Programs start Minimized, will *NOT* maximize.

I have the same problem with a few applications but mostly with Thunderbird (V5.0) as with Thunderbird (will abbreviate to TB below), the problem is near always reproducible. I have tried the recommendations and
- clicking on the desktop minimized window, I can see a blinking as if it starts maximizing but nothing happens
- I attempted to use Alt+Tab or Win key+Tab and select the TB window - nothing happens or appears
- I tried to use "bring to front" from Process Explorer - also no reaction
- I tried the recommendation to start TB in XP mode. No change

When does it happen? Easy - if Win7 goes to sleep or hibernation, for sure, Thunderbird will not restore. I suspect that as soon as TB swaps, restores are not possible. My only recourse is to kill the apps and start again .

Here is another test I did though: I left it maximized and forced to sleep then started the session - interestingly, one cannot interact with the TB window for a while (several mnts) but it eventually comes back to life. By "cannot interact" I mean that even grabbing the top bar and moving the window is not possible (does not move), interacting with any menu or selecting an Email or ... none of it works (it is like a frozen, fixed frame with no other possible interaction than minimizing).

In short, it is not usable.

This happens with other apps apps well - people reported this happening with Firefox and I have observed it too. I also had a similar behavior with MediaMonkey, RSS Bandit, ... I have observed this from day 1 of getting a new laptop with Windows 7 couple months ago (so I do not really have the luxury of being able to tell that this happens "when" or go back to a previous state).

Hope to find a solution to this issue as this is annoying at best.

Open multiple instances the the program right click the one you want in the taskbar. choose "move" use the arrow keys to move it to the right place.

You can also search the registry for programs name and find entries related to where it opens by default. be careful yadda yadda yadda...

Ptolemy, I have had this issue ever since windows 7 came out and have been unable to resolve it even after calling tech support multiple times. I have been searching for an answer and you have finally solved my problem. Thanks so much

The best resolution I found, although Ptolemy shared a great thing to check on, is if you run larger icons (%125) any program will work. I was having issues with Call of Duty, I could not open it, AT ALL, it would just run minimized. I did a lot of searching and someone on another forum stated this, and it works PERFECT. When I select that option (which is terrible because the buttons are huge on your browser and all the icons. Doesn't look as good as tiny organized buttons and icons) I can run any program without having any issues. Check it out for the next one with this issue, you seem to have fixed yours, so that's good either way :)

My father just had the exact same problem. Outlook started but ran minimized.
The simple solution. Right click on an empty part of the Windows Task Bar. Click the menu "Cascade Windows".

Outlook appeared in a restored window. I maximized it.

When I closed Outlook and restarted it, it came up maximized. Problem sorted!

By the way - before finding this simple solution I tried all of the suggestions previously posted in this thread. None solved the problem. So don't waste your time with them is my advice.

toasty said:

This is very bizarre. I'm just coming off a new installation of W7x64. Most of my programs are installed and seem to run fine. However today, for no apparent reason, I've run into an odd problem. When I launch a few of my programs, they start up but only show up in the toolbar. If I right-click them I have the normal options (<program name>, Pin this program to taskbar, Close window). However none of those options work, they don't respond. If I right-click on the thumbnail view "restore" is grayed out, and "minimize" and "close" also do nothing. Left-clicking the icon also does not restore it.

Launching Task Manager allows me to End their process. Or if I maximize the application, all I get is their titlebar at the top of the screen From there I can exit the program as well... but the title bar is the *only* visible part of their window. The programs list as "running" from within Task Manager.

The two programs that I've noticed this with so far are MozBackup (a lightweight app for backing up settings in Mozilla Firefox/Thunderbird) and when I wanted to view an application's properties window from within Comodo Firewall.

None of these problems occur on my XP boot.

Has anyone heard of this before or have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

I had the same problem but once I created a new user and tried, it worked fine. Amazing. I couldn't figure out what was the actual problem.

For future folks who run across this (as I did with comical) you can do the following.

1. Click on the window icon so that the window has focus
2. Press ALT+SPACE to bring up the window operations context menu
3. Press "X" to maximize it back to normal.

After I struggled a long time with the same problem on our office computers and I kept re-installing windows to solve it I found a fix. Somehow the window maxamize though is not visable (we run 2 monitors per pc)

so .... when you click on the icon on the taskbar you will see it flash up as if to maxamizze though you will not see it (maxamized screen not visable) somethere where it is on display you will be active on it so you can use shortcut keys.. push down Alt + Spacebar and press R - this will restore down the program - Now use Alt + Spacebar and press X to restore - and you should see it. I am no expert though this worked for me (problem was with yammer screen not showing when maxamized) - hope it help people out there and save you some time - happy computing! :)

Get Process Hacker Overview - Process Hacker, right click process name, select window, minimize, then again maximize. My windows sometimes only have close window option and this works.

Hi Guys.. After reading your responses and none worked... I tried this and it worked for me..

1. Run the application (minimized by default)
2. Right click on the task bar
3. Select "Cascade Windows"
4. And Voila!!! :)

Hope it works for you too..:)

Cheers..