Windows explorer blanks top border when maximized

Question

a colleague of mine is experimenting an issue with file explorer in windows 10. As of the title, the top border is blanked:

It's quite annoying. Any chance we get to fix it?

Try closing applications from system tray one at a time and see if it helps. You may see white strip disappear after closing certain app. — Sandeep, Jun 21 '18 at 13:58
We already tried to close it and reopen it but it didn't work. What do works is actually open thw windows explorer in a non-maximized window. If not maximized, the top border is not blanked. — BabaNew, Jun 21 '18 at 14:06
Have you tried to maximize it manually ( by expanding the corners? ) if so what are the results — Elie, Jun 21 '18 at 14:07
The windows expands, but unfortunately the blank bundle still remains — BabaNew, Jun 21 '18 at 14:08
@BabaNew By closing applications I did not mean to close windows explorer. Keep windows explorer in maximize mode, then go to system tray (bottom right corner of screen), look at application running, right click on application icons and chose exit/close from context menu. Probably you should be able to identify which application is causing while strip. — Sandeep, Jun 21 '18 at 14:24
So, in your opinion, if the only user-launched application that remains is windows explorer, the blank strip will desappear? — BabaNew, Jun 21 '18 at 14:31
@BabaNew With me it happens when any application failed to render it's windows or context menu. It is displayed as blank white box which does not have a task bar icon. It does not respond to mouse click or keyboard shortcuts. So, I have mentioned one of the ways I follow, to identify culprit application causing this issue. This is just an option and may not be the case with you. But, can be tried. — Sandeep, Jun 21 '18 at 15:16

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 24 '21 at 09:06

4

Quick workaround that works for me without logging out/restarting is to press Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B. Your screens will flash for a while and everything is resolved.

I am using NVidia 1070TI card, heard it's because of its driver.

answered Mar 24 '21 at 09:06

Luke Vo

1,613

1

https://superuser.com/questions/1127463/what-does-ctrlwinshiftb-do-in-windows explainst that this key sequence will restart your graphics driver. – cachius Feb 15 '24 at 09:45

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 27 '19 at 09:59

I had the same problem. That blank space represents desktop. I had to restart my pc whenever this happened. I tried all the solutions on internet and found one trick with summary.

Try the below steps; this has solved my problem:

Right click on desktop
Click on Graphics Options
Click on Panel fit
Click on Digital display
There will be a tick on Maintain display scaling. Click on Scale full screen

This will solve your problem and once again you perform same steps and again click on Maintain display scaling.

Whenever you have this problem again follow the steps. This will solve the problem without restarting the computer.

Revert back with your effort whether it helped or not.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 31 '19 at 03:31

1

Not sure if you are going to see this, but this issue is still an ongoing issue that Microsoft has yet to fix.

The link to the main topic is here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-performance/windows-10-multi-monitor-maximized-window/3c2042ef-73df-401c-9a59-65b347d4dbea?page=3

answered Jan 31 '19 at 03:31

Charlie

21

There's a solution that worked for me at this link. – UserX Dec 18 '19 at 15:54

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 19 '19 at 10:36

I really haven't found a fix to this. It happens from time to times, usually when computer resources are highly used. An easy workaround, by the way, would by split the screen in 2, using (WINDOWS_KEY) + (LEFT_KEY), like this:

This way, at least the window that has a blanked top will be movable again

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 20 '20 at 18:39

I just had this same issue occur. I'd never seen it before, nor even heard of it. At first, I was very concerned that there was something malicious going on, but thankfully Google brought me here.

In the environment in which this occurred, the system is running Windows 7 (fully updated), has 2 monitors connected to an nVidia-based graphics card, and the issue was presenting on only the primary display. Initial results indicated a need to update the graphics driver, but after reading previous responses in this thread, I determined that this might not be necessary.

Since W7 has different options from W10, I couldn't follow the above directions, so here's what I did, for anyone in a similar situation:
I went into the NVIDIA Control Panel, and in the "Display" section, on the "Adjust desktop size and position" screen, I selected my primary monitor and simply checked the box for "Override the scaling mode set by games and programs" and clicked "Apply". This was enough to resolve the issue.

Hope this helps others in similar situations.

score 1 · Answer 6 · edited Jul 17 '20 at 18:23

1

Use the Ctrl+Alt+F11 keyboard combination. It will solve the problem. This resets scaling options.

edited Jul 17 '20 at 18:23

Glorfindel

4,099

answered Jul 17 '20 at 12:55

Mark

11

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Feb 04 '20 at 19:37

Hum, I tried a bunch of stuff and now the problem appears to be gone. I did LENOVO firmware updates. There was a New BIOS dated Jan even though there was a Dec BIOS update. There was also a new LAN update.

Did all the Windows 10 updates on 1903 (avoiding 1909 for now) and there were 2 new .NET updates. They could be the culprit.

Then I went to the Intel Site for Intel Driver Updates as this PC has an Intel 630 Video Card. When I launched the update utility it told me to Un-Install the Intel Control Panel stating it had been replaced with the new Intel Graphics Command Center. Un-installed it. Restarted the PC. Installed the new Intel Graphics Command Center. Ran updates. The problem appears to be gone. I hope this works for others.

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 20 '20 at 18:54

I really dont know whether this will be a feasible solution, since I cannot replicate the issue.

But try these:

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete then start Task Manager and kill "explorer.exe". Then Windows key + R to open a run window and type explorer.exe and hit enter.
Restart your computer.
Check your monitor's resolution settings.
Update your system.
Run a Scan with your favourite Antivirus Program to check for some security issue /malware.
Prevent unwanted apps from draining CPU resources while they run in the background.
Maybe there is an issue with the Graphics driver or corresponding software.

Sorry for not being able to provide a concise and simple answer, this could be a minor flaw or could be an outcome of something else...

Windows explorer blanks top border when maximized

8 Answers8