Every time I attend a Webex meeting, after only a few minutes in, Windows determines that my performance is too low and disables Aero. This is not an issue with Webex. It's an issue with Windows determining that I do not have enough resources.
I have plenty of resources: 8GB of RAM and my CPU usage never rises above 30%. I'm less concerned about how Windows determines whether I have enough resources and more concerned about how to stop Windows from doing that. If I determine that my machine doesn't have enough resources, I will disable Aero.
Is there a way to prevent Windows from disabling Aero based on available resources? I know that Aero gets disabled when an Aero-incompatible program runs, but that's not the issue in this case. I've checked Power Options, but none of those settings apply. Thanks.
Update
Joe Internet makes a good point about GPU resources. I have 512MB of dedicated video memory, which is well beyond the Aero hardware requirements.
Best Answer
Jordan, what model of graphics card are you using, and what version(s) of the drivers have you been on while the problem has been happening?
The design of this site is such that I can't leave any information unless I provide it in the answer box as I don't have 50 reputation yet, but I'm having a similar problem with a VERY powerful system.
I don't remember the disabling happening for the first year or so I had the PC, which equates to two things in my mind, I hadn't added the 2nd graphics card then, and ATi's drivers were...less mature (not that that's a good thing). I haven't changed anything else about my system in that time, other than updates to common software products.
Specs that matter:
I've checked CPU-Z, Hardware Monitor, CoreTemp my voltages and temperatures are near spot on...even my Corsair 750 Professional Gold isn't as close to perfect at load. I want this to be completely software related so badly, but considering I can't reproduce it on a notebook with considerably less power in EVERY way, I'm starting to think it's possibly related to a hardware configuration.
On the software side of things, I'm used to Aero disabling for games/programs that call the service to stop, then re-enable it after. I'm having problems with Aero disabling itself while using something as simple as Mozilla Firefox or VLC video player, which have had no issues in the past.
Drivers, CCC software, all up to date, I've tried with both Windows and ATi software set for both full eye candy and full performance, and I'm getting the same errors. It's odd that I can run a game like Metro 2033 at 5760x1080 with no artifacts, glitches, with Aero still on in the background, then I open one Firefox window or VLC window, and that dreaded yellow exclamation point comes up and I lose Aero immediately.
One thing I found very helpful in my quest to fix this annoyance is this little tidbit. Open your registry, find the following location (you create the Restart Aero and Command folder).
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\Restart Aero\CommandCreate a new string in the Command folder, and leave it named (Default), then under Data, type the following:
CMD /C NET STOP UXSMS & NET START UXSMSThat adds the option to Restart Aero to the right click context menu when you're on the desktop. So now instead of opening up a CMD window to re-enable it, you can just right click and click. I created an executable file that just runs the same command as well, but I find this to work even better.
Hopefully this satisfies the answer portion in some way!