The taskbar is one of the significant features of Windows 10, I mean it’s the only quick thing that helps us to know which programs are still running on our PC. Recently, I was stuck in a situation where the taskbar was not working on my Windows 10 PC.

It was just disappeared and not allowing me to turn off my PC. In such cases, we have no other option but to do it by using Task Manager. Many users have reported they were experiencing issues with the taskbar.

Here’s everything you need to know on how to fix the taskbar not working issue on Windows 10.

See also: 11 Simple Tips to Increase Download Speed in Windows 10

Users Could Experience the Following Issues related to the Taskbar

Following are some issues that users have experienced. Also, your issue might be counted in the following list:

1. Auto-hide taskbar issue: Taskbar get’s hide but fails to appear.
2. Taskbar freezes: The taskbar does not respond, it gets stuck and won’t accept your commands.
3. Search option error: You are not able to type in the search bar of the taskbar.
4. Right-click does not work: You are unable to open the program that been pinned in the taskbar.
5. The thumbnails stop working.
6. Taskbar initialization failure: Taskbar will not show up for few moments when you turn on your system.
7. Icons won’t respond: Icons misbehaves resulting unable to open the program.
8. Auto-hide taskbar issue: Auto-hide feature fails to work.
9. Lock feature issue: Lock the taskbar feature fails to work.
10. Pinned icons disappeared: Icons that are pinned on the taskbar have vanished.
11. Pin feature stops working.
12. Cortona failure: Cortona won’t respond.

Troubleshooting Methods to Fix Taskbar Not Working on Windows 10

Let’s troubleshoot the issues related to the taskbar. it is not necessary to perform all the troubleshooting methods mentioned below, if your issue has resolved then it is advised to stick to the workaround.

1. Re-sign into your user account

You can simply, perform sign out your user’s account and sign in back. This will force the taskbar to work like before. Well, how to do it?

Step 1: Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys simultaneously.

Step 2: New window will open, from the open select Sign-out. You will be no longer in your account.

Step 3: Then just Sign In to your user account normally.

Check if the taskbar not working on Windows 10 issue has resolved or not.

2. Reboot your PC

Rebooting your PC is the best and the major thing you can do to resolve the taskbar not working issue. By doing so, it will eliminate small bugs and glitches located in the system. Your system memory will be released, therefore the programs that you were trying to use will have enough memory to run it without stutter or lag.

If you were experiencing a freezing issue with your taskbar then try to reboot your PC. Here’s how to do that if the taskbar won’t respond:

How to Reboot the system without a taskbar

Step 1: On your PC, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys at the same time.

Step 2: You will get to see the Power button, located at the very bottom right of the screen, click on that.

Step 3: Now, select the Restart option.

Your system will reboot without any problem.

3. Restart Windows Explorer to using Task Manager

You can restart Windows Explorer using Task Manager, this will help you to fix the taskbar not working on your Windows 10 PC. Follow the steps to do so:

Step 1: Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc key simultaneously to open Task Manager.

Step 2: Under the Processes section, search Windows Explorer.

Step 3: Right-click on Windows Explorer and click on Restart.

This will force the taskbar to restart.

4. Update your Windows 10

I know that how updating your Window will resolve the issue related to the taskbar. Mind you, the outdated display driver likely cause the issue. Also, this has worked for many users

Here’s how to update your Windows 10:

Step 1: Open your Settings apps

Step 2: Select the option named Update & Security

Step 3: Now click on the Windows Update

It has noticed that the latest Windows patches help to resolve the bugs and glitches.

5. Fix Icons Missing in Taskbar

Sometimes, icons on the taskbar not working in Windows 10, icons such as pinned icons, clock, and other functions. This can be resolved by using Command prompt.

Method 1:

Let’s see how it is done:

Step 1: Press the Windows + X key simultaneously to summon the Power User menu.

Step 2: From the Power user menu, select Command Prompt(Admin) or Windows PowerShell.

Step 3: Type sfc /scannow command line in the Command Prompt, and press enter.

Step 4: Now, restart your system.

SFC command force to runs the System File Checker utility to resolve the majority of the Windows issue. Now, check whether the issue of missing icons in the taskbar has fixed.

Method 2:

In case, the SFC command won’t work. We will perform the task once again by using the DISM (Disk Image Servicing and Management) command. Open the command prompt from the Power-user menu as shown in the steps mentioned above.

And type the following command:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The issue must be resolved after restarting your PC.

6. Fix Taskbar is Not Responding or Frozen

When you try to click on the taskbar to open any program, the taskbar just won’t respond. If the taskbar freeze issue still has not fixed by restarting your system Then you can try the effective fix mentioned below:

We will do this by using PowerShell, here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Press the Windows key and type PowerShell in the Start menu. You can also summon it by using the Run feature of Windows, press Windows + R, and type PowerShell.

Step 2: Now type the following command:

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

Step 3: Now, follow the path C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local and search for the TileDataLayer folder and delete it.

Now, the taskbar not responding issue will get reloved. You can also try to restart the system if that’s necessary.

Alternately, you can also resolve the taskbar not responding / freeze issue by using the other method. But it has some compromisation, let’s how to do that:

Step 1: Open the PowerShell just like you did as mentioned above.

Step 2: Now, type the following command:

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

Step 2: Restart your system.

If you are okay with that, you can perform the method.

7. Fix Taskbar Moves Around

This issue is simple to fix, you can do that by enabling the Lock the taskbar feature. This will allow the taskbar to stick to the screen. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Visit Settings.

Step 2: Go to Personalization > Taskbar.

Step 3: Click on Taskbar and you can toggle on the Lock the taskbar feature.

8. Taskbar is unable to hide

If your taskbar is not working able to hide even if the auto-hide feature is enabled. We will cover three effective methods to get rid of the issue:

Method 1:

Simply restart your Windows 10 PC, this will help the taskbar to get back like before.

If this has not resolved the issue then try the next method.

Method 2:

Sometimes, It could possible that the taskbar auto-hide feature is not enabled unknowingly. Even if it’s turned on re-enabling can fix the issue. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar and select Settings.

Step 2: Now turn on the Auto-hide feature, if it’s already turned on turn it of and then turn it on.

Method 3:

Keep in mind that the taskbar auto-hide feature will not work if there are apps present on the taskbar that is asking for users’ attention. Here’s what you can do:

Step 1: Click on the up arrow icon located at the right side of the taskbar.

Step 2: Now, if there’s any notification, or the app is not letting the taskbar to auto-hide. Then Right Click on the app.

Step 3: Exit the app.

Fix Taskbar using System Restore

If you have made any changes on the system due to which causing the taskbar to misbehave. Then this can get resolved by System Restore, here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Type System Restore Point in the search bar.

Step 2: Under System Protection, click on System Restore…

Step 3: Select Next and choose the restore point, and click on Next.

When the restore point is successfully to restore the taskbar will start working like normal.

Conclusion

All the troubleshooting methods mentioned above are valid fixes. I assume that you have tried all the methods and the taskbar is working like normal. If the same issue encounters back in the future you can refer to the same article.

Furthermore, when I was experiencing a taskbar not responding issue on my system. I re-installed the whole Windows 10 OS without affecting or deleting any of my data. And the problem related to the taskbar was resolved, but I recommend you to perform all the fixes mentioned above, if nothing works then you can go with re-installing Windows 10 OS (without data deletion).

That’s it for now, hope this helps! Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Till then stay tuned for more info.

Also see: How To Fix the Windows 10 Start Menu If It’s Frozen?