Top bar disappearing in apps/programs

Hey there,

Lately, I’ve been dealing with this super annoying glitch where the top bar of my windows just... disappears mid-task! Like, I'll be working in Microsoft 365 or browsing on Google Chrome, and suddenly the top edge is gone. Same thing happens if I open File Explorer—it either turns into a black bar or some weird overlay, and then nothing responds. If I try clicking where the title bar should be, it’s like I’m clicking "outside" the window, so it just minimizes or totally freezes up. A quick reboot usually fixes it, but today? No luck at all. Even after a full restart, I open File Explorer and it’s the same mess. I tried running CleanMyMac, but no dice—and Norton isn't finding any threats either.
For context, I'm using an old HP ProBook G2 that's about 5.5 years old. It's running Windows 10 with original Microsoft 365, an i5 processor, 12 GB of RAM, but no SSD.
I honestly have no clue what's going on, but since this is my work laptop, it's making it impossible to get anything done!
Here’s a look at what’s happening:
https://ibb.co/BzR6t2t
https://ibb.co/M1fBm1R

https://ibb.co/tLXP1Mf

Any ideas on what I should try next to fix this?
Thanks!

Have you tried messing with the resolution or the refresh rate on your graphics card yet? Or maybe just nuking the video driver and doing a clean reinstall?

just mash shift+ctrl+command+B all at once and see if that edge pops back up

Jack Cook7 said:Have you tried messing with the resolution or the refresh rate on your graphics card yet? Or maybe just nuking the video driver and doing a clean reinstall?

Not yet! I'll definitely give that a shot next time—things are running smoothly today, but I know this glitch will be back to haunt me eventually. Honestly, I'm wondering if it could be some weird RAM issue...

Bryan Rivera83 said:just mash shift+ctrl+command+B all at once and see if that edge pops back up

Got it—I'll give that a shot if it pops up again.

Christian Perez5 said:Got it—I'll give that a shot if it pops up again.

Using shift+ctrl+windows+B basically just resets the DWM service (the desktop window manager).

https://superuser.com/questions/1127...-do-in-windows
According to a chat with an AMD Radeon driver engineer, this doesn't actually restart the graphics driver itself. It seems to just ditch the desktop surface buffer and force DWM to recreate the allocation—which is why on a working system, your screen just flashes black for a second.

So, the effect is kind of like restarting the whole machine, but without the actual reboot—you're just refreshing the video buffer. Honestly? This isn't gonna be a permanent fix for your problem.

Jack Cook7 said:Using shift+ctrl+windows+B basically just resets the DWM service (the desktop window manager).

https://superuser.com/questions/1127...-do-in-windows
According to a chat with an AMD Radeon driver engineer, this doesn't actually restart the graphics driver itself. It seems to just ditch the desktop surface buffer and force DWM to recreate the allocation—which is why on a working system, your screen just flashes black for a second.

So, the effect is kind of like restarting the whole machine, but without the actual reboot—you're just refreshing the video buffer. Honestly? This isn't gonna be a permanent fix for your problem.

That’s true, but upgrading your graphics card definitely will.