Can't Run Aero after Installing Quicktime

John Savill

April 22, 2007

1 Min Read
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Q. I've installed QuickTime and now I can't run Windows Aero. What's the problem?A. This is caused by the way the QuickTime application and its related applications (e.g. Trillian) lock the front buffer (e.g. this commonly happens for read-back purposes). This means compositing of the desktop can't occur, so Windows Aero is disabled and the scheme changes to Windows Vista Basic. To resolve, change QuickTime to use the graphics device interface (GDI), which will also resolve problems in its other applications, such as Trillian and iTunes. To use GDI, perform these steps:

  1. Open Quicktime preferences by selecting “Preferences” from the Edit menu and selecting “QuickTime Preferences.”

  2. Select the "Advanced" tab of the QuickTime Preferences dialog box.

  3. In the third section from the top, called “Video” select “Safe Mode (GDI Only),” as the figure shows.

  4. Close the QuickTime player, and exit the QuickTime system tray application.

—John Savill

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