Windows start flickering erratically when a skin is applied

from Stardock Forums

When I apply any skin, all open windows (especially explorer) start rapidly flickering as if they were getting closed and open repeatedly.

While the flashing happens all affected windows become unusable (clicking anywehre in them does nothing), sometimes clicking into the window makes the flickering go away for a while.

Although i have WinAreo tweaker and explorer patrcher installed, these are compatible with WB as I tried them in a VM running the same version of windows as i use where they work fine.

I think this might be an issue with Intel's and/or Nvidia's drivers as i got similar flickering issues after installing geforce experince (along with few other things).
FYI: I did install all recommended/updated drivers

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CPU: Intel Core I5 13500H
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics + Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 laptop
Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861

windowblinds bug glitch issue compatibility visual bug
9,207 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Please try purge and reinstall steps as mention here : [Link]. Just make sure to redownload the latest version from your account page. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall and reboot again after the installation. Retest and report back here.

Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

UPDATE: Removing explorer patcher made things more stable (games dont flicker) but WB still doesnt work, but it took longer to start flickering than before,.

Combination of explorer patcher and WB worked well when i was testing it in a VM.

Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

UPDATE 2: Installed win 11 and WB on my old PC and it runs fine. Looks like that Intel's or Nvidia's drivers are the cause of the issue.

Also the flickering when having a game (Direct 3D or opengl) open is still present.

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting basj, reply 1

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Please try purge and reinstall steps as mention here : [Link]. Just make sure to redownload the latest version from your account page. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall and reboot again after the installation. Retest and report back here.

Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.
End of basj's quote


I did that and it didn't solve the issue.

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting rokepok244, reply 4

I did that and it didn't solve the issue.
End of rokepok244's quote

Great, thank you for reporting back. Next try cleanboot: https://forums.stardock.com/486023/windowblinds-support-faq#cleanboot

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Situation in a VM still is still different than on hardware. Different drivers and the like. Not comparable. 

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: So i followed basj's instricutions to create a new user and start windows in clean boot. It worked well actually. I was able to install and use WB even with explorer patchjher. The windiw flickering that occures in games also went away. I've done only very limited testing but i can immediatelly see the results. I even did a "full" boot  and no flashing happened.

TL;DR: I think i somehow corrupted my user settings or installed a program that causes all of these issues.

BUT... the flickering seems to only happen in games made with Unity and minecraft. It doesnt happen in Dying light and FNAF Security breach,.

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

(hopefully) LAT UPDATE: I've moved to the new user I've created to troubleshoot all those issues and everything's been working quite well so far. I'm quite confident that all of these issues and graphical  bugs were caused by some bad/corrputed setting in the user's profile.