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8 Ways to Fix Taskbar Not Working on Windows 10

The Windows 10 Taskbar is an old concept that has grown to become an important utility. After the Windows 10 release, the taskbar received new functionalities that turned it into a feature-rich application. One of the most significant improvements was the introduction of Cortana and an inbuilt search box. In addition to that, you can also effortlessly launch apps on your PC using the Taskbar. Unfortunately, with all these great improvements came certain problems that can render the Taskbar unusable.

Given the significance of the Taskbar, you’ll not want to encounter problems like the Taskbar being unresponsive, frozen, or not working at all. Therefore, we have compiled a few fixes to help you fix your Taskbar when it stops working as expected.

Taskbar not Working in Windows 10


1. Restart Windows Explorer

Whenever you have issues with your Taskbar, the first step is to restart Windows Explorer. It controls the Windows shell, including the File Explorer app, the taskbar, and the Start menu.

Therefore, you can restart it to fix a few glitches affecting your Taskbar’s functionality. You can restart Windows explorer by:

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift +Esc to open Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift +Esc to open Task Manager

Step 2: Under Processes look for Windows Explorer

Under Processes look for Windows Explorer

Step 3: Right-click on it and select Restart


2. Check third-party apps and bad explorer add-ons

If your Windows 10 Taskbar is not working, you can disable all non-Microsoft services to know whether a File Explorer addon interferes with the explorer.exe. To do this:

Press Windows + R to launch the Run dialog

Step 1: Press Windows + R to launch the Run dialog

Type in msconfig and press Enter

Step 2: Type in msconfig and press Enter

select Hide all Microsoft services

Step 3: On the Services tab, select Hide all Microsoft services and click on Apply

AllJony Router Service

Step 4: Select Disable all

Step 5: Click on Apply, then select Ok

You can then restart your computer and check whether your Taskbar is functional again. If it is, you should find the application causing the error and uninstall it. Alternatively, you can get rid of any apps that you recently installed.


3. Re-register the Taskbar

You could be facing issues because your Taskbar was deregistered from your system. Therefore, re-registering it will help solve the problem of the Taskbar not working. To re-register the Taskbar, you’ll need to use PowerShell with admin privileges. PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework with a command-line shell and associated scripting language. You can use PowerShell to re-register the Taskbar on Windows 10 by:

Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for Windows PowerShell

Press the Windows key and search for Windows PowerShell

Step 2: Click on Run as Administrator

Step 3: You can now paste the following command in Windows PowerShell and press Enter.

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

get-appxpackage-foreach-add-appxpackage-_-installlocation-appxmanifest-xml

Step 1: Wait until the Windows apps are reinstalled

Step 2: You can now close PowerShell and navigate to C:/Users/{Your_Name}/AppData/Local

You can now close PowerShell and navigate

Step 3: Locate and delete the folder named TileDataLayer

Folder named TileDataLayer

You can then restart your PC and see if your Taskbar is not working problem is solved.


4. Run DISM and SFC Utility

Corrupted, broken, and errors in your system files will prevent your Taskbar from working as expected. Therefore, you can check for corrupted systems files using the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) and SFC (System File Checker). SFC is a built-in tool in Windows OS that scans the machine, finds errors, and fixes them automatically. To check for any corrupted system files:

Step 1: Press the Windows icon and type Command Prompt in the search bar

Press the Windows icon and type Command Prompt

Step 2: Click on Run as Administrator

Run as administrator option

Step 3: In the Command Prompt window, paste in DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth. This will repair the system image.

Cleanup-image Restorehealth

Step 4: After it has completed the scanning process, type in sfc /scannow and press Enter. This will run the System file checker utility.

sfc -scannow and press Enter

After it has finished the scanning process, you can restart Windows and check if your problem is gone.


5. Create a new user account

Sometimes your system files may get corrupted or unintentionally deleted. This also happens when unintentional tasks end up damaging the core features of your system. When you have a corrupted user profile, your Taskbar will not work as expected.

Therefore, you should check whether the taskbar works on another user account. You can do this by taking the following steps to create a new user account on your computer:

Step 1: Press Win + I to open Settings

Step 2: Select Accounts from the Settings menu

Step 3: From the list, select Family & Other People

Step 4: Click on Add someone else to this PC

Add someone else to this PC

Step 5: Then selects I don’t have this person’s sign-in information

selects I don’t have this person’s sign-in information

Step 6: On the next screen, click on Add a user without a Microsoft account

click on Add a user without a Microsoft account

Step 7: Then click on the Add user option

Then click on the Add user option

Step 8: You can then create the user and click on Next

Step 9: Change the account type from the new account to the Administrator account and click Ok to confirm.

New account to Administrator account

After that, you can now sign out of your accounts by pressing Windows Key, selecting your profile icon, then clicking on Sign Out. You can then log in with your new account and see whether this solves your problem. If it does, you can transfer your data to the new user account.


6. Update Windows and device drivers

If you’re running an older version of Windows 10, you could have corrupt system files that prevent the Taskbar from working. You’ll also have outdated drivers that will cause more problems on your PC. It is advisable to ensure that you are always running the latest version of Windows 10.

Microsoft releases regular updates to patch security issues and solve many problems on your PC. You can check for Windows 10 updates by:

Step 1: Press Win + I to open the settings

Press Win + I to open the settings

Step 2: Click on Update & Security

Click on Update & Security

Step 3: Then select Check for Updates

Windows will check for any available updates, including driver updates, and install them on your PC.


7. Rollback to a System Restore Point

Even though updating your Windows OS can solve many issues, it could also cause some problems. Therefore, if you have issues with the Taskbar after updating your Windows, you can roll back to a system restore point. It helps you undo the significant changes made on your PC causing issues. You’ll take your PC back to when everything was working as expected. You should keep in mind that restoring will not affect your files but will uninstall apps and remove any updates installed.

Step 1: Select the Start button and type in Control Panel

Start button and type in Control Panel

Step 2: In the Control Panel window, search for Recovery

Step 3: Select Recovery

Select Recovery

Step 4: Click on Open System Restore, then select Next.

Open System Restore then select Next to proceed

Step 5: Choose a Restore point, then select Next

Restore System files and settingsStep 6: Click on Finish to restore your PC

After performing a system restore, your PC will restart. This should fix your Taskbar not working problem.


8. Use the Troubleshooter

Windows has the troubleshooting feature to help you diagnose and fix issues with your PC. Therefore, you can run the troubleshooter to fix Taskbar not working problem:

Step 1: Go to Settings and select Update & security

Go to Settings and select Update & security

Step 2: Click on Troubleshoot from the left menu

Click on Troubleshoot from the left menu

Step 3: Select Windows Store Apps

Step 4: Click on Run the troubleshooter and see if it fixes your problem.

Click on Run the troubleshooter and see if it fixes your problem


Conclusion

With the help of the above troubleshooting tips, you should fix many taskbar-related issues. If your problem persists, you can choose to reinstall your Windows 10 OS. However, the above fixes should be enough to get rid of your taskbar not working issue.