Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2021 January 24

= January 24 =

Taskbar Stops Working
This has happened to me either twice or three times. I am using Windows 10, and Office 365, and Firefox, and Opera. (I know that someone will say that I can use one browser or another. I know.  I have my reasons.)  I normally switch between applications by mouse-clicking on the program icon in the task bar at the bottom of the screen. What has occasionally happened is that the task bar has stopped working. The mouse no longer will focus on the icons in the task bar. This means that the only way to switch between applications is to click on the window for an application, which of course is only possible if a portion of the window is visible. I may be able to shrink the window that I am in and expose part of another window to click. Also, when the task bar stops working, the clock in the lower right corner stops updating, perhaps because the clock is the extension of the frozen or vanished task bar.

So I have two questions. First, does anyone know what causes this? Is there a a post-mortem way that I can determine what caused this? Second, is there a way to recover from this, to make the task bar come back to life? Each time, I have restarted the computer; but to restart the computer when the task bar is frozen, it is necessary to bring up the security menu with Ctrl-Alt-Del.

What causes this (if it has a known cause)? What can be done to undo this, short of a restart? Robert McClenon (talk) 02:48, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
 * , you know that you can switch by using or ? Elizium23 (talk) 02:56, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Does this tutorial on restarting Windows Explorer help your situation? Elizium23 (talk) 02:58, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you, User:Elizium23 - You have given me at least two useful items of information. The first is that the problem is caused by the Windows Explorer thingy freezing.  We don't need to know what causes that to be able to figure out what to do about it.  The second is how to restart the Windows Explorer thingy from the Task Manager.  Robert McClenon (talk) 04:10, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
 * You can also use to start task manager. LongHairedFop (talk) 20:42, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Windows Explorer is the part of Windows that generates the Taskbar and other on-screen stuff that makes up "the Windows desktop". Make sure your Windows installation is up-to-date. If it is, and this keeps happening, the easiest thing is to just reinstall Windows. Odds are good it's caused by some messed-up Windows file somewhere. Windows 10 makes it pretty easy to reinstall without nuking your personal stuff, though you should always back up. Do a Web search for "windows reinstall" to get details. --47.152.93.24 (talk) 19:32, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
 * , it sounds like your PC has a number of accumulated problems. I would suggest that a local PC repair business with a Microsoft Accreditation would be your best bet. I used to do this for a living, they should be able fix it for around £40-50. My experience was with Windows XP, but some of this should be revelant.
 * 1. You can end Explorer as a process with Task Manager. Highlight it and press the 'Delete' key. You should be able to restart Explorer (or any other process) within TM by clicking File → New Task (run) → enter "Explorer". Your mileage may vary.
 * 2. If you have an antivirus program installed, make sure it is up to date and run a complete scan. You may only have MS Antivirus. In my opinion it's better than nothing, but nothing more. If not, try installing Malwarebytes (free version, ignore prompts to buy subscription) and run a full scan. Delete or quarantine suspect entries. Any problems in attempting to install or run any AV or malware scanner are almost certainly caused by the malware itself. Try rebooting and running in Safe Mode With Network. Usually press F8 after the BIOS check, just before Windows starts up.
 * 3. In the old days I would have run a registry checker such as Registry Recycler, but I read that this is not recommended under Windows 10.
 * 4. Has the problem of Explorer freezing happened recently, or has it been happening for a while? If recently, you may have installed something (deliberately or unwittingly) which has led to Windows' instability. You could try something like Windows button → Run → 'System Restore', and choose a date before the problem manifested itself (NB I don't have W10, so I'm just guessing as to the exact sequence.) In my personal experience, re-installing Windows of whatever version generally leads to further disaster. I'm not sure since I have little experience with W10, but you may well need the original CD/DVD and the Windows licence number, which may or not be be a problem. Best of luck, >MinorProphet (talk) 14:11, 29 January 2021 (UTC)
 * And just in case, sometimes the task bar freezes when any windows has opened a modal dialog and is waiting for a click, but unfortunately the dialog is hidden behind some other window. Sometime one of the symbols in the task bar represents the dialog and can activate it, or you try and drag some window to the side till you uncover the dialog, or sometimes does help to uncover the dialog and close it, sometimes it does't. Then only restarting the explorer per task manager helps. 2003:F5:6F18:3300:50:7628:18A6:612B (talk) 20:08, 31 January 2021 (UTC) Marco PB