Troubleshooting Frosted Window Effects in Windows 10: A User’s Guide

Have you recently encountered a peculiar frosted appearance on your computer windows? If so, you’re not alone. Over the past month, many users have reported experiencing this unusual graphical glitch on their screens, particularly with applications like Epic Games Launcher, IntelliJ, and Visual Studio Code.

What’s Going On?

The frosted effect seems to manifest intermittently, often disappearing when you hover your mouse over the affected areas but returning when the window is left idle. If you’re using a Windows 10 system with a GTX 1060 graphics card and running the latest drivers, this problem might sound familiar to you.

Here’s an example of the visual issue encountered: .

Insights from the Community

After investigating, I found a potential root cause diagnosed by fellow users on Stack Overflow. The issue seems to be linked to the Electron framework used by some applications. This framework is beloved for its ability to create cross-platform desktop apps but can sometimes introduce graphical anomalies.

You can explore the details further in this Stack Overflow thread.

Solutions That Work

The pivotal breakthrough came when I decided to disable hardware acceleration in Visual Studio Code, a recommendation found in the aforementioned thread. This adjustment not only resolved the issue in VS Code but also alleviated the frosted display effect in other affected programs.

To disable hardware acceleration in Visual Studio Code, follow these steps:

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Navigate to File > Preferences > Settings.
3. Search for “hardware acceleration”.
4. Uncheck the box that enables hardware acceleration.
5. Restart the application.

By making this small change, you may find a significant improvement in your user experience.

Conclusion

If you’re encountering a similar visual glitch on your Windows 10 system, know that you’re not alone, and there are solutions available. Disabling hardware acceleration in problematic applications like VS Code has proven effective for many users. If you’ve faced this issue, I’d love to hear your experiences and any tips you might have found helpful!