Alt-tab out of SC2 problem

Soleron

United Kingdom1324 Posts

September 28 2011 14:17 GMT

When I alt-tab out of SC2 while waiting for a match or for a replay to load, other programs don't come up and my computer hangs on a black screen for minutes at a time. If that doesn't happen, the application I switch to (web browser) becomes incredibly slow and unreponsive (especially Flash video and adverts). It can't be a hardware issue though because this only lasts for 3-5 minutes and then is fine. SC2 isn't using much of the CPU or RAM during this point.

CPU: Core i7 2600K
RAM: 4GB DDR3-1600
Graphics: Radeon 6870
OS: Windows 7 64-bit

AnodyneSea

Jamaica757 Posts

September 28 2011 14:20 GMT

You have to play in Windowed (FULLSCREEN) mode to alt-tab.

Soleron

United Kingdom1324 Posts

September 28 2011 14:27 GMT

On September 28 2011 23:20 AnodyneSea wrote:
You have to play in Windowed (FULLSCREEN) mode to alt-tab.

Then I can't scroll to the side right?

suphomies

Singapore15 Posts

September 28 2011 14:30 GMT

On September 28 2011 23:27 Soleron wrote:

Show nested quote +

Then I can't scroll to the side right?

yes you can. even in windowed ( non full screen) u can confine the mouse under the settings. windowed full screen doesn't need you to do any extra settings though.

disco

Netherlands1667 Posts

September 28 2011 14:31 GMT

Yes you can, as long as the SC2 window has focus.

Perfect

United States322 Posts

September 28 2011 14:32 GMT

On September 28 2011 23:27 Soleron wrote:

Show nested quote +

Then I can't scroll to the side right?

No that is incorrect. Windowed (as long as its FULLSCREEN) will lock in place, taking the entire space of your monitor. It doesnt give you a windowed border either. I was skeptical of windowed mode because of prior experience as well but SC2 did it perfectly!

A friend of mine had the same problem as you. Every time he was in a game and i wanted a skype invite he would have to alt tab and the game would hang for 30 seconds. HE HATED it!

I told him about windowed mode! problem solved

GL HF

cerka

United States39 Posts

September 28 2011 14:42 GMT

Yes, but even though the fact that using windowed fullscreen mode is a potential work around, are we ignoring the true problem that he has from alt tabbing out of starcraft on such a nice machine? I know that I can alt tab out of sc2 on my laptop, (i5 2410m, nvidia gt 540m, 4 gigs ram) in full screen mode in under a second.

Perhaps you should look to make sure that you have the proper video drivers installed.

green.at

Austria1459 Posts

September 28 2011 14:50 GMT

i think its not a sc2 problem but a ati cards problem. just play windowed fullscreen, you'll never get a fix.

phiinix

United States1169 Posts

September 28 2011 23:55 GMT

Yea I've had this problem as far back as I can remember and there's been no fix. I somehow get way more lag when I play in windowed mode so I'm still playing on the buggy fullscreen and hope that nothing alt tabs me

FabledIntegral

United States9232 Posts

September 29 2011 00:20 GMT

#10

I always assumed this was related to RAM/HDD (or SSD). Hm, guess I'm wrong. All I know is with my SSD I can alt/tab at nearly the same speed as I would try to minimize an internet browser.

HellGreen

Denmark1146 Posts

September 29 2011 00:35 GMT

#11

I have 12GB of RAM and SSD. I have the exact same problem in "fullscreen" mode, whereas in "windowed fullscreen" mode it's not there. It's not as much a question about resources as it is the coding of SC2. Other games allow alt-tab just fine in fullscreen mode.

It's a known bug - there are loads of posts about it all around:
http://eu.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/1751858331?page=1
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=138948
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=194202
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=233975

^^ Seems there are work-arounds (like using the Win-key to exit into Windows), but no fixes. Updating drivers will not fix this :/