on the skins Arrow, Simple Alpha, and A Touch of Glass 2, respectively:

On A Touch of Glass 2, the problem is a bit different. I don't know about the skins other than these. Changing back to WinXP style and back didn't solve it. And the problem just went away after 10 minutes or so. This problem also existed in Beta 1-2 but there I had to log off and back in to solve it.

System info:
WindowBlinds 5 (5.00 (build 49 x86))

WindowBlinds 5.0 System Information Report:
STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+ TRAY*
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
You have one monitor in total.
(Default Monitor) 1 is attached to ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300

Wblind.dll 2005/11/28 13:57:10
Wbsrv.dll 2005/11/28 15:52:00
Wbconfig.exe 2005/11/28 16:19:00
Wbload.exe 2005/11/25 19:30:58
Wbhelp.dll 2004/09/18 15:37:00
Wbui.dll 2005/11/20 12:23:40
Tray.dll 2005/11/02 13:28:26

windowblinds
4,468 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Also having this problem... never noticed it until I brought up the Start Panel/Menu and looked here. Video card is Radeon 9800 Pro with Catalyst 5.9 drivers. Didn't update the drivers yet and would like to know if this can be considered a software bug and not a driver-related problem. I've the same sys-info output as he does.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

If you click on the frame first and then try opening a menu, does the same thing happen?

If so, its the OS z-order bug which requires a fix from Microsoft.  Later versions of Windows (2003 & 64 bit) do not have this bug as they fixed it, but XP has not yet been fixed.

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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

If you click on the frame first and then try opening a menu, does the same thing happen?


Yes, I had tried that, didn't help.


If so, its the OS z-order bug which requires a fix from Microsoft. Later versions of Windows (2003 & 64 bit) do not have this bug as they fixed it, but XP has not yet been fixed.


But it never happened with the xp style.
Anyway, I hope they fix it soon.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Erg... Not sure if I fully understand that. I open up the Start Menu/Panel, and then I click on anything skinned by WB (ie window titlebar or borders), it closes up the Start menu. Then I bring it back up and the problem persists.

If this is what you meant, then it seems I'm bugged. Does MS have a hotfix for this?

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Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Just about the only thing that fixes it on my laptop is a restart, and I don't use hibernate/standby anymore...batteries suck.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm sure a reboot would solve most problems anyway. But it'd be nice if we can get this minor issue resolved without having to force a reboot when weird things come up.

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Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Based on our testing, the issue almost always occurs after a resolution change.  We have even done tests where the resolution change is done before WB is running & the same issue still occurs once WB is loaded up.  On some machines it will simply never happen, on others it happens quickly.  It seems to be some form of corruption internally in the OS.

Basically the OS is painting non always on top per pixel window data on top of always on top per pixel data.  This is a bug in the OS itself.

We have a theory on a way to reduce the problem for the majority of cases and will see if we can include this workaround in future builds. 

 

Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I too have this problem! I started to notice it more after playing a Direct3D game. I don't know if that makes any difference or not, but I have the game to run at 800x600 and my desktop is at 1280x1024 (both 32 bit color).
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm not sure what triggers this, but I only see it on the skins with alpha frames(or shadows, which are probably an application of alpha). But once Windowblinds gets into this state (no resolution changes necessary), it doesn't stop until a reboot. But it's only a matter of time until it does it again.

Also, I've seen Winamp (and other always-on-top windows) slide behind the alpha frames as well.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
This problem also happens with nvidia drivers, so it mustn't driver-related. I have a GeForce 6800 and this problem come after playing games, even if I play at the same resolution of my desktop. I suppose the games might just call a resolution change anyway. Also, the problem is more significant when the window is set to 'always on top'. In this case, the frames are always below normal windows' frame. Hope that helps...
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
After some other testing, i came to the conclution that 'always on top' state acts exactly the other way it should on alpha frames. Normal frames are drawn on top of always on top frames. This is quite inefficient using CursorXP because cursor are drawn below the frame.
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
I got a workaround here.

It seems like closing all the windows resets something in MS' code and fix the z-order problem until the next resolution change. It hasn't been tested thoroughly but worked for me everytime I tried. It's not an ideal solution but it's still better that rebooting.

[edit]
well...actualy not everytime
[/edit]