Windows 7 taskbar disappearing?
Posted on October 30, 2009 at 5:07 am
A new issue I’ve seen going on with some Windows 7 users is that their taskbar will suddenly disappear completely. The only thing that remains is the Start Menu button/orb.
Here’s an example of a desktop in which the Windows 7 taskbar just vanished:
That’s pretty crazy right! Not only that, if you right-click in the area where the taskbar is supposed to be, you get the context menu for the desktop, as if it’s totally gone.
There are some possible solutions out there for this problem and I’ll try to list as many of them so you can get your taskbar back in Windows 7.
Method 1 – Update drivers
Most of the time you will see this issue when coming back from Sleep mode. This can be due to hardware drivers that are not compatible with Windows 7. It’s best to upgrade as many of the drivers for your computer as possible, especially video drivers.
If you just got a brand new computer and have the same issue, keep reading.
Method 2 – Update BIOS
Though this should not be an issue on new computers, it’s best to make sure you have the latest version of the BIOS. The BIOS is what controls how Windows interfaces with the hardware, especially in terms of controlling power.
Method 3 – Require password on awake
Ok, if the first two solutions didn’t work, now it’s really hit or miss. Some of these solutions don’t even make a lot of sense, but they have worked for some people.
Go ahead and set your screensaver to require a password when coming back from Sleep mode.
Method 4 – Restart Explorer.exe
You can of course restart your computer to fix this problem, but if nothing else worked, you can restart just the explorer.exe process until Microsoft releases a fix.
Go go the Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del), click on the Processes tab, end the explorer.exe task, click File, choose New Task, and type in explorer.exe and press Enter.
If you’re still having this issue, make sure your computer has the latest updates from Microsoft. Either install them manually or turn on Windows Updates. Enjoy!
» Filed Under Windows 7
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This is making me crazy… so far, I’ve managed killing explorer.exe and restarting it again. This is definitely a bug in Windows 7 because a lot of people are experiencing it.
This most definately is a bug in win 7. Iäve been using 7 for some time now, and this problem just appeared a couple of weeks ago. Atleast I don’t remember experiencing it earlier. Killing explorer.exe and restarting it is the only working solution for me. Brand new computer, everything up to date etc. I really hope this gets fixed soon. Not that it’s serious, but very annoying!
Just opening Taskmgr (ctrl/alt/del) brings it back up for me. it seems that just going into screensaver mode causes the problem here.
I just began noticing this today. I’ve never seen this before w/o creating applicable settings. The only way I’ve been able to fix it is to log off and log back in. Nice.
Anyone tried to delete the StuckRects2 registry key? It helped my father.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects2
I have the same problem. Not only all of the Icons on the task bar disappeared, all my folders under the library disappeared. I’ll work on this tonight…
Using Windows task manager to exit explorer.exe doesn’t always work.
Better method: press Ctrl+shift, Start, mouseover the shutdown button, rightclick, select “Exit Explorer.”
This works. Then, call up the task manager (shortcut: Ctrl+shift+esc), File, New Task (Run), explorer.exe.
Works every time for me to restore taskbar.
Finding lots of unusual activity as well with taskbar behavior. Chrome seems to block the taskbar when the taskbar autohides.
But the taskbar also stays up permanently after my computer at home has been running for a few hours. I have to restart explorer.exe.
irritating because so many other things work just fine with Win7.
This happened to me after I installed the CNN screensaver, although I had been having problems earlier with my desktop icons dissappearing. I thought it was due to the fact that I have Fences installed.. If I went to crate a new fence then all the icons would come back..
stopping & restarting explorer brought it back. for now..
I am seeing a similar problem on my Aunt’s new HP Pavilion. Only it is on startup that there is nothing but the background picture and right click menu. After the computer goes to sleep everything is normal when it wakes back up. This started happening when she uninstalled Norton so she could install McAfee. CTRL+ALT+DEL shows nothing on screen but if I hit TAB three times then ENTER it shuts down so it is there but you just can’t see it.
Does anyone know how to get this complaint to Microsoft so that they can correct the BUG ? We shouldn’t have to patch and tape their buggy OS ?
I was seeing this problem and found a workaround: Right click onto your desktop and then open up your screen saver. Preview the screen saver. When the preview is through, the taskbar has returned.
It may be connected with specific screen savers.
I have the same problem. It seems to be connected to a problem with my screen saver / power management as well. Sometimes the monitor won’t power off and screen saver won’t start. If I apply all changes once more it works for a few times again.
When coming back from screen saver/power save mode the taskbar is usually missing
It comes back by itself after a while or when killing/restarting explorer.exe
I don’t remember what happened before all the icons on my taskbar disappeared .. when trying to launch Firefox nothing happens .. when launching adobe it says “An internal error occured” .. i dunno what other programs are affected so far .. but the crazy thing is that when i switch to the guest user everything works fine .. plzzzz help
Hello, I have excatly the same issue on my brand new computeur. This happens after screensaver wake-up. The only change I can remember is that I have activated McAfee recently.
Restarting explorer.exe is a good temporarly solution. Any durable solution would be welcome ! BTW Thanks for describing this problem on your website!
(This problem manifested out of a sudden for me, i have the same windows7 for many installs now, i’m using the same drivers(gpu and soundcard), it never did this until today and i don’t remember installing anything that’s supposed to have “damaged” the windows (regs), etc.)
but anyway,
I listened to what RealityChuck said about going into screensaver preview and it worked. I changed then the screensaver (from polardock to a windows default) and now the taskbar doesn’t disappear after exiting it. However, if i find this to be a sleep related issue and not caused by the screensaver, i think i’ll just turn off sleep and “solve” the problem that way.
My Winodws 7 taskbar is also disappearing and I have not found a good solution to fix this problem yet. Any other ideas?
Stopping/Starting Explorer brought back my missing icons. The rest of the article made me look into power settings – this machine should basically *never* sleep… setting allowed sleep in some circumstances, which may have brought on the problem. Definitely a flaw in Win7.
Thanks,
I had a third party screensaver and when I disabled this, the taskbar came back… permantely.
Check over at http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/1626-taskbar-disappears-7.html for complete details.
This happened to me after I stupidly upgraded Avanquest’s product Fix It 9 to Fix it 10. While it was installed for twenty minutes or so, it turned all of my dialog boxes black, so I couldn’t see the question and had no idea which button to press; the big one: it gave me my very first BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. I have been running Windows 7 since mid-October and had not seen ONE. I did a system restore to get rid of it fast. The dialogue box problem fixed, No more BSOD, But now I’ve got the no-task bar. What a piece of garbage that product is. I sent them an email because they have a never-ending phone maze in place simply to keep you from talking to anyone. GRRR
I got this error after installing the screen saver Fliqlo. Apparently others have experienced this as well. I can live without the screen saver.
As posted earlier, hit Ctrl-Alt-Del, select Start task manager and voilá – it’s back!
Definately a screensaver problem. Installed the guiness st patrick’s day screensaver and the taskbar started to go missing after hibernation. Removed screensaver and no more problem.
My taskbar disappeared twice now after reading all the methods above, nothing applied, it was not auto-hide nor was it re-sized, nothing seemed to work,
Then I tried method 4, it didn’t work either, so I tried it again but this time I ended the explorer tree, not just the explorer under processess, then started a new task explorer and it worked
Listen to John’s (7th Comment) post, it is the only thing that works for me. Although turning off explorer (a critical file which runs a LOT of Windows’s display) seems extreme, it doesn’t harm the computer at all.
THANK YOU!!!! the Method 4 ~ restart explorer.exe worked for me! my whole desktop, not just the taskbar was gone for 4 days! i had to run ALL of my programs through the task manager.. so a big THANK YOU!!! to whoever posted this!
The screensaver preview trick worked for me. Thanks.
Thank you. Restarting Explorer brought back my taskbar. Thanks!
The screensaver preview trick worked for me. A new screensaver started this mess but being I know how to bring it back, guess I will keep it for now, Thanks. RealityChuck!!!
Hello,
I had the same disappearing taskbar problem in Windows 7 and found out that it was McAfee anti-virus software. I uninstalled that and the problem went away. Hope it works for you too!
Thanks!
have the same problem as laza … power management problems and taskbar disappears hope theres a fix soon
ok easiest fix is to do the screensaver preview, then you should get your taskbar back.
Thanks !! option 4 worked well !!
I went into display and changed the size of text for windows. This required a log-off and when it logged back on the taskbar was back. I had also recently installed a third party screen saver so I got rid of it and all seems fine now. I think the screen saver connection seems to be the most obvious.
I had this exact problem and like others have said it almost definately has to do with the screensaver. I downloaded a screensaver app yesterday and just started having the problem today.
I have installed Nike+ screensaver and got the same issue. Just changed the screensaver and everything went back to normal.
I succeeded with the task manager solution. Delete the explorer.exe and open it again in a new task. Think I might turn off sleep mode too, just to be safe.
Thanks for the tips!
I have a HP G62 with Windows 7. When it wakes up after sleep, the Taskbar is gone. I hit CTRL + ALT + DEL and click Task Manager. I don’t close anything, and the Taskbar comes back. I just close the Task Manager and everything seems to run fine.
Thank you RealityChuck – I knew, (since it worked for me before) that getting the screensaver to come up would bring back the taskbar without me having to restart or log off and lose my programs but silly me was going to wait 10 minutes so that my inactivity would do so haha; your idea was much more logical and much faster. Thanks again.
I started noticing this after I started using a screensaver, I hope this gets fixed soon, I’d like to use a screensaver without this annoyance.
Check power settings, advanced settings, allow wake timers.
Try typing Ctrl+T? It worked for me. But now I can’t seem to open a new tab in Google Chrome (Ctrl+T), the taskbar just disappears. My computer is quite new and I never had this problem a few weeks ago.