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On this page...
| 1. Taskbar basics |
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| The loss of a taskbar is an extremely rare occurrence. But it does occasionally happen
to some people. And, when it does, it is a severe inconvenience which has many possible
causes and can be either fairly simple or very difficult to fix. |
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| There are three basic reasons why a taskbar might suddenly go missing. It could be
due to (i) an accidental action by any user of the computer (ii) a mischievous action by any
person with access to the computer or (iii) corruption within the operating system. We deal
with the first two first as they are the easiest to eliminate (that is our section 2
below). The last one is the most difficult to resolve as it could be caused by malware or,
more probably, by some indeterminate Windows' glitch. These harder causes are dealt with in a
lengthy section 3 which will step you through all known solutions. |
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| Regardless of the cause of a missing taskbar, patiently working through the following
separate lines of attack should eventually have a healthy taskbar up and running again, though
not necessarily quickly nor easily. |
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| 1.1 How to use a computer with no Taskbar |
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| If you think your taskbar might just be hidden, or displaced off the side of the screen,
skip this section 1.1 and go to step 2. However, if you are fairly sure the taskbar
is completely missing, not merely hidden or displaced, or if you need to do some urgent work on the computer
before worrying about getting the taskbar back, you will need to know how to use your computer
without the Start button. In that case, continue here before going to step 2. |
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| Using a Windows computer which has lost its taskbar may seem impossible at first
glance. But, provided the computer has otherwise booted fully so you can see at least the
normal desktop icons and background wallpaper, then, by pressing Ctrl+Esc, or the Windows key, whichever works
for you, you can pull up the Start menu. If the keyboard shortcuts fail to pull up the Start menu on your particular computer, an
equally effective way of negotiating the computer would be by double-clicking on the (My)
Computer icon on the desktop or by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin icon and choosing Explore.
This would allow you to browse normally to any drive, directory or application, anywhere on the
computer. If there is no (My) Computer or Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, the solution to that is to create a new shortcut on the
desktop to Windows Explorer. To do that, right-click on the desktop, choose New >
Shortcut > Browse... > browse to the location on your system of the file explorer.exe
(usually at C:\ Windows\ Explorer.exe) > use the right-hand mouse button to drag the file
so it is over the desktop > release the button and, from the context menu, choose Create
Shortcut Here. So, there are four separate ways of making it possible to use the computer,
in an emergency, until such time as the taskbar and Start button are restored. If you
open more than one of your programs, or if you lose a window by minimising it
(there being no taskbar for it to contract to), pressing Alt+Tab will allow you to move from window to
window, including minimised windows. |
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| 2. Recovering a hidden or displaced
Taskbar |
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| If the loss of your taskbar coincided with your computer being infected by a virus, trojan
etc., or removal of any such infection, go to section 3. If you are confident your computer is clean,
apart from the absent taskbar, continue with this section 2. |
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| When a taskbar suddenly disappears it does not always mean disaster has struck. The
taskbar may, somehow, merely have been put on autohide, or displaced from its normal, visible
position to somewhere it can't be seen. So the first step is to check if the problem is due to either of those occurrences,
as follows... |
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| 2.1 Recover a hidden Taskbar by unhiding it |
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| An absent taskbar may only be hidden. To check if this is the problem, start off by
right-clicking on the desktop > if there is an item 'Active Desktop' on the menu, hover over
it to bring up the submenu and, if any sub-items have a tick against them, click them in turn
until no items are left ticked. Next, right-click on the desktop again > Refresh.
Now press Ctrl+Esc or the Windows key (whichever works) to display the Start menu.
If neither of those keyboard shortcuts pulls up the Start menu on your system you can still get to the Taskbar Settings
dialog by creating a temporary desktop shortcut to the Control Panel. To do that,
right-click on the desktop > New > Shortcut > at the location field, type in the
word control > Next > Finish > double-click on the new shortcut (to open the Control
Panel) > Appearance and Themes > Taskbar and Start Menu (those labels may vary slightly
with different versions of Windows). |
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| Note that, if pressing Ctrl+Esc or the Windows key caused
the Start menu to appear, and the taskbar as well, that would confirm the
taskbar is merely hiding. Irrespective of which method you use to access the Control Panel, negotiate your way to the dialog for the Taskbar's settings. If
a keyboard shortcut works on your system, the route from the Start menu may vary depending on your version of Windows.
In XP, for example, it would be via Control Panel > Appearance and Themes > Taskbar and Start Menu.
Once at the taskbar settings' dialog, untick all the boxes > Apply > OK > restart the
computer. After Windows has rebooted, return to the taskbar settings' window. In XP, say,
you should typically only retick 'Lock the taskbar', 'Keep the taskbar on top' and 'Show Quick Launch'.
Then
restart the computer again. With luck, you will now have your taskbar back in place, with
the new settings duly remembered as a result of doing that final restart. |
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| If the above process fails to restore the taskbar, press Ctrl+Esc or the Windows key again to see if that action
now brings up the taskbar as well as the Start menu. If still no taskbar, step 2.1
has, at least, determined the taskbar is not merely hidden. Clear the Start menu by clicking on the
desktop or pressing Esc, and go to step 2.2. |
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| 2.2 Recover a displaced Taskbar |
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| Although a Windows taskbar looks like a permanent fixture along the bottom of the desktop,
that is not the case. It is a toolbar and, as such, it can be unlocked and floated anywhere
over the desktop, and shrunk in size, or it can be docked to any other side, or it can be floated
completely off any side. Such repositioning of a taskbar can be done by anybody with access
to the computer - it could be accidental but, equally, it could be by a joker in the family
or a contemptible colleague at work if that's where the computer is. But, in such cases,
the displaced taskbar is, fortunately, still there, it just can't be seen. |
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| The first job is to carefully scrutinise all round the whole of the desktop, and along
all four edges of the screen to see if there is anything showing anywhere which could be a tiny part
of a displaced taskbar. If you cannot see any sign of any part of the taskbar, not even
part of a miniaturised taskbar, the next job is to temporarily make your screen resolution higher
as this will reveal a taskbar if it has been floated right off the edge of the screen.
For example, if you are currently on a low (big icons) resolution of 800 x 600 pixels, change to
the
highest (smaller icons) resolution (of 1024 x 768 or more) that your display settings permit. To do that, right-click on the desktop > Properties > go to the Display
settings' window and then jack up the screen-area slider one or more notches to the right.
After enlarging the screen res., look round all four sides of the desktop again, very carefully,
to see if the taskbar is now visible. Be conscious that, if it has also somehow been shrunk
down in size, it will be even tinier at this higher (i.e. smaller icons) resolution. If you still cannot see
anything which might be the taskbar, it is always possible it has been collapsed down to nothing
along the bottom edge of the highest res screen. Slide your mouse all the way down so the cursor is
trying to disappear off the bottom edge of the desktop. If the cursor changes to a double-headed
arrow, hold down the mouse's left button and drag upwards, the taskbar will then reappear.
If you do not get a double-headed arrow at the bottom edge of the screen, repeat the same process
against the other three sides to see if that is where the taskbar went. |
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| If any of the above tests, including Ctrl+Esc or Windows Key, did reveal the taskbar, but the bar is not
properly proportioned and needs resizing, left-click on the taskbar > press Alt+Space Bar
> from the menu which pops up, choose Size > resize the taskbar using the keyboard's non-numeric
arrow keys. |
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| If none of the above steps has succeeded in bringing the taskbar back into view, not even
a displaced or shrunken taskbar, this will have determined the taskbar is neither hidden nor
displaced but definitely missing. Put your screen resolution back to your preferred size,
then continue to section 3 next. |
| 3. Recovering a missing Taskbar |
|
| Proceed with this section only if you are certain your taskbar is definitely missing, not
merely hidden or displaced off the side of the screen, as dealt with in the preceding section 2. |
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| If the loss of your taskbar coincided with the computer being infected by a virus, trojan
etc. you must remove the infection as a first step and run an up-to-date anti-virus scan and
a spyware sweep (step 3.8 in the RH col may also be relevant). If successfully removing
any such infection does not also restore the taskbar, or your computer has not been infected
in any case, work through the following steps, one by one. This will, eventually, lead
to the reinstatement of a missing taskbar but, not knowing which particular step will work for
you, it could take quite some time as it is a case of eliminating possible causes by trial and
error. There is, unfortunately, the real possibility that the only foolproof and relatively easy
cure will not actually be available to you - you'll know if that's the case only if the first four
steps below fail to fix your problem. |
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| 3.1 Recover a missing Taskbar by booting to Safe Mode |
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| Booting into Safe Mode, and straight back, without doing anything else, may be able to restore
a taskbar to its default size and location. This is because, when Windows runs in Safe
Mode, it automatically returns some of its Start menu and Taskbar settings back to their heritage
defaults, thus making it possible for a taskbar which was missing in normal mode to become visible
in Safe Mode. If that happens, the regained visibility should be retained when you return
to normal mode. |
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| 3.1.1 How to boot into Safe Mode |
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| Before going into Safe Mode, carry out a normal shutdown of the computer, wait 30 seconds,
then switch it back on and let it boot normally into Windows. If the taskbar is still
missing, now reboot into Safe Mode. To get into Safe Mode is usually a case of pecking
on the F8 key immediately after switching on or restarting a computer. When a black DOS-like
startup menu appears, choose the plain 'Safe Mode' option. When at the Safe Mode
desktop, do not do anything, just wait without pressing any keys or clicking anything, after
waiting 30 seconds restart the computer back into normal Windows. If the F8-key method does
not appear to provide access to Safe Mode on your system, refer to our separate article about Safe
Mode (link at bottom of this page). If booting to Safe Mode, and going straight back to Windows,
failed to reinstate the missing taskbar, and Windows XP or later is being used, go to 3.1.2,
otherwise go to 3.2. |
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| 3.1.2 How to clear a Windows shell error (XP or later) |
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| If the preceding step had no effect, there might be an error in the Windows shell (explorer.exe). |
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| Open the Task Manager. You won't be able to do that the easy way by right-clicking
on the taskbar, not without a taskbar. But there are several other ways. They won't
all work in all Windows' versions, just go with the first one that does. Try (i) Ctrl+Shift+Esc
(ii) Ctrl+Alt+Del (iii) Ctrl+Alt+Del > Task Manager or (iv) WindowsKey+R (to open the Run box) > type in taskmgr > OK.
With the Task Manager's window
duly opened, if no tabs are showing, double-click on an empty part of the windows' top frame to
make the tabs appear, then... > click on the Applications tab and, if it shows there are some tasks running, select them one at a time and click the End Task button (except for any
running app which you think might contain unsaved worked from the session you were in) > click on
the Processes tab > look down the list of running processes to find Explorer.exe > right-click on it > End Task > OK > click File > from the menu choose New Task > type in explorer > OK. For this
procedure to work, you must first have ended the crashed instance of the Explorer.exe process (as
described above). If you don't, a new instance without the same basic error cannot start. If restarting a new instance of explorer.exe in this way does not immediately redisplay the taskbar,
close any programs you had open and do a normal reboot of
the computer. If there is still no taskbar, that eliminates a kernel error as being the cause, so go to 3.2. |
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| 3.2 Recover a missing Taskbar by running Error-checking |
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| When Windows starts to suffer from odd problems on a (non-infected) machine it is often
possible to nip them in the bud by the simple expedient of running Error-checking followed by
Disk Defragmenter. These are two disk maintenance utilities which are always a part of every
version of Windows. The first tool automatically fixes various disk and file-system errors
whilst the second tool pulls fragmented files on the hard disk back together. We cannot say
for sure if this could fix something as tricky as a missing taskbar but, bearing in mind the
taskbar is simply code within one or more fragmented files, there is some logic in giving it a try. |
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| Both these tools are supposed to be run periodically by the user anyway. So now is
as good a time as any to do it. If you have run both tools in the past, you will obviously know
how to do it and can skip reading the rest of this step, and simply get on with it. If,
afterwards, you find the missing taskbar problem has not been fixed by running the two tools,
you would continue from step 3.3 below. |
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| If you have never run the two tools before, we should warn that this can, on some systems,
be a tricky operation, and always takes several hours to complete. That will seem frustrating
if it fails to fix the missing taskbar problem. But you will, at least, have learned how
to run the tools for the future. To start Error-checking, open (My) Computer > right-click
on the C: drive's icon > Properties > Tools tab > at 'Error-checking', click 'Check
Now' > at the window which appears, if more than one drive is available, select the C: drive
> tick all the appropriate boxes to ensure the scan will be a thorough error-fixing scan
> Start. If XP or later is being used, you will be told the PC will be restarted -
the computer will automatically restart in a protected mode, then the error scan will begin.
If Windows 95, 98 or Me is being used, the error scan will attempt to run in normal Windows'
mode. For that to succeed, it is first advisable to have closed all opened programs, disconnected
from the internet, disabled all third-party icons in the System Tray (including anti-virus and
firewall) and disconnected any printer or other peripheral hardware. With Windows 98
it is also crucial to disable (untick) TaskMonitor via the Startup tab in the System Configuration
Utility. The reason for doing all those things is that the Error-checking tool requires
exclusive access to the hard disk. If you try to run the tool in those older systems while some other program is still
able to write to the disk, the Error-checking tool will keep restarting and never finish. If you encounter
this problem of repeated restarts on Windows 95, 98 or Me, despite terminating all those things,
the usual solution is to run the tool in Safe Mode, in which case we would refer you to a separate
page (link at end of this page) which is all about Safe Mode and includes detailed sections on overcoming
restart problems when trying to run Error-checking or Disk Defragmenter. If this all sounds
too laborious for now, skip this part and move on to step 3.3. |
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| 3.3 Recover a missing Taskbar by editing the Registry |
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| If steps 3.1 and 3.2 failed to reinstate the missing taskbar, or you chose to
skip 3.2, the next thing to try is the first of several possible fixes on this page from Microsoft's
official online Knowledge Base. This one involves deleting a single key in the Registry
which may have become corrupted. Do not be afraid of venturing into the Registry but you
are advised to make sure you have a restorable backup of the registry files before you do so.
More on backing up a registry is in 3.4. |
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| To edit the registry, open Windows' Regedit tool and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ StuckRects |
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| Right-click on the subkey (yellow folder) named StuckRects [or StuckRects2 in the case of
XP] > Delete > exit Regedit and do a normal restart of the computer. The deleted
key will be regenerated and, with luck, will bring back a healthy taskbar with it. |
|
If the 'Stuckrects' key appeared to be missing, double-check that you have navigated down the correct
registry tree as it is easy to get lost if you have little experience of browsing the registry. The full
path of wherever you currently are in the registry is displayed in the Status Bar along the
bottom of Regedit's window [if the Status bar is not showing, choose View > click Status Bar (to put
a tick against it)]. If the subkey is definitely missing, then the taskbar problem is almost
certainly associated with that absence. To remedy the situation, the simplest solution, if
you have been keeping backups of the registry, would be to restore a recent backup of the registry (see step 3.4). Another option, if you have
access to somebody else's computer using an identical Windows' version to yours, would
be to Export (copy) the StuckRects subkey from the other computer's registry as a .reg file
and Import it to the registry on your own computer [but, if using a USB memory key to transfer any
file from another computer to yours, always take every possible precaution to ensure nothing
malicious jumps onto it at the same time]. Failing that option, you could try manually
creating a new StuckRects subkey [StuckRects2 in the case of XP] with Regedit. Before
adding stuff to a registry (as opposed to deleting stuff), you need a genuine backup of the
present registry, as reassurance. Using Regedit to make an Export of the relevant branch is
not an appropriate means of backing up in this instance. After the change to the registry,
reboot the computer afterwards to see what happens. If still no taskbar, proceed to step 3.4.
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| 3.4 Recover a missing Taskbar by replacing the Registry |
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| If editing the registry as per step 3.3 failed to restore the taskbar, the next option is to try
replacing the whole Registry with the latest-available backup copy made when the taskbar was still working properly. This can be by any of the following three options, whichever is available to you, if
any. If none proves available, you will have to move on to step 3.5. The three options are (i) one of the five automatic backups that Windows keeps (this option is not available if you have rebooted the computer five or more times since the taskbar first disappeared, which is quite probable) or (ii) a
backup you recently made yourself using MS Backup or (iii) a backup you recently made
using some third-party tool, such as by a cleanup tool, or by a registry cleaner before the registry
cleaner was run, or, best of all, by either of the purpose-made registry backup tools WinRescue (inexpensive
shareware) or ERUNT (free, simpler, but an XP bias and less compression). Assuming one or other of the above
three backup alternatives is available to you, proceed to replace the current, possibly corrupt registry
with the earlier, uncorrupted backup. However, if Windows' automatic backups are all too
recent to be of any use, and you have not been making any manual backups of the registry, or you
did replace the registry but it did not restore the missing taskbar, go to step 3.5. Continued in RH col. |
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| What if you switched on your computer
one day and the taskbar was missing, as above. Or it suddenly disappeared as you were doing something on
the computer. What would you do? It's a rare occurrence but it has happened to quite a
number of people at one time or another. This page holds all the answers to
getting a full taskbar back, whatever the cause. |
|
| Continued from bottom of LH col. |
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| 3.5 Recover a missing Taskbar by restoring a drive-image backup |
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| If, for some reason, you are not able to replace the registry as per step 3.4, or you have
replaced the registry but that also failed to restore the taskbar, this next step is the foolproof one
which cannot fail. But it will only be available to you if you have made a drive-image backup of your C: partition
fairly recently, at a time when everything was perfectly normal. Restoring that drive-image
will return your system to exactly as it was at the time you made the image, complete with,
of course, a perfectly normal taskbar. |
|
| You will only have a drive-image if you have been making periodic backups of your system's
complete C: drive with a recovery disk like the Linux-based ones from Acronis True Image or
Clonezilla, or with the imaging tool built into
Windows 7 Pro. |
|
| If the drive-image option is available to you, do remember, before restoring an entire imaged
C: partition, that any data files you have changed or added on that partition since making the
image, including any photos, music, letters, accounts, saved e-mails, Address Book
changes and so on, will all be completely lost and/or be overwritten by earlier out-of-date versions. So, before proceeding, first be sure
to back up all such data either to a separate partition which is not included in the drive-image,
or to an external drive, or to removable media, so you won't lose anything important.
The data of other users may also be at risk if there are multiple user accounts on the one machine.
You will also lose any applications you may have installed to the C: drive since last imaging,
though they can all be reinstalled again afterwards if they will still be required. |
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| If the option of restoring a drive-image was not available to you, go to step 3.6. |
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| 3.6 Recover a missing Taskbar by restoring a Windows' System Restore Point |
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| If you were not in a position to restore a drive-image backup, but Windows XP or later is
being used, and you have been allowing Windows to periodically make its own System Restore Points,
stepping back to one of them may resolve the problem. |
|
| Manually make a new restore point of the current setup in case you need to
revert to it, despite the missing taskbar. To do that in XP (use
equivalent route in later Windows), go to All Programs > Accessories >
System Tools > System Restore. In the System Restore area you can
manually create a new System Restore point for the present setup. After
which you can return your computer to a previous setup when the taskbar was
believed to be still present and correct. When doing the latter, go into
Safe Mode to do the roll-back as that will offer the best chance of everything
which should be restored being restored. The way to enter Safe Mode was
touched on in 3.1.1. If you find the restoring process won't work
in Safe Mode you will then have no option but to do the restore back in Windows'
normal mode. If trying a restore point is not an option available to you,
or it fails to bring back the taskbar, and you are using Windows XP, go to 3.7,
otherwise go to 3.8. |
|
| 3.7 Microsoft Knowledge Base fixes for XP |
|
| If none of the preceding steps have brought back the taskbar, and Windows XP is being used,
and the computer will boot as far as the desktop wallpaper, there is a lengthy official article
on Microsoft's online Knowledge Base which may help. It covers causes for a missing taskbar
such as (i) your user account settings may be corrupted (ii) the core files may be damaged
or (iii) the Explorer.exe file may not be loading during startup.
KB 318027
(link still valid when last tried 18.6.12). |
|
| If, after all the steps therein, your problem has still not been fixed, you may have acquired
a malicious infection without actually realising it - in which case take a look at step 3.8
even if you did not think, at first, that infection might apply to you. If you are completely
certain infection could not be the cause, go to step 3.9. |
|
| 3.8 Recover a Taskbar if erased or damaged by malware |
|
| A valued reader, in February 2008, advised she had lost her taskbar as a result of acquiring the
Vundo spyware trojan. A search of internet forums revealed other victims had also
suffered loss of, or serious damage to the taskbar because of Vundo. |
|
| We suspect this is an unintended side-effect as trojans are meant to do their dirty deeds
without drawing any attention to themselves in such an obvious way. Fortunately, there
are free removal tools available at well-known anti-virus sites like www.symantec.com, for
many named Trojans, including Vundo, so your first step is probably to find one and see if it
does the trick. Success is not guaranteed, however, as removal tools that were once effective
can themselves be defeated by subsequent variants or mutations of the original trojan.
Our reader found her successful fix for vundo.akf at
atribune.org (link still valid when last tried
19.6.12). |
|
| If you could not restore your taskbar by removing Vundo, or whatever other nasty might have
caused your taskbar troubles, nor by any of the other preceding fixes on this page which you
felt were worth a try, go to step 3.9. |
|
| 3.9 Recover a missing Taskbar by reinstalling Windows |
|
| If you are still with us despite all the preceding remedies, then we regret you may be faced with the painful prospect of reinstalling
Windows from scratch. It may be possible, however, to just do a 'repair' of Windows, which
would leave any data files stored on the C: drive unharmed - and may even leave some of your
installed programs in working order. It's a big subject in its own right so, for further help,
look on Google for articles specifically on the subject of repairing Windows. |
|
| To do a full reinstall of Windows would require the Recovery Disk, Recovery Partition or Windows
Installation Disk that came with your computer when it was new. This solution should be regarded as an
absolute last resort as the time it will take to get your system back to how it was will be out of
all proportion to the silly little problem you are lumbered with. If reinstalling Windows is a task you have
never undertaken before, we would recommend seeking
help by putting the job in the hands of a
computer-savvy friend, or the shop where you bought the computer, or a local computer repair
shop. Before doing any of those things, though, do take the precaution of copying all your vital data, audio and picture files to removable media,
as a precautionary backup. Also
essential, after backing up, is to shred or wipe (note shred, not move or delete) any sensitive pictures or data files which are on the hard disk before letting any friend or repair shop near the computer. We
do not want any of our readers unwittingly becoming the next Gary Glitter or convicted animal
rights' activist, or whatever, as a result of our well-intentioned advice to give the machine to a
third-party repairer. |
|
| Finally, we have completely exhausted all the taskbar solutions we know of. So, all
we can hope now is that you will have found, somewhere above, a successful fix for your lost
taskbar. |
| 4. The Taskbar is present but not correct |
|
| This section deals with several incidental problems which occasionally affect otherwise normal taskbars. |
|
| 4.1 Buttons on the Taskbar are missing or blank |
|
| Occasionally, people find they have not lost the entire taskbar, just the buttons which
would normally appear on it when they have opened applications like Notepad or
Paint etc. Or the button shapes may be there, but blank with no labels on them. |
|
| If this started happening to you after being infected with a trojan or the like, then removing
the infection, successfully and fully, should resolve the issue. Also check out step 3.8.
However, this kind of sudden misbehaviour may alternatively occur merely because of something
unusual which has recently been done on the computer. For example, if anyone uses the
computer to install games, use chat rooms, install widgets or any other OS-altering stuff, that
is the kind of thing which might have unexpectedly fouled up. Fortunately, it is a very
rare occurrence for which no particular culprit has actually been identified. All you
can do is have a look in Add/Remove Programs [renamed Programs and Features in Vista] for any
inessential applications which have only recently been installed, whether by yourself or other
users. That would be the most likely offender. Try uninstalling the suspicious app(s)
and rebooting the computer. To do the uninstall, go into Safe Mode and, preferably, use
the application's own uninstaller if there is one in its program group in the Start > (All)
Programs menu. |
|
| Uninstalling something might not fix a taskbar button problem, even if the program concerned
was actually responsible in the first place. That is because programs cannot reverse or
remove all the changes they will have made to the registry or elsewhere in Windows during the
time they have subsequently been in use. So this is one of those occasions when it might
be worth the risk of running a freebie registry cleaner if the uninstall was ineffective.
Run the registry cleaner in Safe Mode too, if it will. Before running any registry
cleaner back up the registry first so you are in no danger of making anything worse than it
already is. |
|
| If uninstalling any suspicious sounding programs did not fix the taskbar button problem,
and 'cleaning' the registry afterwards failed as well, or were not relevant, check out steps
3.4 [restore a registry backup] and/or 3.5 [restore a drive image backup] and 3.8 [remove malware],
in that order. |
|
| 4.2 Taskbar is double the normal height |
|
| If a taskbar is twice as high as it should be, the fix is usually just a case of hovering
the mouse over the top edge of the taskbar until the cursor changes to a vertical double-headed
arrow, holding down the left mouse button and dragging the taskbar down to its normal single-row
height. If you are using XP or Vista, and that won't work, right-click on the taskbar
first, unlock the taskbar, move the top edge of the taskbar down, then relock the taskbar. |
|
| Occasionally, however, some people find the taskbar will stubbornly refuse to go back down.
This situation is usually related to the presence of too many icons on the Quick Launch bar
or in the Notification Area. We have a detailed fix for the problem on our page about
Quick Launch bar problems. To go there directly, click this link for the over-height
fix. |
|
| 4.3 Taskbar is permanently locked/unlocked |
|
| With Windows XP or Vista, the taskbar is 'locked' by default. You can see this setting
from the context menu which appears if you right-click on an empty part of the taskbar or on the
taskbar's clock. However, people sometimes find the taskbar remains permanently locked or
permanently unlocked irrespective of whether the option to lock it is ticked or unticked. |
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What this means is the option is not registering in Windows' registry. The easiest
way to fix this is to restore the most recent backup made of the registry when the taskbar was
normal - see step 3.4. If that option is not available to you, there is a registry hack
which may do the trick. If XP is being used, there are two ready-made '.reg' files which
can be downloaded from...
kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm - when there, scroll down to item number 128 and choose the
appropriate file, either taskbarlock.reg or taskbarunlock.reg. Always back up the registry
before ever merging any .reg file into it, just so matters can't be made any worse (more on
backing up in 3.4). After backing up, right-click on the downloaded file and choose Merge.
Then right-click on the taskbar and see if the Lock/Unlock option has been freed up. If
it has, do a normal restart of the computer and check again. If you find Windows has reverted
to the permanent locked/unlocked situation we are afraid you will have to live with it unless
you want to go down the route of step 3.5 [restore a drive image], 3.6 [restore a system restore
point] or step 3.9 [reinstall Windows]. |
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| Just for information, or if the kellys-corner page can't be found, and you are comfortable working
in the registry, you can apply the hack manually easily enough, instead of downloading the .reg
file. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\
Advanced - and, for Taskbar Lock, set TaskbarSizeMove to 0 (zero) or, for Taskbar Unlock, to 1 (one). Then browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\
Policies\ Explorer - and, for Taskbar Lock, set TaskbarSizeMove to 1 or to 0 for
Taskbar Unlock. Still in Regedit, click View > Refresh > close Regedit > right-click
on the taskbar and see if the lock option has been freed up. If it has, do a normal restart
and check if it has stayed corrected. |
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| 4.4 Taskbar is on wrong edge of screen |
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| If, for some unknown reason, the taskbar is along the top of the screen or down either side, and you want to move it back to its traditional place along the bottom of the screen, proceed as follows... |
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| Memorise or write down the contents of this paragraph > close all windows you have had open, including your
browser, so no opened items are still present on the taskbar > right-click on the taskbar > click the ticked item 'Lock the Taskbar'
(to remove the tick) > use the mouse's left button to click on an empty area of the taskbar,
hold down and drag the taskbar from its improper position > drag down until the taskbar is against the bottom of the screen > release the
mouse > right-click on the taskbar again and click the 'Lock the Taskbar' (to restore the tick) >
right-click on an empty place on the desktop > click Refresh. |
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| 4.5 Language toolbar needs disabling |
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| The Language toolbar in Windows XP can be a nuisance if you can see it but do not require
it. Sometimes it will be sitting on the taskbar, over by the Notification Area, serving
no useful purpose. Other times it will be floating irritatingly up in the RH corner of
the desktop. In either case it is totally superfluous for the vast majority of people
- but the way to disable it permanently is awfully well hidden. If you can see it
but don't need it, click Start > Control Panel > click 'Switch to Classic View' > double-click
'Regional and Language Options' > Languages tab > under 'Text services and input languages',
click Details > under Preferences, click 'Language Bar' > untick 'Show the Language bar
on the desktop' > OK > OK > Apply. That should zap it! Then change back
from the Classic view to the standard XP view. |
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| 4.6 Volume button is missing |
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| If the taskbar is normal except the Volume button has mysteriously disappeared from the
Notification Area, try the following steps (which may vary slightly depending on your version
of Windows or whether you are using a Classic or default Start menu): choose Start > Control Panel > Sounds
and Audio Devices > if there is no tick against 'Place volume icon in the taskbar', click
on it to add the required tick. If there was already a tick there, click the item to remove the tick > do a
normal, full shut down of the computer > wait 30 secs and reboot. If the icon is still missing
after that, restoring it is going to be troublesome as it could be due to a driver fault, file corruption
or a malware attack. You will find more guidance at the following page, either in the main article
or in one or other of the many reader-responses further down that page: online-tech-tips.com (link valid when last tried 29.10.10). |
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| 5. Only the orb (start button) is present |
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| Windows 7 introduced a different kind of taskbar problem which has affected a few users.
Whereby the taskbar might disappear but the orb would still be present. A possible cause might be taskbar overload.
Before Windows 7, the taskbar was sort of self-regulating as to how many quick-launch icons and
application buttons would be on it at any one time. But, with the Windows 7's superbar, it's
surprising just how much stuff can be on there during a session without the user ever realising it, from
running progs, open files and power-hungry high-def thumbnails. To test if overload's the
problem, close
everything on the taskbar, disconnect form the internet and reboot. With luck, the full taskbar
will be back. If it's still only the start-orb that returns, right-click on it > Properties >
Taskbar tab. At the item 'Auto-hide the taskbar', click it to put a tick against it > OK. Go into
Taskbar settings again and ensure, this time, there is no tick against the same item > OK > reboot
the computer again. If you can still only see an orb, no taskbar, go back into Taskbar settings
and double-check there is no tick against 'Auto-hide the taskbar'. Assuming there isn't then,
unfortunately, there is no simple solution. Go to
section 3 and patiently work your way through all the steps in there, while still offline, until you
reach one that fixes it. |
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