It can be quite annoying when you hover over an icon on your taskbar and the thumbnail preview pops up just for a moment before vanishing. Thumbnail previews are useful because they give a sneak peek into your open windows without having to switch to them. If you’re experiencing this issue on Windows 11, here are the top five fixes to get your thumbnail previews functioning properly again.

1. Adjust Performance Settings

– Right-click on ‘Start’ and select ‘System’.

– Click on ‘About’ and then ‘Advanced system settings’ on the right pane.

– Under ‘Performance’, click on ‘Settings’.

– Choose ‘Adjust for best appearance’ or manually check ‘Save taskbar thumbnail previews’.

– Apply the changes and check if the problem persists.

2. Edit the Registry for Longer Display Times

– Press Win+R, type `regedit`, and hit Enter.

– Navigate to `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced`.

– Right-click in the right pane, select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it `ExtendedUIHoverTime`.

– Double-click the new value and set it to the time in milliseconds you want the preview to stay visible (e.g., 5000 ms for 5 seconds).

– Restart your computer to apply changes.

3. Update Graphics Drivers

– Press Win+X and select ‘Device Manager’.

– Expand ‘Display adapters’, right-click your graphics card and choose ‘Update driver’.

– Select ‘Search automatically for drivers’ and follow through with any updates.

– Reboot your PC after updating.

4. Troubleshoot via Command Prompt

– Right-click on Start, select ‘Windows Terminal (Admin)’.

– Type `sfc /scannow` and press Enter. This will scan your system for any issues and attempt repairs.

– If issues were found, follow up with `DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth`.

5. Reset Taskbar Settings via PowerShell

– Right-click on Start and choose ‘Windows Terminal (Admin)’.

– Type `Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}`.

– Hit Enter to execute, which will re-register taskbar applications.

– Restart your PC.

By trying out these top five tricks, you should be able to restore the thumbnail previews to their regular behavior in Windows 11, enhancing your multitasking workflow without interruption. Remember that some methods involve advanced steps such as registry editing, so always back up important data before making system changes.