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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
+7

Major problems with WB on Windows 10

January 29, 2020 10:28:20 PM from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

I just installed WB on my new Windows 10 laptop.
WB version: 10.8.4

Windows version: build 18362
The machine is a Microsoft Surface Laptop (Core i5)

At first installation, it was "sort of" working... some things didn't display correctly, but it was mostly usable.
I also copied all my .wba files over from my Windows 7 machine, and tried installing some of my favorite skins,
starting with SetiGreen and WoodXP.

When I installed SetiGreen, it caused the entire screen to go pure white, including the taskbar, which was not accessible at all.
I used Alt-Tab to get back to WB, and tried loading one of the default themes, Precision, but that did nothing.
So I then powered off the computer and restarted it.
It came back up only half-trashed - About half of the taskbar is using the theme, the other half is just bright white.

Cortana is usable, but is doing a pop-up menu that was not previously there...

I then loaded WoodXP.wma... I did not get the usual popup notification saying that the new theme was available, but it *did* show up in the WB listing, and I loaded it.  The main problem at this point, is that the taskbar is *really* messed up; part of it is using the WB theme, and the rest is just blank white. 

What is going on here???

windowblinds
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Derell Licht
RedneckDude
Join Date 04/2009
+2197
Reply #1 January 29, 2020 10:39:33 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Sounds to  me like a borked install. I'd reinstall right over top of it, if it was me. And if that didn't fix it, then I'd try the purge/reinstall. Some have success with it, I never did.

 

 

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Derell Licht
RedneckDude
Join Date 04/2009
+2197
Reply #2 January 29, 2020 10:40:33 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Don't use object desktop Manager to install.

 

Get WB from your downloads page.  ODM is known to cause installation issues.

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Derell Licht
basj
Join Date 03/2001
+1443 sdemployee
Reply #3 January 29, 2020 10:56:35 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Need to inform that some skin that work on Windows 7 might not work properly on Windows 10. Unless the original designer update their skin to work with Windows 10, it might not work in Windows 10 environment.

Seti Green last update 2002. https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/windowblinds/2333/

Can't find WoodXP but XPWood both was last update 2001 and 2006. https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/all/search/wood+xp

I have tested some of my very old skin like sonix.wba and it just trash my Windowblinds 10.

 

 

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Derell Licht
LightStar
Join Date 12/2002
+1413
Reply #4 January 29, 2020 11:45:55 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Just checked that in the new Edge basj, no issues at all here.

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Derell Licht
basj
Join Date 03/2001
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Reply #5 January 29, 2020 11:51:35 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting LightStar,
reply 4

Just checked that in the new Edge basj, no issues at all here.

Which issue are you talking about? Seti Green or WoodXP and what it got to do with Edge?

Thank you,

Basj
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
+7
Reply #6 January 30, 2020 8:52:21 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Hi all;

first, I'm not using Object Desktop at all, I'm only using Windowblinds

second, you are correct, @basj !  It is XPWood, not WoodXP... oops !!  I love *both* of the XPWood skins.

Okay, I just loaded another theme, Radio, which is a paid theme and is quite recent.  It shows the same problem with taskbar as the others do.

In fact, I can provide more details about what is going on at this point:

1. The only element which is drawing incorrectly is the taskbar/notification-bar area. 
New windows open and draw correctly.  Start menu is fine.

The issues with the taskbar are that it is just drawing solid white, not using the WB theme.
Taskbar icons (for not-opened apps) show white as well, until I hover the mouse over them, then they switch to the WB image.
Icons for opened apps show properly with the WB image.

notification area - everything is just flat white, even when I hover over them.
popup windows (including 'show hidden icons' window) use the WB theme.

Does this provide any useful info?  Would an image of the offending taskbar area be of any use?

//**************************************
There is also the second issue that when I changed Windows color scheme from Black to White, I completely crashed the machine (including WB) and had to power-cycle it.  However, this is *much* less important, because I won't do that again!!

 

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Derell Licht
basj
Join Date 03/2001
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Reply #7 January 30, 2020 9:01:51 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Please try the purge and reinstall steps as mentioned here : https://forums.stardock.com/486023/windowblinds-support-faq#reinstalling

Just make sure to re-download the latest version from your account. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall using the one you just download. Reboot again and test it out. Please test out with those default skin (Acrylic, Arsenic, Corporate etc etc) that come with WB first. If you still see an issue. Please make a screenshot of it and post it here.

Thank you,

Basj
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
+7
Reply #8 January 30, 2020 9:07:43 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Okay, running the WBPurge batch file as admin...

Got an error message:
'the module ...\WBCore.exe was loaded but the entry-point DLLUnregisterServer was not found'
and
'make sure ...\WBCore.exe is a valid DLL or OCX file and then try again.'
I got the same errors for another file, but didn't catch the name.
It has now completed, and I'm back to normal Windows.
Will continue with the instructions!

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #9 January 30, 2020 10:06:25 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Interesting point... on 'My Downloads' page, the WB10 installer is listed as "WindowsBlinds 10 Upgrade" ...
I wonder if I should first install WB 8, then upgrade to WB 10 ??

For now, though, I will proceed as if the WB10 install is okay.

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #10 January 30, 2020 10:20:31 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Okay, after following all those instructions, I loaded the 'Acrylic 7' theme, and it still behaves the same.
 Here is a screen capture of the taskbar.
hmmm... I don't see any 'attach image' option here, and drag-and-drop does not work... I'll try uploading to Flickr and linking...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/derelllicht/49464670752

 

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Derell Licht
basj
Join Date 03/2001
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Reply #11 January 30, 2020 10:28:42 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Hello,

Please try the cleanboot steps to see if something is conflicting with WB. : https://forums.stardock.com/486023/windowblinds-support-faq#cleanboot

Try it and report back.

Thank you,

Basj
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Derell Licht
ALMonty
Join Date 01/2002
+242
Reply #12 January 30, 2020 10:30:13 AM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

A good thing to remember with WB is, Uninstall, reboot, install {WB}, fill out the activation don't load any skins and reboot again. Where your at now try a reboot and see if it applies.

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #13 January 30, 2020 4:58:07 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Well... that was interesting...

@almonty - I did that last reboot... no affect on the symptoms.

@basj - Okay, I did the cleanboot routine... and got a different result.  First, when I logged out after creating the Admin account, then logged back in with that account... Windows came up with the 'Acrylic 7' theme properly loaded !!  So far so good...

However, once I try to load any other theme, even one of the default themes, then I get a variant of my original problem - except that now the inactive/idle taskbar items are drawn as Acrylic 7, instead of Microsoft Standard White...  As before, any active apps have their icons drawn with the current theme, and hovering over an icon draws with the current theme...

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #14 January 30, 2020 5:31:37 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Okay, this be resolved... dang it...
I was using a start-menu replacement program called Open Shell, which is a fork of the older Classic Shell (including Classic Start Menu).
I didn't think it was involved with this issue, because it does not affect the taskbar.  However, I went ahead and removed it, restarted Windows, and now WindowBlinds is working just fine.  New skins load fine, and are remembered across restarts.

Damn... I *love* Classic Start Menu, I hate losing it...

 

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Derell Licht
Jan Oscar
Join Date 12/2002
+960 moderator
Reply #15 January 30, 2020 6:04:19 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Quoting Derell Licht,
reply 14

Damn... I *love* Classic Start Menu, I hate losing it...
Why not use Start10 from Stardock? Works flawlessly with Windowblinds too, of course. Link

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #16 January 30, 2020 6:46:46 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Yeah, I know... but Classic Shell was free, and highly configurable, and I've loved it for *years* ...
Trust Microsoft to break anything that we users actually value...

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Derell Licht
JimBurd
Join Date 10/2013
0
Reply #17 May 1, 2020 12:40:45 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

I've been using Open-Shell with WindowBlinds on several Windows 10 machines.  The only problem I've had so far is that some skins use a *ton* of CPU or GPU resources.  None of the skins (Acrylic 7, Corporate, Diamond) have resulted in the Taskbar problems that you've described.

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #18 May 1, 2020 1:33:44 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting stardock725,
reply 17

I've been using Open-Shell with WindowBlinds on several Windows 10 machines.  The only problem I've had so far is that some skins use a *ton* of CPU or GPU resources.  None of the skins (Acrylic 7, Corporate, Diamond) have resulted in the Taskbar problems that you've described.


Really ?!?!  That's interesting...
Are those all skins which came with WB?  Or are some of them user-developed skins?  All of the ones that I want are user skins...

I'll go back and try Open Shell again... I had tried it at first but had some issue with it.  I'll give it another try.

=======================================
Well, I just tried Open Shell 4.4.142, and it has exactly the same issue...
Windows version 6.3.18363 (build 18363)
WB version 10.84 (059 - Windows 190 Edition)

Everything works fine, except for the taskbar and notification area...
On the taskbar, any items which are currently open, are drawn using the WB skin.
However, inactive/idle items, and the rest of the taskbar, are just drawn with solid white background.

 

 

 

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Derell Licht
JimBurd
Join Date 10/2013
0
Reply #19 May 1, 2020 3:30:26 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Yes, those are all skins that came with WB10.  There are apparently a lot more skins that come as part of WB10; I saw a *lot* more skins on a Windows 7 test machine (where I installed WB10).  So it seems like there are definitely differences between Win7 and Win10 that WB10 needs to know about.

My biggest problem has been that I'm running Win10 on several VM test machines, and certain skins consume *huge* amounts of CPU or GPU time.  The Diamond skin looks (visually) the best to me (and plays well with Open-Shell), but it makes the VM almost unusable due to GPU loading.  (This is on 3-year-old hardware, so maybe not an issue on newer machines?)  Corporate runs just fine on all the machines, but I really want the look of Diamond, so ...

I've been using SkinStudio to slowly modify the Corporate skin to look just like the Diamond skin.  It's slow and painstaking, but I'm learning a *lot* about how WB works.

Maybe that would be an option for you?  Take an existing Win10 skin that works, and start modifying it to look like the skin that you want?

Hope this helps,
-Jim 

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
+7
Reply #20 May 1, 2020 3:49:20 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting JimBurd,
reply 19

My biggest problem has been that I'm running Win10 on several VM test machines, and certain skins consume *huge* amounts of CPU or GPU time.  The Diamond skin looks (visually) the best to me (and plays well with Open-Shell), but it makes the VM almost unusable due to GPU loading.  (This is on 3-year-old hardware, so maybe not an issue on newer machines?)  Corporate runs just fine on all the machines, but I really want the look of Diamond, so ...

I've been using SkinStudio to slowly modify the Corporate skin to look just like the Diamond skin.  It's slow and painstaking, but I'm learning a *lot* about how WB works.

Maybe that would be an option for you?  Take an existing Win10 skin that works, and start modifying it to look like the skin that you want?

Hi Jim;
I also went back and tried Acrylic 7, Corporate, Diamond, and they all have the same issue...

As far as trying to modify some of the skins, I'm confident that this is *way* beyond my artistic skills!! 
I really wish I could understand why this doesn't work for me, since it works for so many other people...

OTOH, I don't have *any* performance issues with WB10 on my Win10 machine.  It is a dual-core MS Surface Tablet, which is a sort of lower-midrange machine, but there are *no* bottlenecks or excess CPU usage with any programs.

 

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Derell Licht
bobj420
Join Date 02/2021
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Reply #21 May 25, 2021 11:54:56 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting Derell Licht,
reply 14

Damn... I *love* Classic Start Menu, I hate losing it...

Sorry to reopen an old topic but not sure if you noticed it but the taskbar issue seems to have been resolved finally. I'm using Open-shell now with the latest version & the taskbar is working fine. Personally I hated using Start10, complete garbage compared. (Sorry Stardock. I've been a fan since the early 2000s & Objectbar was a personal favorite back in those days but Start10 needs some major work.)

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Derell Licht
basj
Join Date 03/2001
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Reply #22 May 26, 2021 2:29:02 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting bobj420,
reply 21

Sorry to reopen an old topic but not sure if you noticed it but the taskbar issue seems to have been resolved finally. I'm using Open-shell now with the latest version & the taskbar is working fine. Personally I hated using Start10, complete garbage compared. (Sorry Stardock. I've been a fan since the early 2000s & Objectbar was a personal favorite back in those days but Start10 needs some major work.)

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. But, I don't issues on Start10 on my system. What issue were you talking about?

Thanks
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Derell Licht
bobj420
Join Date 02/2021
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Reply #23 May 26, 2021 3:21:18 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting basj,
reply 22


Quoting bobj420,
reply 21

Sorry to reopen an old topic but not sure if you noticed it but the taskbar issue seems to have been resolved finally. I'm using Open-shell now with the latest version & the taskbar is working fine. Personally I hated using Start10, complete garbage compared. (Sorry Stardock. I've been a fan since the early 2000s & Objectbar was a personal favorite back in those days but Start10 needs some major work.)



Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. But, I don't issues on Start10 on my system. What issue were you talking about?

Thanks
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Not really an issue more than it's just a poorly designed piece of software. Bad interface & lack of customization (strange since this is all about customization). Look at Open-Shell, there are tons of areas that can be customized. I'd say the interface isn't a great option for "beginners" but in Start10s case it's just plain & lacking. If it's about "keeping it simple", that's fine, but adding an advanced area for advanced users would be a great step forward.

A great example is the start button. Open-Shell allows for overflow or whatever you want to call it, Start10 doesn't, which when used with WindowBlinds just doesn't even make sense. Also, start button sizing, I can't find anywhere in Start10 to change the size.

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Derell Licht
Derell Licht
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #24 May 26, 2021 9:57:13 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Yes!! I probably should have come back here and updated this thread.
The current version of Open-Shell has resolved this conflict, and now works pretty well with Windowblinds.
I was grateful that the (volunteer) maintainers of that program took the time to look into the issue.

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Derell Licht
Neil Banfield
Join Date 04/2001
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Reply #25 May 26, 2021 10:09:50 AM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums

Quoting Derell Licht,
reply 24

Yes!! I probably should have come back here and updated this thread.
The current version of Open-Shell has resolved this conflict, and now works pretty well with Windowblinds.
I was grateful that the (volunteer) maintainers of that program took the time to look into the issue.

It is worth noting the most recent WB update also addressed this with a workaround for the issue their side.

So you are covered both ends.

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