Toolbars I put on the Task Bar disappear with each restart

Anonymous
2013-10-30T18:34:15+00:00

I just recently installed Windows 8.1, and as soon as I finished the upgrade, and ever since, I have had this problem. Any custom toolbars I put on the Task Bar disappear whenever I restart. For quite some time now (since Win ME, I think), I have used custom toolbars for My Computer (now called This PC in 8.1) and my Favorites, or Links within my user profile (not to be confused with my Internet favorites). Having those has been extremely handy as it allows me to view and access any of my drives quickly, and open folders I frequently access with one click. I think it was starting in Vista that toolbars had to be located on the Task Bar rather than being on some other side of the screen (I put my custom toolbars on the left side, and appropriately called it my sidebar). Having those toolbars limited to the Task Bar was no real problem, I just had to get used to my Task Bar being larger.

My current computer has had Win 8 installed from the beginning (I installed it myself using a clean install, not an upgrade). When I upgraded to 8.1, I was able to add those toolbars to my Task Bar no problem (right-click Task Bar >Toolbars >New Toolbar... and I select the folder I want to use for the toolbar), but every time I restart or shut down/turn on my computer, the custom toolbars disappear, leaving only the regular Task Bar and the Language Bar (I customarily keep the Language Bar on to be able to switch between typing English and Japanese, so I'm quite glad that at least it doesn't disappear). If I enable any of the toolbars already on the list in the Toolbars menu, they also disappear with each restart (such as Address and Bing Desktop; not that I use them, I'm just saying this to make diagnosis easier).

Granted, this is not a seriously harmful issue, as I am always able to put the toolbars back on again after each restart, and I don't restart ALL the time. But it's a major annoyance and it hurts productivity. Is there some way I can fix this problem? Or is there some update I can apply to do so?

Ethan Hayes

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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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  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-21T14:01:34+00:00

    I'm having the same issue on a Surface Pro 3.  After a shutdown and restart the Quick Launch icons are gone from my taskbar.  If I right click one of the icons that is supposed to be in the Quick Launch and select "Unpin from Taskbar" all of the Quick Launch icons show up, with the exception of the one I just removed.  I can re-add that one and everything is back, until I shut it down again.  This is my 2nd Surface Pro 3 and 4th computer running Windows 8.1.  No other machines that I have are experiencing this issue.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-07-04T17:17:10+00:00

    I have the same problem on my Acer laptop.  I use the same method on my W 7 desktop and it works.   The folders I use are just shortcuts, one is for tools, the other for games.  They disappear after turning off the PC and turning it back on.  I pay attention, unlock the tool bar before I position them, then lock it when I finish.  I have not had any luck fixing the problem.   Not only do the folders disappear, the keyboard is checked again and the icon is on the task bar.   I don't under stand why they put a keyboard on PC because I have a real one.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-09-21T12:07:02+00:00

    try to restart explorer.exe process in task manager

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-09-28T20:33:51+00:00

    I have the same problem as described, with Toolbars (Folder Names) showing on the TaskBar OK but empty with no icons. I restarted Windows Explorer in the manner described by Ethan Hayes and all icons reappeared immediately. However after a restart they were missing again!

    I was hoping someone else in this thread would have a similar variant as me! (but like everyone, still slightly different!)

    My toolbars and their content all show on boot, and then after completely inconsistent lengths of time then the icons/content vanish (and occasionally reappear, but not normally).  The titles are always visible, and the only way to bring the content back manually is remove and re-add them, but that's insanely tedious, or restart the computer (but that only lasts for so long).  Driving me nuts, just like everyone else (especially because it's a brand new and costly machine!)

    I haven't yet read all of the replies on this thread, but I figure I should ask you directly if you found a solution?

    Thank you!

    \ using Windows 7 Pro (x64)

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-02-17T18:13:58+00:00

    For history's sake...

    I had this problem too:

    1. Win 8.1 on HP EliteBook
    2. Toolbars staying on restart, but disappear after coming back from shutdown.

    the solution that worked for me was disabling the language bar as suggested by ScottAnderson_WWS.

    Since this weird MS site doesn't support direct link to answers, I've copied the steps (from the OP's last reply) for your quick reference:

    1. Open Control Panel.
    2. Choose Language (Unless you have the Category-style, in which case you choose "Change input methods").
    3. Click Advanced Settings, on the left.
    4. Around the middle of the settings, uncheck "Use the desktop language bar when it's available".
    5. Click the Save button.

    Cheers,

    Omer

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