Has your Windows Taskbar disappeared?
Posted on March 28, 2009 at 5:18 am
This is a mystery for most Windows users. You are working on your stuff… documents, pictures, music… and then out of the blue, the taskbar along with the Windows Start button disappears! You get shocked and you might panic if the document you are working on is on another inactive window which you can’t access now that the taskbar is missing.
Well you can still access the other windows using ALT-TAB but do you know that you can recover from this mishap without restarting your computer?
If you experience this problem, most likely your Windows Explorer process crashed. To restart the Windows Explorer process, press control-alt-delete to open the task manager:
Under the applications tab click “New Task…”
Then enter “explorer” on the “open” field. Click OK to start explorer.
You should see the taskbar along with the start button, quick launch and system tray come up again.
By the way, the tips above can be used to run other applications like how the Run command works in Windows:
If this didn’t solve your problem, it must be that the taskbar is automatically hidden or dragged down. To make sure you don’t set the auto-hide option, uncheck the box next to “auto-hide the taskbar” in the properties panel of the taskbar:
Also try to drag the taskbar border up the screen to make sure it is not moved beyond the bottom of your screen.
I hope the tips above solve your missing taskbar problems. Do you other ways to recover a missing taskbar? Post them on the comments section!
Ben shows you how it’s done.
» Filed Under Computer Tips
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Thanks.
Great tip!
A related problem: sometimes I’m adjusting the order of programs on the quick launch bar and the task bar doubles up in size, half for the quick launch and half for the open tasks. Try as I can, I can’t get them to consolidate again. The little sizer widgets don’t move…, trying to drag the bars downward only hides them both. I fiddle and fiddle and something finally works, but as far as I can tell I’m just repeating the same obvious dragging over and over. Any sure fire methods?
I have a related problem and I wanted to see if you have heard of. I have my task bar on auto hide, and when I have any window expanded sometimes I will hover my mouse at the bottom expecting the task bar to pop up but it will not. I end up having to resize all of my windows until I get to the desktop and only then will it pop back up again. This happens on a regular basis.
I had downloaded google chrome and i was using this instead of internet explorer, suddenly when i switched on desktop there were no desktop icons, only my documents windows was there. I tried methods suggested above but dint work. Can any one help me solve this problem ….
Hi,
It has happened with me a few times that the desktop icons disappeared. I have a nodesktop.reg, which when run gets back the desktop. Try searching for this reg file on internet..
Brilliant. Brilliant. Briliiant. I thought I had deleted something crucial when I was clearing out some old programmes etc – I thought I’d killed my laptop! This is such a simple brilliant solution. There’s loads of forums saying all sorts of rubbish about repairing this problem but this is the solution! Many thanks.
Hello,
I don’t know what happened to my taskbar. The problem is when I minimize the programs which I’m working with, I couldn’t see them on the taskbar instead all the taskbar is covered by icons from the quick lunch. I tried to solve the problem by unchecking the quick launch option. Unfortunately; when the quick launch option is unchecked all the taskbar with the start button and the clock will disappear completely. I tried also the solutions which are suggested above on this page but didn’t work. So if you know the solution of my problem please help me!!! Thank you.
Hello ashenafi,
You can solve your taskbar problem using the solution provided on the site: kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm. Use the link “Minimized Programs Missing”.
Hello Manee Ram Choudhary,
I would like to say thank you very much for your help in solving my taskbar problem. I followed the link you suggested and my problem is solved now. Thank you!!!
My taskbar has suddenly left the bottom of the screen and appears in a vertical strip up the left-hand side. I can widen this strip but I can’t move it.
How can it return it to its horizontal position at the bottom?
Thanks.
Thank you.
Great and useful tip.
I have tried the ideas listed above and my taskbar is still missing. However there is a space at the bottom of my screen where it should go. Also, when I tried the link suggested the bar reappeared for a split second but then it was gone…HELP PLEASE!!
Ally
DramaAlly, if you try using internet explorer does it shut down automatically?
Same thing has happened to me and I think some of my windows files are missing because I can’t system recover I also can’t move any icon on the desktop and actually on the whole computer. I can’t get to any of Microsoft’s web pages.
The computer does not shut down, but the task bar does not appear. I have tried going into the program files to get it to open, but nothing is working.
I think it’s a virus..because alot of my files are missing
I meant does your internet explorer shut down automatically?
I tried this but instead of the taskbar re-appearing, the My Documents window just opens instead! Any ideas on what I’m doing wrong??