Very often while i'm playing BGII on windows 8 the desktop sidebar where the search function is will flash for a few seconds, it's like the game is briefly minimized to the desktop as the sidebar is being invoked somehow.


I've tried to force it to happen but i can't figure out what causes it, it happens at least once an hour.

Any clue what's happening here, or how i can disallow it from being able to happen at least?

This never happened to me with temple of elemental evil which i was just playing for a week, nor from a few hours of neverwinter nights II, so it seems like something peculiar to baldurs gate II.

It's not a BG thing, it's a Windows thing -- the way that the sidebar, or gadgets in it, take away focus from the game you are playing (often when they are checking for updates etc.) I don't have Windows 8, so don't know if the sidebar can be disabled/quit, but you *really* don't need it while playing games.

i installed classic shell and turned off the hot corners but it's still happening - and only in BGII

very weird and frustrating.

no clue how this could continue to happen with hot corners disabled in the registry...

turns out this was due to a setting in my trackpad drivers, so it's solved