Application stuck minimized in taskbar, tried the obvious

[shedlord]

Hi,

I am testing a CRM package we use called Achiever on a Vista PC and am running into a strange problem. If I minimize the program window it goes into the taskbar, but clicking on this minimized taskbar item does not maximize the program. If I right-click it, the only options that are not greyed out are 'Restore', 'Maximize' and 'Close', but clicking on any of these does nothing (except produce a PING noise!). This does not happen with other programs.

I've scoured the net for suggestions on how to deal with it. Tried all the keyboard shortcuts for restoring or moving windows (it is definitely not hiding off-screen). Using the quick launch 'switch between windows' or 'alt+tab' then selecting the program gives me the same PING.

Problem I have is that the company who make the software don't support it on Vista and we aren't in a position to upgrade to their newer offering at the moment. As far as I can see, everything else works as it should, so this silly glitch is doubly annoying.

So, anything else I could try for this wierd Vista problem?

thanks

 

[TonHu]

Set the compatiblity option on the short to Windowx XP (assuming that is supported by the supplier).

HTH
TonHu

 

[linney]

How to troubleshoot a program that does not run as expected after it is installed on Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931362/en-us

Make older programs run in this version of Windows

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/bf416877-c83f-4476-a3da-8ec98dcf5f101033.mspx

 

[shedlord]

Tonhu - Yes, tried that one, no luck

Linney - From those, have tried turning Aero off, Vista Upgrade Advisor (waste of time there) & Safe Mode so far with no luck. The program won't even start in safe mode or safe mode with networking (not seen that before).

I'll try the remove/reinstall method later. Bit of a pain to completely remove this program. Had to do it a few times on XP and it involves a long trawl through the registry deleting lots of entries to fully get rid of it. It doesn't appear in Add/Remove (or the programs list in Vista) so it's all good character-building old school manual stuff!

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[TonHu]

You should be able to run it virtualized, either in it's own complete virtual PC (VPC or VMWare running an older version of Windows come to mind) or in an app container like VMWare ThinApp or MS SoftGrid, that allows you to set the specific needs (read: requirements) for Achiever.

HTH
TonHu

 

[jdemmi]

Having you tried running it "AS ADMINISTRATOR"? (via the right click RUN AS ADIMINISTRATOR option?

-- Jason
"It's Just Ones and Zeros

 

[eyec]

i have stayed away from Vista, but can you use the Alt Tab to switch to the program and have it maximize?

 

[sggaunt]

Alt tab does work on in Vista, I have somtimes had applications stay minimised after a UAC event, Alt tab get em back.


Steve: N.M.N.F.
If something is popular, it must be wrong: Mark Twain

 

[shedlord]

jdemmi - Yup, have been running it 'as administrator' from the off. no luck.

eyec & sggaunt - That was one of the keyboard shortcuts I tried. Just gets me a 'PING!' for this app, fine when selecting others.

eyec - would love to stay with XP but I understand the deadline for vendors to provide XP Pro downgrade on new PCs is July 31, 2009. Unless this is extended further, any new computer I buy in for the company after then will have to be Vista (or Windows 7).

TonHu - I wouldn't know where to start with VMWare ThinApp or MS SoftGrid. ThinApp looks interesting but expensive, and I can't work out if Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 (the Softgrid replacement) is paid or free? I suppose running VirtualPC may work - depends if that allows mapping shared drives and communication with a SQL Server (both required). Been a while since I looked at VirtualPC, I recall it being a bit clunky. Think it would be pretty confusing to the staff here to use this.

 

[shedlord]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the suggestions so far BTW.

I had a reply from the company who made the software...
"Some installations experience this issue when running in Vista, however you can get the screen back by opening the Task Manager and selecting 'Achiever CRM' and pressing the 'Switch To' button."

Tried this and yes it does work.

So, my next question, is it possible to automate opening task manager, selecting a specific program, clicking "switch to" then closing task manager? Would be good if I could put this all behind one desktop button.

 

[shedlord]

Scratch that question.

More feedback from the makers solves the problem. It involves removing a redundant file (AchieverCS.exe from the 'achiever\start up' folder, in case anyone using an older version of this particular system is reading - keep a back-up copy of the file obviously, in case it breaks yours!).

Thanks for the feedback folks!