Windows 11 taskbar thumbnail preview slow at disappointing when minimizing the window

[speedygonzales9]

Hi,

I recently bought an HP OmniBook X Flip 16-ar0014ca Next Gen AI Laptop running Windows 11 Home. Whenever I minimize a window by hovering/clicking the app's icon on the Windows Taskbar (making sure that the window thumbnail preview displays,) the thumbnail preview doesn't smoothly disappear. Instead the window minimizes (smoothly) but the thumbnail preview does not disappear until about a second after. Here is a video capture to give an example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ySKDQNfTWLSz17EPBawuOnQsNY5_UopL/view?usp=sharing (I minimized Notepad twice in my video so it's easier to see the delay). On my previous laptop (a Dell laptop running Windows 10), it disappeared instantly when I minimized the window this way. Is this a possible bug in Windows 11? Can you also reproduce this on your own laptop running Windows 11? All my drivers are up to date on my HP laptop along with Windows 11. 

Thank you

[speedygonzales9]

I forgot to mention that other than this, my HP laptop runs very fast. Just to clarify, my BIOS is also up to date. 

[Jerry_57]

Hi @speedygonzales9,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

I hear that Windows 11 taskbar thumbnail preview is slow and disappointing when minimizing the window.

The issue can be reproduced on many laptops running Windows 11, including premium models like the HP OmniBook X.
 

While Microsoft has not released a direct patch for this, you can fix or minimize this annoyance using several system tweaks. 
 

1. The Immediate Workaround: Disable "Enable Peek":

If the lingering thumbnail bothers you, the most effective workaround is to disable the thumbnail preview pop-ups (Peek) entirely.
 

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
    
2. Type sysdm.cpl and hit Enter.
    
3. Navigate to the Advanced tab and click Settings under the Performance section.
    
4. Uncheck the box for Enable Peek (or Save taskbar thumbnail previews).
    
5. Click Apply, then OK, and restart your computer.
   
   (Note: Doing this replaces the pop-up thumbnails with a simple, instant text-list preview when you hover over taskbar icons).

2. Force Restart Windows Explorer:

Often, lingering preview bugs happen when the taskbar cache is running poorly. You can force it to reset without restarting your PC:
 

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
    
2. Under the Processes or Details tab, locate explorer.exe.
    
3. Right-click it and select End Task.
    
4. Your screen will flicker, and the taskbar will disappear. Then, go to the top of Task Manager, click File > Run new task, type explorer.exe, and hit Enter.

3. Adjusting Registry Hover Settings:

If you want to keep the thumbnail previews but change their behavior, you can increase the hover time so it doesn't accidentally trigger.
 

1. Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
    
2. Navigate to:
   
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
    
3. Look for the DWORD value ExtendedUIHoverTime. If it doesn’t exist, right-click in the empty space, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it.
    ExtendedUIHoverTime.
    
4. Double-click it and set the base to Decimal and the value to something higher (e.g., 5000 for 5 seconds).
    
5. Restart your computer. 

I hope this will help.

 

Take care and have a good day.

[speedygonzales9]

Hi Jerry, 

Thank you for confirming that this is happening on many laptops running Windows 11. About a year ago, I posted a problem on Microsoft's Feedback Hub about this: https://aka.ms/AAw0wn9 . According to Microsoft's comment on this post, this glitch got fixed but it still happens to me so I figured I would check with HP. 🙂

Thank you 

[Jerry_57]

Thank you for your response.

May I know if you have referred to the above steps?

[speedygonzales9]

Hi Jerry, 

I only tried to restart Windows Explorer though the Task Manager and this did not help. I am assuming that since this is still happening with other laptops (including premium models like the HP OmniBook X), it is still a bug in Windows 11. It is good to hear that other laptops running Windows 11 can reproduce this glitch. 

Thank you 

[Jerry_57]

Thank you for your response.
Kindly follow the steps below and check:

Registry cleanup:
 

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.

Delete or rename keys like ExtendedUIHoverTime, ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime, 

DisablePreviewWindow, TaskbarAnimations.

Restart Explorer or reboot.

Clear thumbnail cache:
 

Go to Settings → System → Storage → Temporary files.

Select Thumbnails and remove them.

Windows will rebuild the cache, sometimes improving responsiveness.

Disable animations:
 

Settings → Accessibility → Visual effects → Turn off “Animation effects.”

This reduces the delay but removes smooth transitions.

[speedygonzales9]

Hi Jerry, 

Thank you for your suggestions. These did not help either. Again, I posted in the HP Community to make sure that I am not the only user who has this problem. 

Thank you 

[Jerry_57]

Hi @speedygonzales9,
 

Thank you for your response.

We request that you wait for the new update from Microsoft.

[speedygonzales9]

Hi Jerry, 

Thank you for trying to solve this glitch in the meantime. I have left a comment on my post in the Feedback Hub to let them know this is still happening: https://aka.ms/AAw0wn9 . (You may need to sign into the Feedback Hub first using your Microsoft account to see my post/comment.) 

Thank you