The Title bar comes with the Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons, which are fundamental to all application UIs in Windows. However, at times a glitches may occur, preventing the Title bar Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons from appearing in Explorer, some built-in tool, or an installed program.
This error is caused due to a number of factors like corruption in some system files, errors in the user profile generated on a domain network, and more. In this post, we will see how to fix the issue if your application windows are missing the Title bar Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons on your Windows 11/10 PC.
Title bar, Minimize, Maximize, Close buttons missing
If the Title bar, Minimize, Maximize, Restore & Close buttons are not visible in Explorer or any program, then use these fixes:
- Specific fixes for Office software.
- Run System File Checker.
- Run DISM.
- Get the Video buffer emptied.
- Reset or reinstall the program.
- Recreate the User Profile.
Let us see this in detail.
1] Specific fixes for Office software
This fix applies specifically to Office applications, such as MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Boot your computer to the Safe Mode. Start your Microsoft Office program with the issue. From the View menu, uncheck the Full-Screen option. Select the File menu and click on Open.
Now there are two things you can do depending on what application you ran.
- Excel: Open the issue causing Workbook. Then from the View menu select Customize. Just verify that the Worksheet checkbox is checked.
- Word: Save the document from the File menu.
Exit the program and reboot your computer.
2] Run System File Checker
If the issue occurs on any built-in tool, open CMD using admin privileges and execute the following command:
sfc /scannow
It will run the System File Checker which will try to fix potentially corrupted system files.
3] Run DISM
Again – If the issue occurs on any built-in tool, then open Command Prompt (Admin), enter the following three commands sequentially and one by one, and hit Enter:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Let these DISM commands run and once done, restart your computer and try again.
4] Get the Video buffer emptied
Bad data in the Video buffer can also result in glitches like these. What you can do is hit the Shift + CTRL + WINKEY + B key combinations on your keyboard.
Leave your computer idle for about 10 seconds during which the screen will blink once.
Once that is done, just start using your computer normally as the glitch must be fixed now.
5] Reset or reinstall the program
There might be a chance that you are running the application in the Full-screen mode. However, if you hit the F11 or Esc key, you can exit the Full-screen mode and eventually find the title bar and the three buttons back visible.
If you are using a UWP and encountering this issue on it, you can try to reset the application and check if that fixes your issues. To reset the application, follow these steps:
- Open the Windows 11/10 Settings App and navigate to Apps > Apps & Features or Installed apps.
- On the right-side panel, look out for the entry of the application you are facing issues with. Select it and then select Advanced options.
- Under the section of Reset, click on the button that says Reset.
6] Recreate the User Profile
Some errors in the creation of a User profile can also result in an issue like this. The best resort that you can have here is to delete and recreate your User Profile. This will lead to the fact all the corrupted supporting shell files for your User Account will be replaced with the proper ones and will eventually fix your issue.
Hope these fixes helped you.
This post will help you if the Restore, Minimize and Close buttons are not working in Windows.
Where is close maximize and minimize button available?
The close, minimize, and maximize buttons are usually located in the title bar in the top-right corner of most application windows. These buttons are standard components of the graphical user interfaces across various platforms and applications and are commonly referred to as the ‘window control buttons’ or ‘window management buttons’ in the Windows operating system.
What is the shortcut for maximize and minimise windows?
Press Win + Down Arrow to minimize the active window to the taskbar from a maximized state or restore to the previous size (if any) before minimizing. Press Win + Up Arrow to maximize the window. If you have multiple windows open on your screen, press Win + M to minimize all windows and Win + Shift + M to restore all windows. Alternatively, press Win + D to toggle Desktop view or minimize or restore all windows.
Read Next: Add extra Buttons to the Title bar of a window in Windows.
