Aero Window Panes sporadically available.

[squeeian]

Greeting fellow Community members, I am working in the IT field helping a company switch from Windows XP to 7 and on over 35 terminals we are having the issue that Aero Peek not working correctly and or greyed out, I am also unable to use the 3D Aero flip feature.

Here is a list of the steps I have thus far tried and had no luck on:


1. Going into Services for the Windows Desktop Manager to stop and restart. Partial success, I was able to view the thumbnail windows window panes, but if I clicked on the Win 7 Theme or show desktop, I lost the ability to view thumbnail windows. I was also able to access what I would consider the normal performance check boxes in performances under the advanced system properties. Ex: Enable Aero, Show thumbnails instead of Icons, Enable transparent glass, ect..., but after clicking on the Win 7 Theme or show desktop all of those options in performance do not even show up.


2. Going through the troubleshoot for Aero, while making sure to apply repairs automatically. partial success here, but still running into the same problem of the fix not staying fixed.

(Side Note: Interestingly after I run the Aero trouble shoot, my screen and all the windows flickers a few times then goes black, but after I minimize and maxamise the windows they look normal with Aero transparance, just no background.)


3. Going in the regedit and changing the value from 1 to 0 and back to 1 again.


4. Running the Windows Experience Index, again partial success here, but still running into the same problem of the fix not staying fixed.


5. Using the Microsoft Fix It download, no luck.


6. Also a while back I tried added some values to the registy in order to have Aero work, no luck then, I can't seem to find what those values were so I can't post them on here.


The only other thing I can see is that I have a repeating fatal error in the event viewer for the Desktop Window Manager (0x88980406)


PLEASE ANY HELP WOULD BE SO APPRECEATED, I AM OFFICALLY BRAIN FRIED.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ANY AND ALL HELP YOU CAN PROVIDE.


OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
System Model HP rp5700 Business System
System Type X86-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7400 @ 2.80GHz, 2800 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Hewlett-Packard 786E4 v01.17, 04/26/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 3.49 GB
Available Physical Memory 2.13 GB
Total Virtual Memory 6.98 GB
Available Virtual Memory 5.43 GB
Page File Space 3.49 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

Sorry for not including the GC info carwiz. I was able to locate it, though.

HP Intel DVI-D ADD2 Sdvo PCI Express
Silicon Image Orion ADD2-N Dual Pad x16 Card

 

[carwiz]

You didn't mention what graphics card, if any, is being used.

Here's the requirements for Aero:

Your computer's hardware and video card must meet hardware requirements to able to display Aero graphics. Check that your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements for running Aero:

• 1-gigahertz (GHz) 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  
• 1 gigabyte (GB) of random access memory (RAM)
  
• 128-megabyte (MB) graphics card

You also need to use a Windows theme to display Aero graphics. If you are using an Ease of Access theme, some elements such as transparency and thumbnail previews will not appear. To view which theme you are using, open Personalization in Control Panel.
Open Theme Settings by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, clicking Personalization, and then clicking Theme.
The theme currently in use is highlighted.

Aero also requires a DirectX 9 class graphics processor that supports a Windows Display Driver Model Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware, and 32 bits per pixel.

For best results, you might also want to follow these graphics processor recommendations:

• 64 MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor with a resolution that is less than 1,310,720 pixels (for example, a 17–inch flat panel LCD monitor that has a 1280 × 1024 resolution)
  
• 128 MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor with a resolution from 1,310,720 to 2,304,000 pixels (for example, a 21.1–inch flat panel LCD monitor that has up to a 1600 × 1200 resolution)
  
• 256 MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor with a resolution greater than 2,304,000 pixels (for example, a 30–inch wide-screen flat panel LCD monitor that has up to a 2560 × 1600 resolution)

 

[squeeian]

The graphics card is a Nvidia G-Force 6200, video-338PCI-LP VGA with 256MB DDR. Hopefully this is the right information. Sorry things are kind of hecktic, just got back from holiday break.

Specs / Performance
Memory Interface

128-bit

64-bit

Fill Rate

1.2 billion texels/sec.

1.4 billion texels/sec.

Vertices per Second

225 million

262.5 million

Pixels per Clock

(peak)

4

4

RAMDACs

400 MHz

400 MHz
Memory Interface

128-bit

64-bit

Fill Rate

1.2 billion texels/sec.

1.4 billion texels/sec.

Vertices per Second

225 million

262.5 million

Pixels per Clock

(peak)

4

4

RAMDACs

400 MHz

400 MHz
Memory Interface 128-bit /64-bit
Fill Rate 1.2 Billion texels/sec. / 1.4 Billion texels/sec.
Vertices per Second 225 million / 262.5 million
pixels per clock (peak) 4
RAMDAC's 400 MHz

I am not exactly sure how to get the GHz info, I am a bit out of practice.

 

[squeeian]

Ok, so I was mis-informed the type of video card. Here is the correct specs for the video card.

Product Description

HP Intel DVI-D ADD2 Sdvo PCI Express
Silicon Image Orion ADD2-N Dual Pad x16 Card

HP Spare Part No: 398333-001, 359301-003

Main Specification

Interface Type: PCI Express x16

Enclosure Type: Plug-in card

Device Type: Add-on interface board

General Compatibility: PC

Device Type: Add-on interface board

Enclosure Type: Plug-in card

Interface Type: PCI Express x16

Video Output Digital Video Standard: Digital Visual Interface (DVI)

Expansion / Connectivity Compatible Slots: 1 x PCI Express x16

Interfaces: 1 x DVI-D

 

[indianacarnie]

You could try updating the driver for it I suppose.

 

[carwiz]

I couldn't find any detailed specs on that video card but at $10, I highly suspect it's not capable of supporting Aero. The driver is too general and goes back to Windows 98. There's a few sites that claim the driver supports Windows 7 but that is probably for simple graphics. Aero has a Huge overhead. Check one of the machines and see what the Windows Experience Index (WEI) scores are. I'd be surprised if the card cracked 2.0. IIRC, Aero requires 3.5 or better.

Added: Sample WEI Scores

 

[squeeian]

Hey Guys, Here is the WEI Assessment results for the desktops I am working on. My current working theory (Thanks to Carwiz for the update of the WEI score) is that the terminals that are having the aero greyed out issue have this as their WEI score.

I am currently waiting for employees who actually have the aero feature that is in use and working well to run their own WEI scores so I can see if it's just the fact that those individuals with the problems just have a score below 3.5 and then comes the question on how to raise their score by what ever percent to allow the employees here to use aero?

Prior to Carwiz's comment about the WEI minimum score being 3.5, the other help pages and forums were telling me that if a user had a score of 3.0 or higher could use the Aero 3D effects and window panes.

 

[squeeian]

So I have new info on the graphics card that is being used by the desktops in the offices that I am temping at. The graphics card is a Intel ® Q965/Q963 Express Chipset Family (Microsoft Corp. –WDDM 1.0). Also everytime I do a Windows experience index score test on the desktops they keep coming up as a score of 3.4 I am trying to research if said graphics card is compadable with using the Aero 3-D features within Windows 7, though I am not sure. Any assistance in this matter would be appreceated. Thank you all for the all the help you have given thus far and all of your continued help.

-Squeeian

 

[carwiz]

The chip set should be compatible with Aero but the driver must also. Intel states that to be a WDDM driver the version must be level 7 or above or the driver is XPDM. The level is the first digit of the version number.

To determine the current version:
1. Right-click on the Windows desktop and select Graphics Properties. The Intel graphics driver window opens.

Note: If the Graphic Properties option is not available, then your computer is not using an Intel® Graphics Controller or an Intel® graphics driver. You will need to obtain the driver from the OEM of the machine or you can use Intel's WDDM.

2. In the driver window, click Support, and then select Information Center in the dropdown options. The driver version is listed as Driver Version.

3. In older drivers, click Options & Support > Information Center. The driver version is listed under System Information. For example: 8.15.10.2639.

Here's an example of the later versions.

 

[carwiz]

Here's a couple of links you may be interested in reviewing.

Graphics — Microsoft Windows 7* Support FAQ

Graphics — Windows Aero* FAQ

 

[squeeian]

Hello again Carwiz, So I am at one of the terminals and under the system info, the driver version is 8.15.10.1749. So it appears that the driver version is above 7. Thank you for the links, I will be going over those to see if they can help. However knowing what we know now that the Windows Experience Index is 3.4, that the graphics card supports Aero and the graphics driver is able to support it as well. I am still at a loss to fix the problem with aero peek being greyed out and the Desktop Window Manager looking disabled in the Aero troubleshooter and when going into services it states it's running fine? Hopefully there will be something in the links you sent me, but if not, anything else you can think of would be so helpful. I really want to fix this problem for this company.

 

[carwiz]

Check these two tutorials below and make sure everything is set correctly. In Services, "Desktop Window Manager" and "Themes" must both be running and set to automatic start. You can check these by opening Administrative Tools from the Control Panel and selecting Services.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1908-visual-effects-settings-change.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/838-aero-peek-turn-off.html

 

[squeeian]

Hey Carwiz, So I have checked and set both Desktop Window Manager" and "Themes" to automatic start. However when looking over the last two Totorials that you listed I am unable to follow them. Under taskbar properties the enable aero peek is greyed out and checked, it will not allow me uncheck or recheck the box. Also when I am in performance options, visual effects, certain options like enable aero, all the animate check boxes, show thumbnails instead of icons, and other check boxes are not even there to check or un-check. With my test desktop, I was able to check the enable aero feature in the taskbar and all the options for performance options were available, this was after I either restarted the windows desktop manager or doing Aero repairs in the troubleshooter, but as I mentioned in the begining I would then lose the ability to view the thumbnails and lose the ability to enable aero in visual effects performance options along with other check boxes once I clicked on show desktop or clicking on the Aero theme in personalization. So that leaves me in a head scratching position.

 

[squeeian]

ok, I'm going to try to use Snag-It to do a movie so you can see what I am going through.

 

[squeeian]

Here is the URL link to the movie I did through Snag It, please let me knowif you can view it.

12.10.2013-14.30.11 - squeeian's library

 

[squeeian]

Well it looks like seven forum will not let me attach the mp4 file I get an 500 internal service error. I'm going to see if I can do it through google chrome.

Well it wouldn't let me do the attachment through Google Chrome either.

 

[squeeian]

When I was recording at the end when it looked like I was doing Alt-Tab, I was also trying to do the Windows Key & Tab to do the Aero Flip feature, that was something else that changed the screen from the black background which seems to be the only way to see the Aero window panes to a Windows 7 setting without the 3D aero feature.

 

[carwiz]

What Theme are you using? Try using something besides the black desktop. Also, reboot after making any system changes.

 

[squeeian]

The theme is automaticly set to Windows 7 Aero Theme. It only went to a black screen when I stopped and started the Desktop Windows Manager. When recreating the issues that you saw, I did restart the computer after making said changes. The video you saw was a second recreation of what was happening. When I did the first recreation I did restart perodicly to see if the changes would stick. Though for the sake of making the video I don't think Snag-It would allow me to keep the video going if I restarted the machine.

 

[carwiz]

Ok, what state are you in now? I'm lost. It was hard to follow what you were doing in the video. When you disable DWM, the theme will go away and I don't know what will work at that point. Can you get to a desktop with Aero? Lets start there and work on one thing at a time.

Added:
When you got the screen below, did it fix it? What did the Details show?