Fixing Windows Missing Taskbar And Missing Desktop Icons
The cause of the “windows missing taskbar and missing desktop icons” is unknown, but it is probably because of a bad registry. It can be prevented by using a registry cleaner.
How does it manifest itself?
Basically, your taskbar is completely missing and the desktop icons along with it. You have nowhere to click, making it difficult to get rid of the problem. However, this error does not occur at every startup. Fixing windows missing taskbar and missing desktop icons can be a daunting task.
How can you fix Windows missing taskbar and missing desktop icons error
this already, but the Windows XP task bar has an option to hide unused icons. So the reason some icons are disappearing might be that you haven’t used them for a long time and Windows has decided that they should be hidden. To check this option:
- Right-click the Taskbar
- Select Properties
- Clear the check box Hide inactive icons
If this isn’t the cause of the problem, then Microsoft’s recommendation is to select “Lock the taskbar”.
One other option is to disable the SSDP Discovery Service and the Universal Plug and Play Device Host. To do this, open Administrative Tools in Control Panel, and then open Services. Select “SSDP Discovery Service”, right-click it and select Properties. Change the startup type to “Disabled” and then click OK. Repeat this for the “Universal Plug and Play Device Host.”. If you have a pre-SP1 version of Windows XP then disabling Universal Plug and Play is a good idea anyway as there is a known security vulnerabilty in it, although by now you should have Windows XP SP2, which fixes this. Note that several people have found that that the missing taskbar and missing desktop icons problem was solved by changing the startup options for the two services to “Automatic”, instead of disabling them.
An increasing number of devices require Universal Plug and Play services to work correctly, in which case it is not possible to follow the advice given above. The below solution is only available if you have Windows XP SP2 (which you ought to have, by now). Open “My Network Places” and in the left-hand Tasks panel, select “Hide icons for networked uPnP devices”. (If you are using Windows Classic folders you will have to change the Folder Options to “Show common tasks in folders” to see this. This stops the display of the icons but does not disable the services needed for some devices to work.
Although many people have found that this solution works for them, others have not. So we think that the cause of the problem lies somewhere else. But where? The answer is – Windows Registry. The registry, an important component of the operating system, became full of errors and started to mess up the entire system. You are advised to run a registry cleaner and make sure your registry is clean and safe.
Get your registry cleaner now from our Top Registry Cleaners Section
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YEEEP, thanks for the article, you helped me fix this problem. Everytime windows starts it didn’t load the desktop icons, I run a registry cleaner in safe mode, restarted and everything came back to be fine, even the computer is now running better.
Hey Kevin,
It’s great that the article gave you the tools to solve your missing taskbar and desktop icons problem.
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.