Fix missing title bar, minimize, maximize and close buttons

missing title bar, minimize, maximize and close buttons

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The Title Bar also contains the Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons. However, sometimes a failure can prevent the Header Bar, Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons from appearing in Explorer, in a built-in tool, or in an installed program. This error is caused by a number of factors, such as corruption of certain system files, errors in the user profile created on the DOMAIN network, etc.

The Windows user interface has changed over the years, but the “minimize”, “maximize” and “close” buttons are present in all versions of Windows. They are one of the most important aspects of any Windows user interface. But what happens if these buttons disappear?

What if Windows 10 is missing the title bar, minimize, maximize, and close buttons?

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In case you don’t know it, the title bar contains the maximize, minimize, and close buttons. However, there are times when you notice that the Title Bar, Maximize, Minimize, and Close buttons are missing from the File Explorer. These kinds of problems can be caused by a bug in your computer, or by a tool or firmware installed on your computer. In addition, there are other factors to consider, such as corrupted system files, and errors in the user profile created in the domain network, etc.

There are several suggestions that you can check to solve the problem. You can try running your computer in a clean boot state to see if a third-party program is causing the problem. You can also try using built-in tools such as System File Checker and DISM tool.

You can also clear the video buffer, reset or reinstall the program, or recreate the user profile.

The Windows interface is easy to use, but sometimes there can be some problems.
Regarding interface issues, users have reported the following problems:

Close, Minimize, Maximize missing buttons Firefox, Chrome, Excel, Internet Explorer: This problem can sometimes occur in various applications such as Firefox, Chrome, and many others. To fix it, open the corresponding application and reset its default settings.

The disappearance of minimizing and close buttons: Several users have reported the disappearance of minimizing and close buttons on their computers. To solve this problem, you should try some of our solutions.

Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons don’t work: In some cases, the Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons don’t work at all. This is most likely due to a corrupted user profile, so you may need to create a new user profile.

What to do if the minimize/maximize/close buttons are missing?



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What to do if the minimize maximize close buttons are missing

Restart the desktop window manager

1.) Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch the Task Manager.
2.) When the Task Manager opens, find the Windows Desktop Manager, right-click on it, and select Finish Task.

end task
3.) The process will now restart and the buttons should reappear.

The reason why the Minimize, Maximize and Close buttons disappeared is probably due to a bug in dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager), and resetting that process should solve the problem.

But before I tell you about the solution, let’s talk a little bit about the Desktop Window Manager itself. Windows Desktop Window Manager is a file integrated into your system that manages visual effects in Windows operating systems.

For example, this process allows you to make the Start menu transparent, as well as manage the Aero environment in previous versions of Windows. It also manages other UI elements, such as our missing buttons.

So, a failure to start this process can cause several visual problems, and the disappearance of the Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons is just one of them.

Now that you know which service is causing the problem, just restart it and the Minimize, Maximize and Close buttons should reappear as usual.

Back to the senior drivers

1.) Press Windows + X to open the Win + X menu and select Device Manager from the list.

device manager
2.) Find your video card in Device Manager and double-click it to open its properties.

Find your video card in Device Manager
3.) Go to the Drivers tab and click Reset Driver.

Depending on the user, a problematic video card driver can sometimes be the cause of this problem. If this is the case, we recommend returning to an older version of the video card driver.

Please note that the “Roll Back Driver” option is not always available. If this option is not available, you should try to uninstall the driver and use the default driver instead.

There are several ways to do this, but the best way is to use the Display Driver uninstaller. If the default drivers don’t work, you can also try updating your video card driver and see if that helps.

Make sure that you are using the standard Windows theme

1.) Right-click on your desktop and select Configure.
2.) The Settings app should now appear. In the left pane, go to the themes section. In the right pane, select one of the default themes, such as Windows or Windows 10.

Many users like to customize Windows with custom themes, but some themes may not be fully compatible with Windows 10. As a result, the minimize, maximize, and close buttons may disappear from Windows.

This can be an annoying problem that can disrupt your experience.
To fix this, it is recommended that you return to the default theme in Windows 10.

After that, Windows 10 will return to the default theme and the problem should be solved.

Removing problematic third-party apps

There are many great third-party apps that you can use to customize the look of Windows 10. These apps can be used to add various features and improve the look of Windows 10. However, some third-party apps may cause you some problems. If the “Minimize”, “Maximize” and “Close” buttons are missing, the problem may be caused by a third-party app.

To resolve the problem, be sure to remove any applications that allow you to change the appearance and functionality of the user interface. To make sure that the problematic application is completely uninstalled, we recommend using uninstallation software.

These types of applications are very useful because they remove both the desired application and all the files and registry entries associated with it.

Make sure that you are not using tablet mode

1.) Open the Action Center by clicking its icon on the taskbar. You can also quickly open it by pressing the Windows + A key combination.
2.) Now find the Tablet Mode option and click on it to turn it off. If Tablet Mode is not available, first click the Expand button to display the Tablet Mode option.

Windows 10 is optimized for touchscreen devices, so it has a special tablet mode that mimics the look and feel of a tablet interface. In tablet mode, the “minimize”, “maximize” and “close” buttons are not available for universal apps.

If these buttons are missing, you must disable tablet mode. The problem should then be corrected and the buttons should reappear.

Check the app settings

Many users report that some apps are missing the “minimize”, “maximize”, and “close” buttons. This is usually due to the app’s settings.

Many apps allow you to customize their user interface, and sometimes you may accidentally hide the title bar or these buttons.

If this problem occurs only in certain applications, open the application in question and change the user interface settings to their default values. After that, the problem should be completely solved.

Changing the configuration of your video card

Your video card comes with its own configuration software which allows you to change various features.

According to users, this problem usually occurs with AMD graphics cards and is related to the Catalyst Control Center. According to the users, their video card was configured to run in the “high performance” mode in the Catalyst Control Center, which caused this error.

To solve the problem, you need to change the mode of the Catalyst Control Center from “high performance” to “standard performance“. After that, the problem should be completely solved.

The “Dual Graphics” option can also be problematic. This option forces your PC to use dedicated and integrated graphics at the same time. Therefore, you may encounter some problems, such as missing buttons.

Switch the project mode to advanced mode

1.) Press the Windows + P button to open the project window.
2.) A list of projects appears. Select Advanced in the list and the problem is solved.

If you are using the dual monitor setup, you can switch between project modes. If the normal buttons are missing, you can solve the problem by simply switching to Advanced Project mode.



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Frequently Asked Questions

The minimize, maximize, move, resize, and close buttons are also called control buttons or hidden control buttons. Control buttons appear in the upper right corner of any window or other application, and hidden control buttons can be seen by right-clicking on the title bar of a window or application.

All Windows 10 apps and most desktop apps display Minimize and Maximize buttons in the upper right corner of the window title bar, next to the X button used to close apps. The Minimize button is the label button on the left, and its icon shows an underscore symbol.

FIX: The Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons are missing from Google Chrome. The problem of missing buttons in the Google Chrome browser is usually caused by installing a different theme (particularly the Dark theme), so I suspect it's a bug in Google's theme settings.

If you right-click on the taskbar and select "Show App Icons," you'll see that your apps are minimized. If we want to minimize them in the taskbar and then bring them back, we need to Right-click on the taskbar > click on "Show Taskbar" > click on the minimized thing.