directx games minimize randomly

[Leland]

Ok, here's something I can't figure out.

Recently, full screen directx games have been minimizing on
their own every few minutes. It's really annoying as games become
unplayable.

I run WinXP Pro on a Compaq Evo N600c. The directx diagnostic tool
reports that everything is ok. I have 384 mb RAM and plenty of hard
drive space.

I updated my video drivers to the latest version from compaq (the
version on windows update borks my machine - not sure why it even
shows up), ran windows update for critical and related updates, have
the latest directx, updated the bios, etc. I also disabled the windows
key in case a stuck key was responsible. Nothing.

This problem just developed on its own - I didn't do anything aside
from use Word for a few months without touching a game. I also
downloaded the latest critical updates.

I figure it's an issue related to the critical updates. Has anyone
else had a similar problem? I doubt it's a hardware problem, but the
possibility exists.

I'd appreciate any suggestions - I'm baffled.

 

[HumbleFish]

Are You maybe hitting a certain combo of keys on You key board that would cause the game to minimize?... Do You have sticky keys turned on maybe?

 

[styrafoam]

What programs do you have running in the background? Folding@home will do that to me on most games.

 

[igowerf]

Spyware can do that too, I believe. Try running ad-aware or spybot.