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I have a two-monitor system (laptop with external screen) running XP. At (seemingly) random intervals, a window will pop up on my laptop screen. It is full-sized, but not maximized (I can move it around, but it covers the entire screen, including the task-bar). It is the exact color of my background (which is a solid color), and the title-bar has no text or buttons. It doesn't have a tab in the task-bar.

When it pops up, I can't destroy it, so I just push it off the screen, and ignore it until the next time that it pops up.

I don't know what process creates it, so I can't kill it from the task manager. Any help?

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    Your computer seems to be compromised. You should decide if you consider acceptable working on a compromised computer. In my case, I would inmediately stop doing anything until having a clean PC.
    – jap1968
    Feb 17, 2012 at 22:20

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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To do this, you can use Process Explorer.

When you start it, make sure to enable Show Details for All Processes:

Show Details for All Processes

Then you're going to want to drag & drop the crosshair icon onto your window in question.
Crosshair icon

Now the process that owns the window will be selected in the process list in Process Explorer.

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Does it show in task manager applications tab?

If it does, right click on it in task manager and select "go to process"

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  • Not that I can tell.
    – Brian Postow
    Feb 17, 2012 at 23:04
  • The asker says he doesn't know what process creates the window, so he doesn't know which one to kill. How is this answer helpful?
    – Agi Hammerthief
    Mar 9, 2014 at 11:58
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Alt+F4 often works on windows that otherwise can't be closed or interacted with. (It's the standard Windows shortcut for close application.)

This also works for windows that appear in the Alt-Tab list, but aren't visible when you Alt-Tab to them. I.e. When going through the Alt-Tab list the thumbnail and title appear, but when you try to Alt-Tab to that window nothing appears on screen.

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