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
    2013-04-02T15:45:54+00:00

    Same problem here.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-04-06T00:48:55+00:00

    All,

    This isn't going to work for everyone, however, there has been a known issue where sometimes Explorer.exe has been started more than once and prevents the Task Bar from hiding/fading when you have certain programs in full screen mode (games, videos, web browsers). This usually only happens when it use to do it, but no longer does it in areas you know it should. The cause could be a number of things, but in most cases I have seen, the issue was attributed to Malware/Viruses.

    You can check Task Manger to make sure you only have one Explorer.exe. This can be done by right-clicking anywhere on your Task Bar > Task Manager. Click on the "Processes" tab. Click once on the word/column "Image Name" to sort alphabetically. Scroll down and locate Explorer.exe.

    If you see more than one listed, then highlight one, right-click it, choose option to "End Task". You'll get a message asking if you want to end Explorer.exe. Just hit the button labeled "End Process". Do this for every Explorer.exe you see. By doing this, your Task Bar WILL go away, along with all your icons (temporarily). Don't freak out and DO NOT CLOSE TASK MANAGER.

    Next, we will want to ensure a fresh Explorer.exe has been started. To do this, locate "File" top left of the Task Manager. Click it to show a drop-down menu. Select option for "New Task (Run...)". In the run box, type Explorer.exe and then either hit the enter key on your keyboard or click the "Okay" button.

    Test it out by using one of your programs where the Task Bar wasn't hiding before.

    If this works, reboot your computer to see if the issue comes back. If it does, check Task Manager again - If there are more than one explorer.exe programs running, again, then something is causing these to start multiple times and more research would be needed.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-04-11T01:22:47+00:00

    spot on! that is the solution to my problem!

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