why do my windows leave trails when I drag them?

A PC problem for the informed -

When I drag windows, sometimes they leave “trails” - a stuttering trail of the window as I drag it. This seems to be especially problematic when I’m using software-intensive programs like software synthesizers.

Why? Is this something interfering with something else? I don’t appear to have any IRQ conflicts, and all of my drivers are updated with the latest available drivers.

I have a 1.8 ghz P4 with a gig of RDram and an NVidia Geforce2Mx AGP video card.

If you have some processor-intensive applications running, sometimes the CPU is too busy to constantly update the screen, so there may be a lag between the time that the window is painted in its new location and the old image is erased. Is this what you’re seeing?

You didn’t say directly what operating system you are using.

In Win 98, go to Control Panel/Mouse/Motion to change the settings. It’s similar in XP.

Certain trojans and spyware will install themselves and run in the background, hiding what they are doing. Run AdAware and Spybot, and see if it clears up.

Did your computer take the brown acid?

This is what I’m talking about; I couldn’t think of a better way to phrase it than “trails.” To the other poster, I’m not talking about something as simple as a mouse tail or “wacky cursor.”

You can play around with it but all indicators seem that it is your video card. The rest of the system is pretty new but the video card was current over 4 years ago from what I have read. That would cause what your describe. Depending on what you use your computer for, you can get a new, very decent card for less than $125. That should fix the problem.

9 times out of 10 this turns out to be a problem with your video card or its drivers. Check the device manager for trouble with your card, there will be a yellow exclaimation point next to the device if there is a problem.

I thought for sure the title said “widows”. I was horrified.

Try turning off “Show Window Contents While Dragging”, if it isn’t already.

In WinXP: control panel - display - appearance - effects - uncheck the box.

You, sir, need to be slapped with a fish.

:: Slappity-slappity-slappity ::

:slight_smile: