How to Fix Aero on Windows 7 If It Isn’t Turned On or Looks Bad

How to Fix Problems with Windows 7 Aero

One thing on Windows 7 that a lot of users have been emailing me about is Windows Aero. Aero is the 3D default Windows 7 theme that utilizes visual effects and transitions to make navigation more graphical in Windows 7.

In some cases Aero may not be functioning because it was not fully enabled on your system or various features are disabled.

To fix this do the following:

Click “Start” and in the Run / Find line type “Aero”.

In the bottom of the new window click on the “Troubleshoot problems with transparency and other Aero Effects” link.

This will open the “Aero” troubleshooting wizard. Click “Next” and follow the prompts to automatically resolve issues with Aero.

If the wizard finishes and does not detect or fix the problems you are having with Windows 7 Aero make sure you have the most updated video drivers for your system. This can be done by going to the video card manufacturer’s website and downloading the latest drivers. (In most cases this will be ATI or NVidia.)

If you are using onboard video you may need to check the motherboard manufacturer’s website for updated video drivers, or visit the website of the company that manufactured your computer if it is a gateway, HP, Dell, etc.

(If you are using onboard video and you continue to have issues with Aero not functioning correctly you may want to consider adding a video card to the system. It doesn’t need to be anything expensive, but just something that will give you dedicated video for the PC.)

If the above suggestions do not work you may be running into an issue with Aero features being disabled in the registry. One common feature that can be disabled is Aero Peek, which makes your windows semi transparent so you can see your desktop underneath the windows.

You can check for the this by clicking “Start” and in the Run / Find line type “Regedit”

Browse to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

And make sure that EnableAeroPeek is set to 1, and not 0 (1 being on, and zero being off)

Hopefully the above methods have helped you resolve any issues you may have been having with Windows 7 Aero.