Many Windows 11 users reported about Taskbar is not working issue. Their taskbar is unresponsive when they click on it. If you are running on the same boat, please follow this article. We will guide you how to fix Windows 11 taskbar not working issue.
The Windows 11 taskbar overhaul includes Start menu, Search box icons, Notification area, app icons, and more. These icons are center-aligned in Windows 11 default and you would see them at the bottom of the screen like in the previous Windows versions. However, you always have a choice to move your Taskbar to top of your PC screen.
Fixes for Windows 11 taskbar not working
If your Windows 11 taskbar is not working or showing icons on your system, you should perform the below mentioned solutions and see if these will help you to resolve the issue. Before that, however, you should perform system update and install any available bits on your system and see if this fixes the issue.
Fix 1: Restart the device
The very first thing you should try to fix Windows 11 taskbar not working issue is to give your computer system a quick restart. Restarting Windows usually removes all minor issues. If this action does not work for you, move to the next one.
Fix 2: Restart Windows Explorer and other essential processes
The next thing you can try to is to restart your Windows Explorer process on your Windows 11 system. To do that, perform these steps:
- Right-click on Start to open WInX menu,
- Click on Task Manager,
- Find Windows Explorer,
- Right click on it,
- Select Restart.
Go to the details tab in the Task Manager and restart the following processes as well:
- ShellExperienceHost.exe
- SearchIndexer.exe
- SearchHost.exe
- RuntimeBroker.exe
Fix 3: Reset the Taskbar of your Windows 11 PC
- Copy and paste the below script in Notepad file:
REG DELETE HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams\Desktop /F
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
taskkill /f /im shellexperiencehost.exe
del %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\TempState\* /q
start explorer.exe
- Save the file as BAT file (enter .BAT at the end of the filename while saving it),
- The then, double-click on the file.
- This will remove all your taskbar toolbars, cache and restart explorer.exe.
Fix 4: Run SFC and DISM scan
If Widows 11 taskbar not showing issue is caused due to system corruption, you are likely to encounter this issue by running an SFC scan. If this didn’t help, you can run a DISM scan to fix the bad system image which could also cause the issue at hand:
- Press Win+ R to open Run dialogue box,
- Type in notepad and hit Enter to open Notepad,
- Enter this syntax into the text editor:
echo off
date /t & time /t
echo Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
echo …
date /t & time /t
echo Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
echo …
date /t & time /t
echo SFC /scannow
SFC /scannow
date /t & time /t
pause
- Save this file as .bat file extension and on the Save as type box select All Files,
- Run the batch file with admin privilege repeatedly till it reports no errors,
- Finally, restart the PC.
Fix 5: Perform modifications to Windows Registry
This solution requires creating XAML or Extension Application Markup Language file into the Registry Editor. Since this is a registry operation, it is recommend you back up the registry or create a system restore point as a necessary precaution and then proceed with the below steps:
- Press Win+ R to open Run,
- Type in regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor,
- Navigate to the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- At that location, right-click on the blank space on the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value to create registry key and rename it as EnableXamlStartMenu and hit Enter,
- Double-click on the new entry to edit its properties,
- Input O in the value data filed,
- Click on to save the changes,
- Exit the registry and restart the device and see if the issue persists.
Fix 6: Perform System Restore
If the issue occurred recently, you can get the simple fix by performing the system restore to revert the Windows 11 system to a working state when the taskbar was functioning normally.
Fix 7: Uninstall recent Windows upgrades
If the issue started after installing a Window update, then the upgrade is the problematic and you should consider uninstalling it and see if this helps.
Fix 8: Cloud Reset Windows 11
Perform this action as a last resort. If the above mentioned steps do not provide you the fix, you should reset Windows 11 using the Cloud Reset option.
Conclusion
That is all! We are now round up this article how to fix Windows 11 taskbar is not working. Hopefully, the aforementioned solutions help you in getting the fix for the same. If not, you should once run system scan using PC Repair Tool whose download link is provided below.
The tool will scan your system for missing and corrupted files and provide you an automatic fix for them. It is possible that the issue results in because of system corruption of which this tool would provide you an automatic fix.
