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