Troubleshooting a Frosted Glass Effect on Windows Apps: A Quick Guide

Have you recently encountered a peculiar frosted glass effect on some applications in Windows 10? If so, you’re not alone. A user shared their experience with this issue, highlighting its impact on various programs, including the Epic Games launcher, IntelliJ, and Visual Studio Code. Let’s delve into the problem and explore potential solutions.

Identifying the Issue

For about a month, users have noticed a strange frosty overlay appearing on specific windows. This graphical glitch can be quite distracting and tends to manifest while using popular applications designed with the Electron framework. Interestingly, hovering the cursor over the affected areas temporarily alleviates the issue, but the frost-like effect returns once the application is idle.

Understanding the Cause

Upon further investigation, it seems that this frosted effect is associated with the Electron framework—an environment commonly used for building cross-platform desktop applications. A thread on Stack Overflow corroborates this idea, suggesting that users experiencing similar issues may be facing a known bug.

Steps to Resolve the Issue

While the source of the problem may be linked to the Electron framework, there is a potential fix that has proven successful for many users. Disabling hardware acceleration can often resolve graphical glitches like this one. Here’s how you can do it in Visual Studio Code:

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Go to Settings: You can access this by clicking on the gear icon in the lower-left corner or by pressing Ctrl + ,.
3. Search for “hardware acceleration.”
4. Disable Hardware Acceleration: Uncheck the box that says “Enable Hardware Acceleration.”
5. Restart the Application: Close and reopen Visual Studio Code for the changes to take effect.

After applying this fix, many users have reported that the frosted effect disappeared, not only in Visual Studio Code, but also in other affected applications.

Final Thoughts

If you’re experiencing similar visual anomalies on Windows 10, it may be worth trying the solution outlined above. Moreover, keeping an eye on updates from the developers of the Electron framework can also provide insight into permanent fixes for such issues. Have you encountered this problem? Share your experiences and any successful fixes you’ve come across in the comments below!