Aero Theme Problems

JJBoondock · 15 Aug 2014

Hello everyone,
Whenever I turn my pc on, the aero theme doesn't work properly. I check the themes and aero themes is selected, but it looks like windows 7 basic and when I change to another theme it changes background but windows 7 basic layout stays. I used the aero troubleshooter and it says desktop windows manager is disabled but when i check services, windows desktop sessions manager is running. When I restart the service, it flashes for a second and changes to aero theme but then back to windows 7 basic layout. dwm.exe is not running in task manager. Also, when i try to watch a video on youtube or anywhere else, the video lags. When I try to play games, they lag a lot also.

Whenever I restart my pc the aero theme is displayed fine and dwm.exe is displayed in task manager. Youtube videos work fine and all the games are fine also.

I am very confused by this.

I know this isn't the first aero theme problem on here but I have tried many different ways to fix this and all have failed.
My Windows is an OEM version
All help would be appreciated. Thanks :)

A Guy · 16 Aug 2014

Welcome to Seven Forums JJBoondock. I would run the System File Checker first and make sure you don't have any violations. If it finds no issues, we will take a different path. Note that you will have to repatch if you are using 3rd party themes.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

A Guy

JJBoondock · 17 Aug 2014

Thank you for the reply. I tried SFC and it said there were no issues

A Guy · 17 Aug 2014

Did this just start after taking Windows updates? Do you have a System Restore Point from before this began? I have seen this issue caused by WU, Video Card Drivers, other out of date drivers, etc. The video playback issue may also point to drivers. If you have the SR point, I'd try that and if it fixes it, you'd need to install updates one at a time and test after each.

System Restore

A Guy

JJBoondock · 17 Aug 2014

It's been from when I installed Windows 7 and I've tried many different System Restore Points.

A Guy · 17 Aug 2014

Have you run the Windows Experience Index assessment?

Windows Experience Index - Update or Refresh Score

Windows Experience Index - Reset

A Guy

JJBoondock · 18 Aug 2014

I have done it once but I will try it again and let you know the results. :)

JJBoondock · 18 Aug 2014

I ran it again it it went fine.

A Guy · 18 Aug 2014

If this has been happening since the install, and your video drivers are up to date, I'd suggest a repair install. It will leave all your programs and settings intact, and hopefully fix the Aero problem.

Repair Install

I'll point this out to the Gurus and see if anyone else has some ideas.

A Guy

gregrocker · 18 Aug 2014

Enable Device Installation Settings to Check for Updates, install all Important and Optional to make sure you have the drivers Win7 wants and are fully patched.

What display driver do you have installed currently? What display card/chip does your PC have? Where did you get its driver?

If you have a video card can you default to the mobo's display chip? Do you have another card to try?

After trying these steps while you wait for other suggestions work through the other Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 starting with establishing a Clean Boot.