656891 - Firefox intermittently enters a state where title bar, including caption buttons, fails to render (or renders entirely black)

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Core :: Widget: Win32, defect, P3)

Description

[Marco Bonardo [:mak]]

Attachment: screenshot

So, currently I have the top of my window completely messed up, the caption buttons (minimize, restore, close) disappeared, and the background doesn't redraw correctly.
I'm not sure about reproduceability, but this happened while I was testing a styling patch, and to do so I had to switch between Aero Glass, Aero Basic and Windows Classic themes multiple times.

The close button you see in the screenshot is really a wrongly not redrawn area, it's not real.

Notice that I've done the same kind of testing before but this is the first time this happens, I seem to recall there has been some recent change to caption buttons handling (but I could be wrong).

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:6.0a1) Gecko/20110512 Firefox/6.0a1

Comment 1

[Jim Mathies [:jimm]]

I've seen this too. It's impossible to reproduce reliably through theme switching afaict, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.

Comment 2

[Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy]]

I could not reproduce by switching between Aero Glass, Aero Basic and Window Classic a dozen times, but if someone can reproduce maybe we need to handle the theme changed windows message and invalidate everything to repaint or something similar.

WM_THEMECHANGED
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms632650(v=vs.85).aspx

Comment 3

[Nickolay_Ponomarev]

bug 645840 describes this issue as well, has some ideas as to how this could be related with window's mode (maximized/normal) in comments 4 and 7.

In bug 741073 this is also said to happen on Windows 7 when an application is run with the "Disable visual themes" compatibility option.

bug 716459 reports something similar happening sometimes when resuming from hibernation.

Comment 6

[alex_mayorga]

Is bug 724940 somehow related to this one?

Comment 7

[Roger Shaw]

Attachment: Title Bar rendering problem

When the Menu bar is NOT being displayed, the Window Title line (with the minimize, maximize, and Close (X) buttons) is also NOT displayed.  See attached .gif file

This problem has been observed in V9, V10, V11, V12, V13.  

Originally reported as bug 716459

Comment 8

[Roger Shaw]

Tonight this problem appeared again - under no known actions other than switching from one youtube video to another (all within the same tab).  after switching a few times, the window title bar went black, the only button present was the "Firefox" button.

I.e., it is apparently NOT tied to resuming form sleep or hibernate mode.

This is with V13.0.1

Comment 9

[Roger Shaw]

Problem still occurs in V14.

Comment 10

[Roger Shaw]

Attachment: SOS - loss of title/min/max/options

V14.0.1

Comment 11

[Roger Shaw]

Still occurs in V15.0

Comment 12

[Roger Shaw]

Still occurs in V15.0.1

Comment 13

[sam0t]

This issue keeps on happening almost every time I change display from monitor to projector and change display frequency for correct FPS rate for videos.

Comment 14

[sam0t]

(In reply to sam0t from comment #13)
> This issue keeps on happening almost every time I change display from
> monitor to projector and change display frequency for correct FPS rate for
> videos.

I created a new Firefox profile and restored the old profile data to it by using Mozbackup software, this seems to have fixed the Firefox top bar turning black for me.

Comment 15

[Roger Shaw]

Still occurs in V16.0.1

Comment 16

[Roger Shaw]

Still occurs in V16.0.2

Comment 17

[Nickolay_Ponomarev]

Roger: thanks for confirming your issue in bug 716459 is still a problem, but doing so
a) for every security update
b) in this bug, which is not obviously about the same issue as yours
..does not help fix the problem.

Figuring out what settings, actions, web content, and other software/hardware on the system makes this bug manifest will help.

Please post in bug 716459 (and reopen) or file a new bug when you have additional information.

Comment 18

[Roger Shaw]

I wish you would make up your mind!

Just doing what you people ask me to do...  on 2012-06-18 04:55:20 PDT in bug 716459 Andre Klapper told me "This bug is closed so commenting here does not make much sense. Please file a new ticket if bug 656891 does not cover your problem."

So I started reporting it here.

Comment 19

[sam0t]

It seems I have pinpointed - at least one - cause for this issue. I have few Firefox toolbar customization Add-ons installed (Tab Mix Plus 4.0.4 & Roomy Bookmarks Toolbar 1.3.8) and after I disable Roomy Bookmarks, I cannot reproduce this issue any longer. 

With Roomy Bookmarks add-on enabled, I can reproduce this issue by switching between my regular monitors and projector (with different resolution) and play backing some videos with MPC-HC (MadVR renderer).

Comment 20

[sam0t]

Scratch that, the bug takes place even with Roomy Bookmarks add-on disabled. 

*Edit would be nice.

Comment 21

[Tim Abraldes [:TimAbraldes] [:tabraldes]]

I've read through the comments in this bug and some other related bugs.  It seems that we have one issue (Firefox sometimes enters a state where the title bar, including caption buttons, fails to render or renders entirely black) and for that one issue we have many possible ways to reproduce (switching themes, maximizing/restoring, using remote desktop, navigating between videos on youtube, unplugging/re-plugging an AC adapter, and others), though no method seems to reproduce the issue 100% of the time.

I'm updating the title of this bug to reflect the problem that users are experiencing, and removing the reference to a particular method of reproducing the issue.  I'm also closing a handful of duplicates.

Comment 24

[moritzio_m]

I can clear the bug momentarily by switching themes, but then the Title Bar reverts to black after one second.

Comment 25

[moritzio_m]

Still there in Firefox 19.0.  Theme switch momentarily clears the bug, then it reverts to black after 1 second.  All three windows I have open are affected.

Comment 26

[moritzio_m]

I can still right-click on the caption bar and select minimize, restore, etc. form the pop-up menu, so have a workaround.  Think this behavior may be linked to playing movies full-screen in 3D on the HDTV.  Will try to verify.

Comment 27

[sam0t]

This bug definitely is related to Full screen video playback. I noticed that when Firefox tittle bar turn black after full screen video playback also at times Thunderbird tittle bar goes black as well.

Comment 28

[king]

"This bug definitely is related to Full screen video playback." <-- this got me thinking; and I think you are on the right track

I have a batch script that I use to make my taskbar thin since I have it placed vertically on the left side of my dual monitor setup (more efficient use of wide aspect ratio real-estate). The way it works is it tricks windows into thinking you are in a full-screen game mode (or full screen video playback) which makes the taskbar thin and hidden in the background for some reason.
Refer to articles: 
http://superuser.com/questions/181731/windows-7-taskbar-as-sidebar-minimum-width-fixed
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-desktop/when-vertical-cannot-make-taskbar-as-thin-as/9ecf0b1c-e66d-497c-8c2b-5ef3965e2b59

----------------------------

I think the issue with firefox and the title bar has to do with the "Desktop Window Manager Session Manager Service" (UxSms).
"UxSms which is responsible for the pretty window effects in Windows Vista and 7. The transparent windows and live taskbar thumbnail previews are some of what the UxSms service is responsible for."

*** I think UxSms might be the problem and the cure ***

Possible work around:
1. title bar goes black
2. kill firefox 
3. then run the batch script below
4. relaunch firefox
5. title bar restored

The only problem is that I also think that the batch script is related to the root cause; but like others I cannot reproduce the problem once I fix it.

The following batch script is what I use for the thin taskbar and should reproduce the problem nicely:
@echo off
net stop "UxSms"
net start "UxSms"

Comment 29

[itias]

Another way to reproduce the issue, and this works 100% of time for me, is to log in to Win7 remotely via RDP session - this changes the theme to non-Aero, and when back to the physical machine and logging in, the title bar goes black for Firefox and Thunderbird.

Comment 30

[zoby101]

Also reproduced on windows 8.1
As mentioned before with RDP: Open Firefox locally > Connect remotely with RDP > Login back locally
result: Firefox Bar is transparent and no minimize/maximize/close buttons

Comment 31

[ekerazha]

I confirm this bug with Firefox 26.0 on Windows 8.1 on multiple systems. All the affected systems use Intel graphics (I don't know if this issue could be Intel-related). Device drivers are up-to-date.

Comment 32

[ekerazha]

(In reply to sam0t from comment #27)
> This bug definitely is related to Full screen video playback.

I often encounter this bug (it's *extremely* annoying) and I never use full screen video playback. However, it usually happens when I resume my systems from standby.

Comment 33

[huyt34]

This is happening to me ( Title bar turns black ). Once this happens the min/max/close buttons are not showing and clicking on where they should be doesn't seem to work, but double clicking the bar to maximize still works. Weird thing is, I'm not even using hibernate/sleep anymore. It seems to happen just from my monitor going to sleep and waking up ( I have issues with sleep on my Dx58so board when overclocking so I no longer use sleep ).

Comment 39

[Martin Anderson]

I have this on Windows 8.1. When Thunderbird renders the max/min/close buttons appear and are then overwritten with black.
Interestingly If I open a sub-window e.g. for a new email then the buttons are fine.

Comment 40

[Martin Anderson]

This gets more intriguing. If I open Firefox directly the max/min/close buttons are all fine. If I open it from a URL in an email in Thunderbird then they are blatted over with a black rectangle just like Thunderbird. So something about the way Firefox is invoked from Thunderbird is causing this to happen. 
What is intriguing is that opening Thunderbird messages in new windows, writing messages and searching all open windows without the problem, moving an open tab to a new window (where it also shows the base tab) does cause the problem!! ?
I have no idea why, but I suspect that the above may give some clues to those more enlightened than me.

M

Comment 41

[sharewithravig]

Same here in Windows 8. It is mixing up the tab title with the background window title bar.

Comment 42

[Martin Anderson]

Another interesting wrinkle, I've noticed that each tab when selected (but not when moused over) has a square cutout at the top at each end. This may not be related, but it might give a clue.

Comment 43

[Jason Coleman]

(In reply to ekerazha from comment #32)
> screen video playback. However, it usually happens when I resume my systems
> from standby.

This is also what happens to me.  I cannot reproduce at will, but I can reproduce consistently.  I don't tend to restart Firefox very often, basically only once this starts happening, or an update comes through. But sooner or later, I get this transparency issue.  It happens across multiple systems, although I think they may all have Intel hardware. My main desktop has both Intel and a discreet ATI in it.  The issue persists across both once it happens, and I do not know if it originates on one particular display or another.  

I have also noticed opening a new window, the new window will not exhibit the problem even while existing ones show it, so one sort of workaround if I don't want to restart appears to be to just drag open tabs to a new window.

Comment 44

[Marcin Okraszewski]

I have the same issue (title bar transparent and no close/minimize buttons). It doesn't happen due to full-screen. It seem more that plug-unplug AC adapter is causing the issue. It looks like GPU changes something depending on the power source, as the whole screen blinks few seconds after changing source. Almost always I get the issue after that. 

Hardware: Dell Latitude E7440 Core i7-4600U, integrated HD 4400 graphics ; full HD
OS: Windows 7 Po EN x64

Comment 45

[ComputerSherpa]

Attachment: ghosts for Bug 656891

Comment 46

[ComputerSherpa]

I'm seeing this issue a lot ever since I upgraded to the Firefox 33 beta this morning. It's easy to reproduce just by opening and closing tabs. Switching to a different window makes all the junk in the title bar go away.

Comment 47

[topherg]

I'm also getting the same issue in V33 on Windows 8.1. The Title Bar has transparency issues with other Title Bars of other applications (including Eclipse, VLC, and TeamViewer) when the window is maximized, and goes completely black (just the Title Bar, except for the current Tab and the page Icons) when the window is normal.

Comment 48

[Marcin Okraszewski]

I've upgraded to 33b3 and still the problem happens.

Comment 49

[Sohail Choudhry]

I started noticed this issue first in v32. Now on v32.0.3 and it still happens. What I have noticed is that it happens after a very long use of firefox (i.e. without restarting it for a day or two). I normally use 10-15 tabs.

Recently I noticed it after closing a lot of YouTube video tabs. Then restored it from task bar after about 30 mins and the toolbar was transparent. In the meantime I was sharing my screen on Skype and Teamviewer. Teamviewer removes the wallpaper during screensharing. Could it be the cause?

System configuration

Intel i7 3610QM with Intel Graphics
Nvidia 650M
Windows 8.1 Pro with all the latest patches and updates
RAM 16GB

Again this started happening (for me) since v32.

Comment 50

[Marcin Okraszewski]

Seems I've stopped seeing the issue after upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1, Firefox 32. With Windows 8 I no longer see the whole screen blinks (full system, not FF related) that I was reporting previously and I was connecting the issue with.

Comment 51

[Marko Kohtala]

I upgraded from Firefox 32.0.x to 33 over TeamViewer. The Firefox 32 was already running when I connected. After upgrade to 33, I get the black browser windows with semitransparent blurred title bar and button areas. There is a white square at the right bottom corner of browser window. I am using Aero theme "Windows 7".

If I change theme to standard "Windows 7" without Aero, whole window including title areas turns black.

I get the menu visible when I click on the right lower corner of the transparent window title where the buttons usually are rendered. Browser Console and Settings windows are also black. If I press Ctrl-F, the white square at right bottom of browser window moves a bit up, and apparently makes space for the search bar since the search bar closes when I click the area where it usually renders the close button. But nothing is rendered.

I have done reboots. I have some 300km to the machine, so I had Firefox start while TeamViewer was disconnected (entered on command line 'ping -n 30 127.0.0.1 > nul & "\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"' for delayed start, disconnected and came back later) and the windows was black when I reconnected. This to verify there was no TeamViewer interference with display.

Machine info (sorry for Finnish localization) from system information (Select relevant rows with clicking rows Ctrl held down, then Ctrl-C for copy to clipboard):

Käyttöjärjestelmän nimi	Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Versio	6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Koontikäännös 7601
Järjestelmän toimittaja	SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Järjestelmän malli	300V3A/300V4A/300V5A
Järjestelmän tyyppi	x64-based PC
Suoritin	Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2630QM CPU @ 2.00GHz, 2001 Mhz, 4 ydin(tä), 8 loogista suoritinta
BIOS-versio/päiväys	Phoenix Technologies Ltd. 03FI, 27.7.2011
Asennettu fyysinen muisti (RAM)	6,00 Gt
Fyysistä muistia vapaana	3,74 Gt

But while writing this, I got it resolved!

I found Windows Update had an old nVidia driver update available. I upgraded the nVidia drivers and the window now renders again. Here are the working driver versions from system information:

Nimi	Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
PNP-tunnus	PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0116&SUBSYS_C0B6144D&REV_09\3&11583659&0&10
Ohjaimen versio	8.15.10.2266
Nimi	NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX
PNP-tunnus	PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1051&SUBSYS_C0B6144D&REV_A1\4&1A4EA784&0&0008
Ohjaimen versio	9.18.13.2702

The previous driver version was 9.18.13.0697 (I had not recorded the version prior upgrade, this is the previous version found in C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\).

Comment 52

[WBT]

Attachment: Transparent title bar -semitransparent white around titles when active.PNG

I'm also seeing this issue recently, including now (see attached screenshot).
The attached screenshot is taken from the current window.  Minimize, maximize, and close buttons are all missing, and the rest of the title bar is completely transparent (I had to hold this up against a blue background).  There is a semitransparent white background around the menu titles (which I have set to permanently display) when Firefox is the active window (which goes away when it's not).  When adjusting the width of the window I can sometimes see the title bar flash, and when I open a new window it has a title bar just fine.  I'm not quite sure what's happening here, but am pretty sure it's a bug.

Comment 53

[remcoroxs]

Isn't the core problem related to changes in display? I experience this issue all the time because I have 3 displays (1920x1200 center and two 1280x1024 on the side) so when I drag Firefox across screens, it usually gets messed up. Full screen video changes resolution too, which explains people having trouble there. And switching to hibernate/standby might induce resolution changes as well.

Comment 54

[Marko Kohtala]

I saw the symptom on another machine in addition to the one in Comment 51. The other machine was a Windows 8.1 machine with ATI graphics. The graphics card may be having some issues and the driver reset the card due to nonresponsiveness. This somehow seemed to trigger this bug and the Firefox windows stopped rendering until I found the close button and managed to restart Firefox.

I suspect the old driver in comment 51 was returning an error, and this display reset also made Firefox see some error from the driver. It could be Firefox does not recover of the graphics driver errors.

Comment 56

[Johan C]

(In reply to ComputerSherpa from comment #45)
> Created attachment 8485167 [details]
> ghosts for Bug 656891
and
(In reply to ComputerSherpa from comment #46)
> I'm seeing this issue a lot ever since I upgraded to the Firefox 33 beta
> this morning. It's easy to reproduce just by opening and closing tabs.
> Switching to a different window makes all the junk in the title bar go away.
could be bug 1067470.

Comment 58

[ab35ru]

While working on my Windows 8.1 via Microsoft RDP I can see this annoyning bug (screenshot is like
https://bug656891.bugzilla.mozilla.org/attachment.cgi?id=532183 ). Any reconnect with the same RDP settings after this preserves the bug. 

BUT if I reconnect to this PC using different screen size in RDP client settings (e.g. 1400x1050 instead of ususal full screen 1650x1050) the bug disappears (with no need to restart Firefox). Right after that while connecting again with full screen 1650x1050 there is no bug - for some days.

Comment 60

[ITFlyer]

I can duplicate this bug reliably, every time, on version 37.0.2, under Windows 8.1 X64.

Firefox will operate normally. When I connect to the PC via RDP, Firefox renders with a black title bar. The page icons and the "x" in each tab are visible (but dim) as is the "+" to add a new tab. The minimize, maximize and close icons are not visible, and do not function if clicked. Hovering the mouse over a tab lights it up a very dark grey, so that the text on the tab can be (barely) read.

If I close Firefox and reopen it within the RDP session, the title bar will render properly.

If I leave Firefox in this incorrect state with the black title bar and disconnect from RDP (leaving the account logged in), then log in locally on the PC, the title bar remains rendered incorrectly, until Firefox is shut down and restarted.

Comment 61

[Itamar Shoham]

1. I can reproduce constantly W8.1 X64 Eng. FF 37.0.1
2. Another duplicate:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=951646

Comment 62

[Itamar Shoham]

1. this bug will happen only when FF is using 'default' theme. (not related to windows theme!)
if a theme is in use - the background won't be affected
2. switching between FF themes (any theme but 'default') resolves the tabs background, but the minimize, maximize, close buttons - all fails to render and not functioning.

Comment 63

[Sid]

This bug was reported in 2011 and it's 2015 right now! Since then the US pulled out of Afghanistan, the NSA Spy scandal came to light, Russia decided Ukraine was having too much fun. But we can't have a stable title bar in Firefox. How do we get more Firefox developers to prioritize this?

This happens almost everytime for me when:
1. Open Firefox on Windows
2. RDP into same machine from another Windows/Mac or iOS machine (using the official RD Client apps)

Some "fixes"
1. Use a firefox theme (Titlebar return but buttons are still nowhere to be found)

Comment 64

[Onteria]

After having this issue in Firefox, I also found it in IE. A little more research pulled this thread message up:

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/microsoft.public.internetexplorer.general/23WdafItcIc/GRl_CSmqbvQJ

I'm currently running an AMD Radeon with the 14.501.1003-141120a-178000C drivers and disabling the "AMD External Events Service" (which from research is the same as the polling service mentioned in the thread) has so far caused the issue not to come up in both firefox and IE (in fact a window that was already in that state fixed itself the moment I disabled the service).

Comment 65

[vldmrrr]

To get the buttons on title bar to show up, open "Customize" window from menu and press/select "Title bar" button in lower left corner. The window will get all decorations theamed windows aero, different from other windows on Windows 8.

Comment 67

[u569520]

I got this problems aswell, but only on my laptop running Windows 10, not my desktop running Windows 8.1.

Comment 68

[eeyonw]

i had this issue on firefox 46.0.1 on OSX 10.11.1, i am not sure what caused it to start but it persisted after a reboot.

i resolved it by going to settings -> customize and then toggled the "title bar" a couple of times. seems to be fixed now.

Comment 69

[PVD]

Attachment: PVD - black window title bar Thunderbird

screenshot related to my post

Comment 70

[PVD]

I also have this bug on Thunderbird 45.8.0
It happens sometimes, can't tell exactly when.
And I can't get it back to normal, other than close the programm and restart it.

I'm running Win8.1PRO x64

Also, the buttons (minimize, maximize and close) are gone > cannot click in that area.

When I click on another folder of my mailbox, the blue title-bar gets back a little bit, but when the window loses focus, or when I resize it > it's lost (black) again.

If you need more info, please let me know!

For a screenshot > see "PVD - black window title bar Thunderbird"

Comment 71

[Joseph Boren]

I can reproduce this at will in Firefox 57.0.3 (64-bit):

Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
Nvidia GeForce GTX960 with driver ver 23.21.13.8813
3 Displays, but it doesn't seem to matter how many screens there are or the resolution. 
Firefox must be open and not minimized.

RDP into this machine from another windows machine, connecting to the already logged-in account on the target machine.

Firefox tab bar is transparent/black, seeming randomly, parts of it may be either transparent while others are black. black transparent areas don't appear to align with tab edges.  You clicking on any area of the tab bar does nothing.
+ Button to create new tab DOES works.
Tab bar scroll arrows do not work.
Account button next to it does not work.
minimize, maximize and close buttons do not work.
Double-clicking any non-responsive area on the tab bar or the controls DOES work to un-maximize the window.  
After the window has been un-maximized the minimize/maximize/close area is all black.
Double-clicking that area again maximizes the window and returns the controls to visible but not working.

Occasionally, when I click or double-click the tab bar, for just a second it displays the controls area of the bar but in the default basic, non-aero theme.  This only appears for a second or less and then reverts back to black/transparent.

If I then return to the first machine and log back in locally, firefox still has the issue.  

Changing firefox themes causes the tabs to be accessible and look correct again, but the < and > arrows and all the controls are still transparent and inaccessible.  IN this state the tabs work but some of the tab bar may look correct, some transparent and some black.  See screenshot ff-task-bar-glitch.PNG

The only solution is to completely close firefox and re-open it. 

Happy to help troubleshooting this, if I can be of assistance.

Thanks!

Comment 72

[Joseph Boren]

Attachment: View of glitching firefox tab bar with normal, black and transparent areas

Comment 73

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

The severity field for this bug is relatively low, S3. However, the bug has 13 duplicates, 13 votes and 51 CCs.
:spohl, could you consider increasing the bug severity?

For more information, please visit auto_nag documentation.

Comment 74

[BugBot (nomail) [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

The last needinfo from me was triggered in error by recent activity on the bug. I'm clearing the needinfo since this is a very old bug and I don't know if it's still relevant.

Comment 75

[Stephen A Pohl [:spohl]]

No recent reports of this issue. Tentatively closing.

Comment 76

[Marko Kohtala]

Attachment: Firefox info for NVIDIA driver upgrade hang

I had something like this happen just a moment ago.

I installed new version of NVIDIA drivers while Firefox was open with 15 windows. I can imagine Firefox got some rendering error as guessed in comment 54. But this was not only rendering problem, Firefox was not responsive at all. Clicking on window gave the inactive application message and Windows drew the minimize and close buttons. Since other similar problems are marked duplicates of this one, I add a comment here.

I logged out to get Firefox terminated. about:crashes does not show a crash. I attach the browser information here

Comment 77

[Ray Kraesig [:rkraesig]]

But this was not only rendering problem, Firefox was not responsive at all. Clicking on window gave the inactive application message and Windows drew the minimize and close buttons.

This sounds like a very different error, then: presumably the driver update caused Firefox to hang, and all the rest followed from that. (Including Windows taking over the drawing of the min-max-close buttons.)

Which duplicate of this bug did you think it sounded like?

Comment 78

[Marko Kohtala]

(In reply to Ray Kraesig [:rkraesig] from comment #77)

Which duplicate of this bug did you think it sounded like?

None. It had some similarity with the comment 54 problem due to errors from drivers. I feel this could be related to some problem in error handling.

I created Bug 1798517 for this Firefox hang.