Win10 - 'Run as a different user' make tabs non-selectable

Bug report

from Stardock Forums

Hi there, I have a bug report.

First off, I'm not even sure if this is fixable, due to the way Windows permissions work. I have also searched the forum but not seen this specific issue mentioned.

I use groupy on the job and love it. We are in a "No local admins" organization, and as a result we make heavy use of Windows "Run as a different user" option to run certain admin tools as a different, higher privileged account. Basically this option has windows create another user profile under C:\Users and runs the selected program as that user.

Groupy seems to have a hard time with this, when grouping programs run as a standard account and as an admin account. For example, this morning I have Sublime text, A chrome window with Google chat, Active Directory, and SCCM grouped together. AD and SCCM are run as my admin account, and Sublime and Gchat are under my standard account. Here's the result:

Notice the cutting off of the Windows action bar? This is a telltale sign that this issue has occurred. When I see this, all of the other tabs are non-selectable. Now, I can go to the Windows task bar and change tabs, but that kind of defeats the purpose of Groupy all together. Also, if I click the 'x' to close the tab, all tabs disappear. I can't alt + tab to them, and they seem to be closed....but they aren't as I can still see them running in the task manager and they won't launch until I kill the processes. Weird.

I have also seen this same issue happen in two other variants, which I unfortunately cannot seem to reproduce this morning.

  1. The first one is nearly the same as this, with the tabs being non-selectable, except the tabs each have all the tab title text overlayed on top of each other, making a jumbled mess of text. For instance, the above setup would display each tab still, but the first one would say untitled (Repos) - Sublime..., then overlayed on top of that SysAdmin Team - Chat ..., then overlayed on top of that....
  2. The second variant is that all tabs except the one that is selected disappear. The tabs come back after selecting an open program from the Windows task bar. I did have this happen this morning, but failed to grab a screenshot.

Interestingly, SCCM in the above setup does not cause the issue, even though it is running under my admin account. Since it is a newer, actively developed app, I'm thinking this has something to do with running some of the older Windows admin tools on Win10? The AD tool I am running is from the RSAT Active Directory install, which is installed as an optional feature now since 1809. I believe it's from the Win 7 days, and as a result probably runs on a different framework. There is a newer app for AD which I can (begrudgingly) use, but MS hasn't yet developed replacements for all of the other tools I use on a daily basis (Print management, Group policy, etc).

Any ideas?

groupy
5,893 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

As a follow up, I upgraded my workstation yesterday and as a result fully formatted my HD and reinstalled Windows. My groupy install is fresh and on a brand new installation of Windows

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

What is the FULL Version of Windows you are running

use ( winver.exe ) to get it .

ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble.

and Sublime and Gchat are under my standard account.
End of quote

As a test, and keeping the test simple to start - say with only a couple of apps - are you able to test for differences running them as admin or is that not an option at all?

Sean Drohan
Stardock Support Manager

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

AZDude - I am running build 18363.476 (1909). I also had this issue on the latest 1903 build. My machine is fully updated.

 

sdRohan - I can test this today. It would probably be a good idea to eliminate Chrome as the culprit come to think of it. I know there were some issues lately caused by something they had changed. I will test and post back

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Just tested with a new set of windows, and on a different computer (Same build as the other 1909). The issue is repeatable, and occurs when selecting powershell in the below grouping

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Jensenj010, reply 5

The issue is repeatable, and occurs when selecting powershell in the below grouping
End of Jensenj010's quote

What is repeatable, what am I looking for in that image? 

I want to focus on 1 issue at a time and with the one cutting off the 'File, Edit, Etc' is what I understood that to be and with the test with all admin access. 

Sean Drohan
Stardock Support Manager

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Sorry, that screenshot is of the wrong thing :)

In the above picture, the powershell window was causing the same issue as the previous screenshot, where AD was freezing all of the other tabs. If it happens again today, I will grab the correct shot.

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

The above screenshot shows this issue happening on powershell as well. All of the above programs are running under my admin account, while logged into Windows under my standard account. This pic is of the entire window, and you will notice the typical right corner window buttons are missing (minimize, restore / maximize, and close). Powershell doesn't have a menu bar, so that doesn't show in this program, but the same symptoms are occuring - all other tabs (Including active directory) are non-selectable. Clicking AD from the taskbar shows the issue is occuring there as well, at the same time and in the same grouping - 

 

Please let me know if this was not the information you were asking for