Forum Discussion

HunterApollo's avatar
HunterApollo
Iron Contributor
Apr 10, 2026

How to stop the popup preview for taskbar icons ?

If I hover over a taskbar icon, I get a popup with a miniature view of the target page.

This is very recent. I have no idea how I might have caused that. I haven't been in the registry recently.

I use the "StartIsBack" app (AKA "StartAllBack"). It's an app that attempts to emulate the Win XP taskbar. I've been using it for about 50 years without problems.

Thanks

3 Replies

  • Santoszuo's avatar
    Santoszuo
    Copper Contributor
    Apr 21, 2026

    You didn't accidentally change anything. Microsoft fundamentally rewrote the Windows 11 taskbar in the 24H2 update (released in early 2025) . This new taskbar architecture completely broke the old registry tweaks that used to disable thumbnail previews.

  • Leonardfu's avatar
    Leonardfu
    Brass Contributor
    Apr 16, 2026

    The behavior you're seeing—taskbar thumbnail previews appearing when you hover over icons—is hardcoded into Windows 11 and cannot be fully disabled through normal settings anymore . Microsoft removed the legacy registry flags that used to control this in Windows 10.

  • Kyreer's avatar
    Kyreer
    Brass Contributor
    Apr 14, 2026

    I've found several completely free, built-in ways to stop those taskbar popup previews on Windows 11. Since you're using StartAllBack (the modern name for StartIsBack), I've also included settings within that app that can help.