Taskbar does not Auto-hide all the time Windows 7

Anonymous
2009-11-21T17:32:06+00:00

**Original Title**Windows 7 taskbar won't consistantly autohide. After changing the properties to Autohide and clicking 'OK', it hides for a brief second then reappears. Other times it autohides as desired.

My taskbar autohide behaves in an erratic pattern.  When I have an alert, it autohides after resolving the alert, but other times it refuses to go away, even if I, once again, open the properties, uncheck autohide, recheck autohide, then click 'apply' and/or 'OK'. As I type this, the taskbar stubbornly remains!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2010-03-29T18:26:16+00:00

In the "good old days" applicaitons would often un-hide the Taskbar so their notification icons could show an updated status and they could ensure it would be seen.  I think this method has fallen out of favor, but older applications that haven't been updated could still be sending the commands to the system to show the Taskbar.  Is it possible that you have an older app in the notification area that's affecting the Taskbar as described?

What notification area icons do you have (and what versions)?

For what it's worth, I just tried disabling Avast Pro 5.0 and it still allowed the Taskbar to auto-hide.

-Noel

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Anonymous
2009-11-22T15:00:10+00:00

Hi Lamargene,

Welcome to Microsoft Answers.

See that “Lock the Taskbar” is not enabled. If it is, you may disable it by right-clicking on taskbar and unchecking it.

Still the same behavior?

If such is the case, I’d recommend you to download Microsoft Security Essentials on your computer. This will make sure that any virus, spyware or other malicious software on the computer is wiped out completely. Also if the weird behavior is due to any one of those, running the essentials will fix it.

Download it from

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

Do you see any changes after running the essentials? Post back and let us know.

Regards,

Shinmila H - Microsoft Support

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forumand let us know what you think

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-02-29T03:50:48+00:00

    Well, after all these years, it's a pretty safe bet that Microsoft isn't going to fix this bug. Here's the fastest and easiest workaround for when your Taskbar gets stuck in the UP position.

    Open Task Manager. (<Ctrl><Alt><Del> or right-click on the Taskbar.)

    Click on the Processes tab.

    Select explorer.exe from the list.

    Hit End Process. (This will kill the Taskbar.)

    In Task Manager go to File > New Task (Run...).

    Type in "explorer" and hit OK. (This will start a new Taskbar that should now autohide.)

    Hope this works for you all.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-02-29T13:42:57+00:00

    I solved the issue completely by purchasing a 3rd party app.  WinStep Xtreme (http://www.winstep.net/) has solved all my menu problems and then some with its NextSTART menu.  A perfectly working start menu, a workshelf that I can go to to find my tasks without having to go to the start menu, Quick Launch, themes, a NeXuS bar similar to Apple, etc. etc. etc.  You can download it to try it for 30 days.  I bought the standard edition for $39.90, but there's a basic edition for $29.95.

    Yeah, shameless plug.  But it beats waiting for a bunch of Windiots to get their act together.

    Oh, yeah.  If you still need to access the regular Windows menu, you can by either pressing the Windows key or clicking on the Show Start Menu icon in the NextSTART menu.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-01T08:04:16+00:00

    Why should I pay $30-40 to patch a $100 operating system so it does what it's supposed to do in the first place? The solution I posted immediately above your post takes 15-20 seconds, and it costs nothing. This problem only happens once or twice a week, so that works out to pretty good wages for the time it takes to fix it using Task Manager.

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