Windows 7 Alt+Tab won't stay on top or stick

Updated: 12/31/2020 by Computer Hope

When pressing Alt+Tab in Windows 7, you may encounter an issue where the displayed open windows will not remain open or stay on top of all other windows. To resolve this issue, follow the steps below.

  1. Open the Start menu and in the Search box, type advanced system settings and press Enter.
  2. In the System Properties window, on the Advanced tab, click the Settings button in the Performance section.
  3. In the Performance Options window, as shown in the picture below, uncheck the Enable Aero Peek box.

Windows 7 Aero Peek

  1. Click Apply and then OK and your Alt+Tab should work as expected.

In most cases, the above steps should resolve the issue. However, if the issue persists, a few other things to try are as follows.

  • Outdated video card drivers can sometimes cause this issue to occur. Check for updated video card drivers from the manufacturer of your video card or the computer manufacturer. If newer drivers are available, download and install those drivers, then restart your computer.
  • A defective keyboard can sometimes cause this issue to occur. Connect another working keyboard to your computer and test if the issue still occurs. If the issue is resolved, the original keyboard is likely at fault, causing issues with the Alt+Tab functionality.
  • Corrupt Windows system files could potentially cause an issue like this to occur. To fix corrupt system files, you can try restoring Windows to an earlier copy, before the problem started to occur.