File Explorer window stuck in the background

I have not been able to replicate your problem. The only idea I have at this time is to check your File Explorer settings in the "view" Tab that I have high-lighted and see if it helps:

GODisaRefuge4Us said:

Thanks. Unfortunately, the problem is intermittent. I haven't found the right sequence to duplicate it on-demand. I'll try one setting at a time. Currently, "hide folder merge conflicts" is unchecked for me (my preference); and "launch folder windows in a separate process" is checked.

I'll uncheck "launch folder windows in a separate process" and watch for it to happen again.

There probably is no sequence to replicate it on demand, and when you mentioned the problem is intermittent, it seems that could be tied down to an Explorer process that is possibly hanging and not necessarily the same one every time.


The Event Viewer log may or may not reflect this instance; but, you should note the time it happens and what processes were running at the time in order to narrow it down. Usually "Safe Boot" can help so long as any of the processes you are running don't require certain parameters to run.

GODisaRefuge4Us said:

It happened again this morning. I checked the event logs...nothing.

So, unchecking "launch folder windows in a separate process" didn't help.

I did play with it a bit more. I minimized all other windows to find the offending File Explorer window. Then I maximized and restored the offending File Explorer window. After that, I restored all my other open windows. Upon clicking on the offending File Explorer window in the taskbar, it came to the front as expected. This doesn't solve the problem; I just wanted to note the behavior.

This issue is low priority...just annoying. There are workarounds as I described above and in past posts.

Is it always the fourth Explorer window back that is the offending File Explorer Window; or is it a specific File Explorer window or Application that is the offending window?

I believe you mentioned in your opening post that you had four File Explorer windows and some applications open when you had an offending window and I'm trying to get an understanding if there is a pattern. There would be no specific setting in a GUI that could flag how many explorer windows or applications are open to set a specific action to take that I'm aware of.

I'm thinking along the lines that it is an Application specific problem more than a "How many windows or File Explore Windows" I have open problem.

GODisaRefuge4Us said:

Hello again. I almost always have 2 File Explorer windows open. When the problem occurred yesterday, I had 3 File Explorer Windows open. The offending window happened to be the 3rd File Explorer window. However, when File Explorer windows were open in the past, the offending window wasn't consistently the last window.

I almost always have 3 applications open on the taskbar: Chrome, Outlook, LibreOffice.

System tray applications include: RSSOwl reader, WinAmp, Avast antivirus, RemoteKeys macros, PureText, Coolmaster keyboard, Logitech Game Software (mouse).

If I notice a pattern, I'll post about it. Thanks.

That is why I mentioned earlier in the thread, that there is probably no sequence to replicate it on demand. You need to do a trial and error method where only Application specific windows are open versus Folder File Explorer Windows.

Don't have both Application specific and File Explore windows open at the same time in other words. Try to distinguish between whether an Application is responsible for an offending window or just File Explorer itself or both.


I found a rather extensive article here https://windowsreport.com/fix-file-e...ms-windows-10/ that may help. It is from this year, so it may be relevant to your situation.


Matter of fact, I just got done reading it myself tonight, and one of the solutions (low and behold) is what I suggested earlier. It is solution number 4 in the article.