Disable Multi-Monitor Taskbar Previews with Regedit

This guide explains how to disable taskbar thumbnail live previews across primary and secondary monitors in Windows by editing the Windows Registry. Modifying these registry keys delays or disables the hover popups entirely, preventing disruptive live window previews across all connected displays.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter (or click OK).
  3. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes.

Step 2: Navigate to the Explorer Advanced Key

In the Registry Editor address bar, paste the following path and press Enter:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Step 3: Modify Hover Time Values

To prevent thumbnail previews from appearing on any monitor, increase the delay time so they do not trigger automatically on hover:

  1. Right-click an empty area in the right pane, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  2. Name the new value ExtendedUIHoverTime.
  3. Double-click ExtendedUIHoverTime, select the Decimal base option, and set the Value data to 30000 (this sets a 30-second delay before a thumbnail can appear). Click OK.
  4. Right-click an empty area again, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  5. Name this value ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime.
  6. Double-click ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime, select Decimal, and set the Value data to 30000 to stop the full-screen live peek preview. Click OK.

Step 4: Disable Aero Peek (Optional)

To completely turn off the live desktop preview feature across all displays:

  1. In the same Advanced key, look for the value named DisablePreviewDesktop. If it does not exist, right-click, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it DisablePreviewDesktop.
  2. Double-click DisablePreviewDesktop and set the Value data to 1.
  3. Click OK.

Step 5: Restart Windows Explorer

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
  2. Locate Windows Explorer in the Processes tab.
  3. Right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart.

The taskbar thumbnail popups and live window previews will now be disabled across all connected monitors.