XP home task switching problem; caused by focus stealing?

Question

When using Alt-Tab to switch tasks, the menu exits after about a second and the task has not been switched To restate: I hold down Alt, press and release tab, and though I'm still holding down Alt, the menu displaying the other programs closes after a second as though I've pressed the escape key. I've tried posting this over on the CNet forums ( http://forums.cnet.com/5208-4_102-0.html?forumID=5&threadID=279851&messageID=2678850#2678850 ) Here's what I've got so far: a) some programs can steal your focus, which could cause this symptom. b) I've run about 6 of the most prominent adware and rootkit detectors and come up with nothing, so please don't make me try that again. c) I've installed Process Explorer (by Sysinternals), but can't find any obviously malicious processes. I think that something is affecting the way windows handles task switching, but I don't know how to diagnose it. So, basic question: What is the windows service that handles Task Switching, and how to I figure out if it's behaving correctly?

mombodog · Answer

Tweak UI from microsoft has a setting to prevent focus stealing.   http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

woodm5 · Answer

Thanks mombodog, I've installed tweakui and enabled the option to prevent focus stealing. Yet the problem remains unaffected.

I'm guessing this means that it is not caused by focus stealing. Is there another theory that would explain these symptoms? What should I try next?

Windows General

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