Aero disabled and troubleshooter no help

I'm having a problem with Windows aero. The taskbar at the bottom of my screen is gray and this can not be altered. If I right click on the desktop and click on "Personalize", I can choose an Aero theme and the background image changes accordingly, but Aero features such as Peek are not functioning. Clicking on the Window Color option brings up the Window Color and Appearance Box which is what it does for non-Aero themes. I am running 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium (and have been for a long time), but the Aero troubleshooter gives me the message "Upgrade to a Windows edition that includes the Aero desktop experience."

I have tried uninstalling my ATI video drivers and all ATI/AMD software, then reinstalling, but that did not work. I created a new user account but the problem was still there in the new account. I tried the registry work-around to force Aero but that also did not work. My Windows Experience Index subscore for Graphics is 7.7, so that is not the problem. Any suggestions?

Eric

Have you made sure Enable Transparency at Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Personalization > Window Color and Appearance (Under Window Color) is enabled?

Are you running Stardock? This has caused issues for some people.

fimble said:

Have you made sure Enable Transparency at Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Personalization > Window Color and Appearance (Under Window Color) is enabled?

Are you running Stardock? This has caused issues for some people.

Thanks for the response. That option isn't even there under Window Color and Appearance. The screen that normally appears (with the colored boxes) does not come up.

I am running Stardock's Impulse, but nothing else. And Aero worked fine previously. I haven't changed configurations lately.

[QUOTE=JDobbsy1987;1399052]Make sure your system has been indexed (Windows Experience Index)

This guide will help you :)
Windows Experience Index - Update or Refresh Score

You have to have a minimum of 2.0 in both Graphics & Gaming graphics in order to have the Aero features enabled.

Thanks for the response. As I mentioned in my post, however, my graphics scores are 7.7 and I have refreshed them.

JDobbsy1987 said:

In the start menu, search for 'Check The Windows Experience Index' and you should see it in the search results >> Click it

now click the 'Re-run the assessment'

Regards,
JDobbsy1987

I'm confused by your suggestion. I have no problem finding how to run the Windows Experience Index. I've done so many times, and refreshed it since the problem started. Overall index is 6.8 and the graphics subscores are both 7.7. This is not the problem. The Aero troubleshooter seems to think I'm using a version of Windows that doesn't support Aero, but I am.

JDobbsy1987 said:

This may sound like a stupid question but this on your personal PC? not a works PC?

Yes. Personal PC.

Eric