• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 16:08
CET 22:08
KST 06:08
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT28Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book19Clem wins HomeStory Cup 289HomeStory Cup 28 - Info & Preview13Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info8
Community News
Weekly Cups (Feb 16-22): MaxPax doubles0Weekly Cups (Feb 9-15): herO doubles up2ACS replaced by "ASL Season Open" - Starts 21/0247LiuLi Cup: 2025 Grand Finals (Feb 10-16)46Weekly Cups (Feb 2-8): Classic, Solar, MaxPax win2
StarCraft 2
General
Terran AddOns placement How do you think the 5.0.15 balance patch (Oct 2025) for StarCraft II has affected the game? Nexon's StarCraft game could be FPS, led by UMS maker ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT Oliveira Would Have Returned If EWC Continued
Tourneys
PIG STY FESTIVAL 7.0! (19 Feb - 1 Mar) SEL Doubles (SC Evo Bimonthly) WardiTV Team League Season 10 RSL Season 4 announced for March-April The Dave Testa Open #11
Strategy
Custom Maps
Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026] Map Editor closed ?
External Content
Mutation # 514 Ulnar New Year The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 513 Attrition Warfare Mutation # 512 Overclocked
Brood War
General
TvZ is the most complete match up Soma Explains: JD's Unrelenting Aggro vs FlaSh BW General Discussion CasterMuse Youtube ACS replaced by "ASL Season Open" - Starts 21/02
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 1 [LIVE] [S:21] ASL Season Open Day 1
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers Zealot bombing is no longer popular?
Other Games
General Games
Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile Beyond All Reason New broswer game : STG-World
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
UK Politics Mega-thread US Politics Mega-thread YouTube Thread Mexico's Drug War Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion TL MMA Pick'em Pool 2013
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Laptop capable of using Photoshop Lightroom?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
YOUTUBE VIDEO
XenOsky
Unintentional protectionism…
Uldridge
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Inside the Communication of …
TrAiDoS
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1822 users

Slow Alt-Tabbing Speed (Back to SC2)

Forum Index > Tech Support
Post a Reply
1 2 3 Next All
furymonkey
Profile Joined December 2008
New Zealand1587 Posts
July 27 2010 10:27 GMT
#1
Anyone noticed the slow alt tabness with StarCraft 2 Retail? It takes me good old 15 seconds on a fast performance PC.

It used to be fine on Beta, where it only took a second max. Now everytime I alt tab to window, I need to wait good old 15 seconds staring at the black screen.

Anyone else has this problem? And has anyone found the cause or solution?
Leenock the Punisher
Redx
Profile Joined February 2010
Netherlands77 Posts
July 27 2010 10:57 GMT
#2
Normally maybe putting it on maxed windowed mode would work? Can't really recall if that was availible in SC2 but thought so

Hope that works!
We live our truest life when we are in dreams awake
StayPhrosty
Profile Joined August 2009
Canada406 Posts
July 27 2010 11:07 GMT
#3
cant say ive noticed a difference but i didnt exactly time it. are you sure you're not running anything in the background? have you returned your graphics settings to normal? (probably lowest settings all around for more competitive play, also dont forget to set sound quality to low for fastest performance)
To be is to do-Socrates To do is to be-Sartre Do Be Do Be Do-Sinatra
furymonkey
Profile Joined December 2008
New Zealand1587 Posts
July 27 2010 11:56 GMT
#4
Hey, thanks for the reply. I've asked my friends who are also playing, they also have the same problem. So apperently it isn't just me.

I also noticed if you start the application fresh, you can alt tab just fine. But once you entered a game, it will take ages to alt tab.

My grahpics setting are set to Ultra at the moment, maybe I will lower it to test it, but as stated before, Beta runs just fine for me.
Leenock the Punisher
AnodyneSea
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
Jamaica757 Posts
July 27 2010 12:12 GMT
#5
Hi, in phase 2 of beta i got a new computer and its insanely fast and i used to alt tab in and out instantly and then one day it wouldnt tab back in fast, another one of my friends also experienced this.. also brings up the drop window when i do it in game
Lost within the hope of freedom, not for control but in the light of our cause
opticalza
Profile Joined May 2010
New Zealand188 Posts
July 27 2010 12:15 GMT
#6
Yeah im noticing this too, on both my PC an laptop. Laptop is average, as you'd expect, but my PC runs the game on ultra np. In phase 1 and 2 i didn't have this issue. Seems to have popped up with release for me. Kind of frustrating, will look into what can be done.
vek
Profile Joined March 2010
Australia936 Posts
July 27 2010 12:53 GMT
#7
Heh well at least yours is just slow, my SC2 goes into "not responding" mode when I alt tab. Even had to reset my PC once cause I couldn't open task manager

Seems like something they could fix though because I never had issues in the beta.
RawrAnOcean
Profile Joined February 2006
United States359 Posts
July 27 2010 13:18 GMT
#8
I had the same problem in Phase 2. So I stopped alt tabbing and just use the laptop next to me. In phase 1 alt tab was less than a second, then phase 2 was around half a minute sometimes. Argh it was annoying.
disco
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Netherlands1667 Posts
July 27 2010 13:44 GMT
#9
It usually "hangs" when your ingame resolution is different from your desktop resolution. Try setting the game resolution to match your desktop and alt-tabbing speed should improve.
this game is a fucking jokie
ALPINA
Profile Joined May 2010
3791 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-07-27 13:57:44
July 27 2010 13:57 GMT
#10
For me also it's like 15 seconds to return to game, just horrible. On beta I played on exact same options and it look just 1 second..
You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity
buycheese
Profile Joined May 2010
12 Posts
July 27 2010 14:08 GMT
#11
my friends and i have noticed this too, and it has nothing to do with different in-game and desktop resolutions as someone else suggested. it's only mildly annoying at this point.
EppE
Profile Joined July 2010
United States221 Posts
July 27 2010 14:29 GMT
#12
Are you running in window or full screen mode? Mine use to do that until I set it to Windowed (Full Screen) and now it's fine.
hunter3
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
United States155 Posts
July 27 2010 19:11 GMT
#13
I can confirm this happened some time during phase 2, and that it didn't occur before. Top-end computer took like 30 seconds to tab back into the game. Fortunately it was a placement match, but I disabled alt-tabbing afterwards.
Takkara
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States2503 Posts
July 27 2010 19:15 GMT
#14
Do any of the people seeing this happen use video cards in CrossFire or SLI? I used to have this ALL the time when I used CrossFire/SLI.
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Redx
Profile Joined February 2010
Netherlands77 Posts
July 27 2010 19:47 GMT
#15
please see my first reply and try setting it to windows (fullscreen) mode. This should fix long alttab times.
We live our truest life when we are in dreams awake
snowbird
Profile Blog Joined October 2005
Germany2044 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-07-27 22:14:28
July 27 2010 22:13 GMT
#16
I'm having the same problem.

With a fresh start of the game alt-tab works instantly, but after some time it takes about 15 seconds.

Settings are on ultra, ingame resolution = desktop resolution.

Set to fullscreen (not windowed).

It's pretty annoying.
@riotsnowbird
Kegsta
Profile Joined June 2010
Australia17 Posts
July 27 2010 23:14 GMT
#17
Same problem here, are you guys using ATI cards? 3 of my friends on ATI get the same problem but 1 on Nvidia doesn't. After BFBC2 load times i wouldn't be surprised if its ATI causing it.

I was fine during the beta also.
Doesn't Look A Thing Like Jesus
snowbird
Profile Blog Joined October 2005
Germany2044 Posts
July 28 2010 09:14 GMT
#18
Yeah, I got an ATI Radeon 5770.

Win7 Pro x64.

Hopefully there'll be a fix soon.
@riotsnowbird
ALPINA
Profile Joined May 2010
3791 Posts
July 28 2010 09:19 GMT
#19
Me too ATI HD4890 with this problem.
You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity
GoDannY
Profile Joined August 2006
Germany442 Posts
July 28 2010 09:35 GMT
#20
On July 28 2010 18:19 Alpina wrote:
Me too ATI HD4890 with this problem.


same, same but not that big of deal, I tend not to tab out in game.
Team LifeStyle - it's more than a game
1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 5h 52m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
mouzHeroMarine 462
ProTech146
UpATreeSC 88
goblin 35
EmSc Tv 23
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 22220
ggaemo 89
NaDa 14
League of Legends
JimRising 0
Counter-Strike
pashabiceps3607
fl0m1797
Fnx 1594
Other Games
summit1g6538
Grubby3082
B2W.Neo783
Beastyqt649
byalli393
shahzam274
RotterdaM224
C9.Mang0209
Liquid`Hasu164
KnowMe149
ArmadaUGS116
ToD96
Trikslyr54
ViBE45
ZombieGrub36
Organizations
Counter-Strike
PGL219
StarCraft 2
EmSc Tv 23
EmSc2Tv 23
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota2517
• lizZardDota274
League of Legends
• TFBlade1245
Other Games
• imaqtpie901
• Shiphtur180
Upcoming Events
Korean StarCraft League
5h 52m
PiG Sty Festival
11h 52m
Reynor vs Clem
ShowTime vs SHIN
CranKy Ducklings
12h 52m
OSC
13h 52m
SC Evo Complete
16h 22m
DaveTesta Events
21h 7m
AI Arena Tournament
22h 52m
Replay Cast
1d 2h
PiG Sty Festival
1d 11h
Maru vs TBD
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 12h
[ Show More ]
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
1d 17h
Replay Cast
2 days
Wardi Open
2 days
Monday Night Weeklies
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
The PondCast
5 days
KCM Race Survival
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-02-26
LiuLi Cup: 2025 Grand Finals
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Acropolis #4 - TS5
Jeongseon Sooper Cup
Spring Cup 2026
WardiTV Winter 2026
PiG Sty Festival 7.0
Nations Cup 2026
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual
eXTREMESLAND 2025

Upcoming

[S:21] ASL SEASON OPEN 2nd Round
[S:21] ASL SEASON OPEN 2nd Round Qualifier
ASL Season 21: Qualifier #1
ASL Season 21: Qualifier #2
ASL Season 21
Acropolis #4 - TS6
Acropolis #4
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
FISSURE Playground #3
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.