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ShellExperienceHost taking focus

Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 8:05 pm
by Eric Lund
Hello.
I am having problems with cues suddenly stopping and a warning coming up saying "Warning! SCS main window currently does not have focus. Left-click here to reset focus. [Active application: ShellExperienceHost]."
I have looked into disabling Shell Experience Host but am warned online that it cannot be disabled and will lead to a BSOD. Apparently it is also known for grabbing 100% of the CPU from time to time, so not ideal for running video playback!
Any ideas how to stop this app from crashing over the top of SCS?
Thanks.

P.S. I am running Win11 (though it also did it on Win10) and have tried on the latest and earlier versions of SCS.

Re: ShellExperienceHost taking focus

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2022 11:15 am
by Mike Daniell
I hadn't heard of "ShellExperienceHost" before and have certainly never come across this causing the lost focus warning. A Google search comes up with a few interesting links, including softwarekeep.com/help-center/what-is-the-windows-shell-experience-host-and-why-is-it-using-high-memory.

Re: ShellExperienceHost taking focus

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 11:49 pm
by Eric Lund
I think I've sorted it!
If anyone is hving the same problem, you can't disable Shell Experience Host as it is essential for Windows and will give you the BSOD apparently. Instead you have to install a third party app that keeps a window focused at all times.
I first tried Deskpins (as it's free) but didn't lilke it as it seems to have no UI and just sits there doing its own thing. I'd rather see something that lets me know what's going on! So I then tried Windows On Top (about $10) which works beautifully. Move the hand icon to the window you want to keep focused and drop it. That's it! No problem with SCS since.