My games keep minimizing every 4.5 to 5 minutes. It seems to have started, and i know this sounds strange but this is when it started, right after I installed the WW2 Flight Sim Heros Over Europe. Can someone please help as this affects all of my games and is annoying the heck outta me as my Asus laptop (Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU P6100 @ 2.00GHz (2055 MHz).... Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit...4 Gigs DDR3 RAM...640 Gigs 5400 RPM Hard drive) is my only gaming machine and this is making my games almost unplayable. Samuel Turpin

That reads like something is trying to grab focus, try changing the UAC settings in Control panel to see if the symptoms change. Also check your security software, they often have settings especially for fullscreen programs.

I changed the settings in Norton 360 (version 4.0) to allow for all my games. This did nothing. I then changed my UAC settings to the second lowest settings (Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer (do not dim the desktop). This seemed to work (for Modern Warfare 2 at least). I will test my other games out over time. Thanks a lot for what seems to be a working fix! But I have a question. Is there any way to find out what (program?/application?) was/is causing all my games to minimize?Samuel Turpin

It could be something as simple as a Messenger program and someone's logged in or changed their status; trial and error by temporarily disabling startup programs using MSConfig and modifying the behaviour of the Notification Area Icons are where I'd be looking.

It still seems to be doing it....... It took a 25 minute or so break and now is doing exactly the same thingSamuel Turpin

Tried IoBit Gamebooster's Gaming mode and Tuneup Utilities 2011's Turbo Mode. Both of which stop background programs to maximize performnce. These did nothing. It is not any type of messenger program as it happens even when I am not online, and it happens every 4-5 mins like clockwork. I'm gonna try screwing a little with MSconfig then restarting, but im not experianced with that so idk how much that's gonna doSamuel Turpin

I fried MSconfg with Diagnostic startup, and selective startup with load startup items unchecked. other than what I have already done i really don't know what to do. I dont think that it is a program or service. I'm thinking that somehow my system got messed up and is doing this as a result of that. I've been searching the web for over a week trying to find a solution for this and still have not. Samuel Turpin

Wait, if GameBooster didn't cure it temporarily, look to Scheduled Tasks or malware - and stop throwing random software at it ;) it might just make the problem worse or create other problems further down the line.

alright. there are some weird numbers there that look almost like registry codes to me ({FAD3669F-F731-4337-83A7-A405C2C15EA to1} is 1) that have author, location, or description. and the trigger is set as - trigger - "at task creation/modification" and description "when task is created/modified" and there r about 34 such tasks.Samuel Turpin

There should be a link somewhere to the tasks that have run in the last - 24 hours/dropdown/week/month, etc. check there first.

The process that seems to be causing the trouble (by checking how frequently it has run) is User Feed Synchronization. I have also found at least 1 other person with a very similar problem (http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/87153-user-feed-synchronization.html). so... I believe this particular t (from what i have read online) is somehow related to IE. I, although i have IE9 installed, hate its guts and use chrome instead. So I would be in no way sad if I lost IE just t terminate this task. So, is it something I can remove/stop without damaging/impairing the functionality of my system (and how do I remove it) and wouldthat mean i have to un-install IE9?Samuel Turpin

The process that seems to be causing the trouble (by checking how frequently it has run) is User Feed Synchronization. I have also found at least 1 other person with a very similar problem (http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/87153-user-feed-synchronization.html). so... I believe this particular t (from what i have read online) is somehow related to IE. I, although i have IE9 installed, hate its guts and use chrome instead. So I would be in no way sad if I lost IE just t terminate this task. So, is it something I can remove/stop without damaging/impairing the functionality of my system (and how do I remove it) and wouldthat mean i have to un-install IE9? Samuel Turpin and that is the process that was there 34 times that looked like registry codes (to me)Samuel Turpin

If it's triggered in the same way as Laura's in that post, I'd just disable the task from running at all.

alright. So, how do I end itSamuel Turpin

Hmm, right-click (My) Computer > Manage > System tools > Task scheduler > Task scheduler Library > (possibly under Internet Explorer) Microsoft > Windows > and look through the list, once you find it, highlight it, move to the middle pane, right click it and select disable. There must be e Registry edit for it also, I don't have it, or Vista, installed, so I can't be 100% on this. Once disabled, it should no longer run.

ok.... im sorry im being dumb about this... but either it isnt on win7 or im just stupid and cant find it... I dont see the task scheduler librarySamuel Turpin