The Task bar is missing on Windows 8

Anonymous
2013-02-09T15:56:41+00:00

Old Title: where the heck is the task bar?

I just want the task/tool bar to show on top of my screen,, any way to do that?

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Anonymous
2013-02-10T09:45:23+00:00

Hi L Jensen,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community Forums. We are here to assist you with your Windows related issues.

It seems that you have recently installed Windows 8 and you are unable to find the taskbar on your computer. I would like to have some information regarding this issue.

1.       Are you referring to the taskbar on the desktop interface on Windows 8?

2.       Have you made any recent changes on the computer prior to this issue?

If you are referring to the Modern User Interface, then I am sorry to inform you that we do not have any options to display the taskbar in the Modern User Interface of Windows 8 and it is by the new Windows 8 design.

However, if you are referring to the desktop interface, then the reason why the taskbar is not shown on the screen may be because the taskbar is set to automatically hide or it might be some issues with the “explorer.exe” service or it might be stopped manually.

Method 1: Disable the Auto-hide feature of the Taskbar.

If the task bar appears on the desktop interface, when you move the mouse pointer towards the bottom of the screen, then the auto-hide option of the taskbar might have enabled on the computer.

To disable this option follow these instructions and check the issue:

a)       Right click on the taskbar from the Desktop Interface of Windows 8.

b)        Select “Properties” to open the “Taskbar Properties” window.

c)       On the “Taskbar Properties” window and under the “Taskbar” tab, uncheck the second option which says “Auto-hide the Taskbar”.

You will also have the option to change the position of the taskbar on the same window. You can change it to top,  left or right.

Check if you are able to view the taskbar. If it is not visible at all from the desktop interface, then there might be some issues with the explorer.exe or its service might be stopped manually.

To start the “explorer.exe” service on the computer, try the next method:

Method 2: Check the “Explorer.exe” service and start it if it is “Stopped”.

a)       Press “Alt” + “Ctrl” + “Del” keys on the keyboard and select “Task Manager” to open it.

b)       On the “Task Manager” window, click on “File” menu and select “Create a new task”.

c)       Type “explorer.exe” in the “Open” box.

d)       Click on “OK” and check if you are able to find the taskbar now.

Hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to get back to us for any further queries or issues related to Windows.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-04-15T16:56:44+00:00

    I had windows 10 tehcnical preview and i booted back into windows 8, the whole screen was black and it stayed black but everything else is fully functional only the desktop interface is missing completely, its been replaced with black.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-10T23:23:04+00:00

    Having worked with Windows 8 for quite some time, I tend to agree with the person that gave you the advice.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-02-04T03:59:56+00:00

    The only way to fix it temporarily is to kill the explorer process and restart it.

    Sounds like a problem with scaling.  Have you tried changing that instead of your current workaround?  Or what about repositioning it?  Do it on a side so you could tell whether you were losing lines at the bottom.

    Also, if you have a Microsoft mouse you may have a tool called mousinfo.exe which could help check if all your lines are still there.

    The only other factor that I can think of is that in MUF mode even if the Taskbar is not set to Auto-hide I think it will.  Then perhaps there is confusion about which app is showing?  E.g. if it wasn't Desktop you would have to unhide it.  That can be tricky, especially if you only have a finger or capacitive pen to use.  What I use then is Win-T.

    HTH

    Robert Aldwinckle

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