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Taskbar Issues

 
 
Windows OS Taskbar

The Windows taskbar is one of the fundamental tools that the operating system offers with a variety of customization options and plenty of room to pin your favorite apps. 

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I will cover a handful of methods explaining what could be causing issues along with the solutions to get your taskbar working as it should

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Some basic troubleshooting methods that can be done without a guide are:

  • Restart the computer

  • Press Ctrl Alt Del then cancel 

  • Open the start menu (if it will open)

  • Close all open windows 

 

Sections Covered on this page​

  1. Restarting File Explorer

  2. Running a DISM Scan

  3. Re-Registering all apps

  4. Disabling the Microsoft Store

  5. Automating System Refresh on startup

So you were just using the computer as you normally do when all of a sudden none of the programs on the taskbar are working, nothing is launching and the right-click is useless.

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This can be caused by a few things:

  • Too many programs on the taskbar, either pinned or open. You will need to remove some pinned programs once the bar is working again

  • Windows OS froze

  • Too many background processes running

  • System overheating

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This will always be a headache for anyone working on a computer and I am here to get it thawed out and working as it should

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Restart File Explorer

 
 
Taskbar Frozen

For this method, you will be restarting the File Explorer process, this will refresh the system and get the taskbar working again.

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NOTE: This will close all active windows in the process so be sure to save any work that you need to before proceeding, you can re-open this page with the "Ctrl Shift T" shortcut once completed or select "Restore Window" if that option appears in your web browser

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Step 1.) Open the Task Manager

Press Ctrl Shift Esc

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Step 2.) Search for "Windows Explorer", it should be at the top under active processes 

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Step 3.) Select "Windows Explorer" then select "Restart Task"

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Now the taskbar will be operational

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Restarting Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer in Task manager

Using the Scan Utilities

For this, two scanning utilities will be used, the SFC and the DISM 

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Both scans will perform different operations on the computer to scope out any corruptions in the installation sectors

What are these and what do they do?

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SFC: Scan the system and repairs corrupt files

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DISM: Services the Windows system and repairs/changes the installation media

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SFC

VS

DISM

Re-Register all apps

 

This process will use Windows Powershell to complete, all you will need to do is type a couple commands then delete a folder and the takbar will be working again.

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Step 1.) Open Windows Powershell

Start>Search Powershell>Run as administrator

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Step 2.) Copy the following command and paste it into the powershell:

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Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

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Then press enter, this command will re-register all apps on the system but we are not finished yet

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Step 3.) Open File Explorer and navigate to the "Local" folder

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C:\Users\"USERNAME"\AppData\Local

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Step 4.) Locate the folder titled "TileDataLayer" and delete it

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Thats it, it may take a moment but your taskbar will function as if it never froze

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Windows Powershell
TileDataLayer folder location

Disable the Microsoft Store

This method will disable the Microsoft store on your computer along with any apps that have been downloaded from it, so only go through with this if you are ok with loosing access to Microsoft Store apps.

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I will include a follow-up guide in this section for getting the Microsoft Store Back

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Just like the previous method, this will also use Windows PowerShell to complete but will not require any folders to be deleted.

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Microsoft Store

Step 1.) Open Windows Powershell with administrator rights

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Step 2.) Copy the following command and paste it into powershell, then press enter

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Get-AppxPackage | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online

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Step 3.) Now all you need to do is restart your system and test out the taskbar.

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Thats all there is to disabling the Microsoft store for Windows

Restoring the Microsoft Store

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Step 1.) Open Powershell with administrator rights

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Step 2.) Copy the following command and paste it into powershell:

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Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.WindowsStore | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

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Step 3.) Restart the system

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This will restore the Microsoft store on the system.

Restoring other built-in store apps

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After restoring the Microsoft store, there may be some apps that aren't working just right, I will show you how to reinstate those as well

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Step 1.) Open Powershell with administrator rights

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Step 2.) Copy the following command and paste it into powershell:

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Get-AppXPackage -allusers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

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Step 3.) Restart the system

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This will restore the Microsoft store on the system.

Automate System Refresh

 
 

I am going to use this section to show you  how to create a batch file to automatically refresh the desktop and taskbar when the system starts up and you log in (the file will also be available whenever you need it)

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Before we begin, I will explain what a batch file is for you to get a better understanding on what this process consists of before creating one and possibly having some unanswered questions.

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What is a batch file? A batch file is a script file in Windows computers that consists of a series of commands that gets carried out when the batch is launched. The commands can be automated and manually triggered based on user's command

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For instance, you could create a batch file that can shutdown your computer on command, open specific programs and websites, and even run tasks if you built one with enough code.

Batch File Icon

How to create the "Refresh" batch file

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Step 1.) Open your Notepad program, I prefer using Notepad ++

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Step 2.) Type the following command(s):

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

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Step 3.) Now you will need to save the file as (any name).bat to ensure it converts to a batch file type. Save it to your desktop for easy access for the next step.

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The next steps are only if you want the file to run every time you log into your account

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Step 4.) Open your startup folder, you will need to use the file path below to find it. Replace USERNAME with your username

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C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

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Step 5.) Copy the newly created batch file to the startup folder 

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Now go ahead and give the file a test run and see if the screen refreshes, if it does, the batch file works. Now whenever you log into your account, the batch file will activate refreshing the taskbar and desktop allowing everything to work as it should

Batch File Refresh Code
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