Custom menus and submenus close immediately on Windows, but temporarily recover after an RDP connection
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Description
Type: Bug
## Type of Issue
Bug
## Description
When VS Code uses custom menus on Windows, menus and submenus appear briefly and then close immediately. This makes them impossible to select with the mouse.
Downgrading from VS Code 1.132.0 to 1.129.0 resolves the issue.
Interestingly, connecting to this computer from another computer through Windows Remote Desktop temporarily makes the menus work normally. They may continue working after returning to the local session, but the issue returns after VS Code is restarted.
## Steps to Reproduce
1. Start VS Code 1.132.0 on the local Windows session.
2. Use the custom title bar and custom menu style.
3. Click a top-level menu or open a submenu with the mouse.
4. The menu appears briefly and closes immediately.
5. Connect to the computer through Windows Remote Desktop.
6. Return to the local session and test the menus again.
7. The menus temporarily work normally.
8. Restart VS Code.
9. The problem returns.
## Actual Behavior
- Custom menus and submenus close immediately.
- The Account and Manage menus in the lower-left corner are also affected.
- The menus temporarily recover after an RDP connection.
- Restarting VS Code causes the problem to return.
## Expected Behavior
Custom menus and submenus should remain open and be selectable with the mouse.
## Troubleshooting Already Attempted
- Disabled GPU acceleration with `--disable-gpu`
- Disabled all extensions
- Tested with a clean user data directory
- Changed the color theme
- Restarted the graphics driver with `Win+Ctrl+Shift+B`
- Changed both displays from 125% scaling to 100%
- Tested native and custom menu styles
- Downgraded to VS Code 1.129.0
## Results
- Native menus avoid the problem.
- Custom menus reproduce the problem.
- Changing display scaling from 125% to 100% does not help.
- Connecting through Windows Remote Desktop temporarily restores the menus.
- Downgrading to VS Code 1.129.0 resolves the problem.
## Environment
- VS Code: 1.132.0 (User Setup)
- Commit: df53daabb18cd157bdb08c7f01c34df936cf12f4
- Electron: 42.7.1
- Electron Build ID: 14760073
- Chromium: 148.0.7778.280
- Node.js: 24.18.0
- V8: 14.8.178.38-electron.0
- OS: Windows 11 Pro 21H2, x64
- OS build: 22000.2538
- Displays: Two physical displays, both normally set to 125% scaling
- Remote access tested with both the built-in Remote Desktop Connection client and Microsoft Windows App
- UltraVNC is installed, but it was not used in the recovery scenario described above
VS Code version: Code 1.132.0 (df53daabb18cd157bdb08c7f01c34df936cf12f4, 2026-08-04T15:30:20Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.22000
Modes:
System Info
|Item|Value|
|---|---|
|CPUs|12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700 (20 x 2112)|
|GPU Status|2d_canvas: enabled
GPU0: VENDOR= 0x8086, DEVICE=0x4680 [Intel(R) UHD Graphics 770], DRIVER_VENDOR=Intel, DRIVER_VERSION=32.0.101.6881 *ACTIVE*
GPU1: VENDOR= 0x8086, DEVICE=0x4680 [Intel(R) UHD Graphics 770], DRIVER_VERSION=32.0.101.6881
GPU2: VENDOR= 0x1414, DEVICE=0x008c [Microsoft Basic Render Driver], DRIVER_VERSION=10.0.22000.1641
Machine model name:
Machine model version:
direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok
gpu_compositing: enabled
multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on
opengl: enabled_on
rasterization: enabled
raw_draw: disabled_off_ok
skia_graphite: disabled_off
trees_in_viz: disabled_off
video_decode: enabled
video_encode: enabled
webgl: enabled
webgpu: enabled
webnn: disabled_off|
|Load (avg)|undefined|
|Memory (System)|63.70GB (32.97GB free)|
|Process Argv|--crash-reporter-id 5551b76f-55c9-47ef-b6f1-f1c5d3d10750|
|Screen Reader|no|
|VM|0%|
A/B Experiments
```
vsliv368cf:30146710
vswsl492cf:30256860
pythonvspyt551cf:31249601
binariesv615:30325510
nativeloc1:31344060
dwcopilot:31170013
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copilot_t_ci:31333650
e5gg6876:31282496
pythonrdcb7:31342333
6518g693:31463988
aj953862:31281341
envsactivate1:31551504
gh487529:31544284
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jb_cp_cls_t_632:31543129
56dj4588:31512888
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cdk-lw-on:31524445
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jh5f2457_c:31540921
hgf2d445:31529595
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jbcp_cls_pctr_t:31531130
61138546:31518536
cp_intellij_t_nes:31548657
jf4hg949:31526829
nes-curr-leftover-1500:31538366
ahp-both-windows:31556933
h561g132:31533256
sessions_3:31532893
ihg5j128:31534457
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allow-none:31555437
6i51c363:31551401
36h42362:31560307
c7c27ce7:31554789
nes-gb3-nf-6k:31554346
8hc4g144:31558143
0dg73464:31554319
treatment-23-1:31555779
unuse_dynamic_mcp:31555281
0d8dfbc3:31560381
switchtoauto:31559321
vrbsty_tr:31561058
session-mark-done:31558131
```
Contributor guide
Assessment
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