I've been experiencing this issue off and on for ages (last month or so definitely "on"). For me, current version of the issue, the whole Taskbar becomes misaligned with what is underneath as if the redraw post Desktop swap gave up part way. The only fix that currently works is killing/re-running explorer.exe.
Disappearance of Windows 11 Taskbar Icons after Switching Virtual Desktops
Windows 11 22H2
In Windows 11's built-in virtual desktop feature, there is a high probability that icons of active applications on the current desktop may not be displayed when switching between different virtual desktops. The icons only appear when I click on the respective application. I have attempted to resolve the issue through restarts and using Sfc and Dism for repairs, but the problem persists. An essential configuration to note is that the taskbar is set to display windows only from the current desktop.
Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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Anonymous
2024-11-14T11:26:24+00:00 -
Anonymous
2024-10-05T09:39:19+00:00 Workaround:
- Create C:<anylocation>\aaa.bat with this content: @echo off powershell -Command "$shell = New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application; $shell.MinimizeAll(); Start-Sleep -Seconds 2; $shell.UndoMinimizeAll();" exit
- Make shortcut to aaa.bat in C:\Users<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\aaa.lnk
- Whenever you face issue with icons in taskbar becoming transparent, press Win key > type in "aaa" > press Enter. Script will minimize all apps to taskbar, icons will become visible, script will restore apps back to their original position.
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Anonymous
2024-08-12T04:29:47+00:00 agree in macOS and linux it much better and smoother than this <removed> windows implementation
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Anonymous
2024-08-10T16:06:19+00:00 Man I hate this goddamn OS so much. I am stuck using this and I hate it every day even more.
I have seen this virtual desktop function years back but never really used it, but now that I NEED it to work
For real there is no real comparison to the virtual desktops on macOS, they are smooth from corner to corner, this Microsoft cant even display the icons properly.
~<edited to remove COC violations>
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Anonymous
2024-08-09T19:40:03+00:00 The most disappointing part of this issue is that it tells me Microsoft employee's don't use Microsoft products, at least don't use them as hard as real developers do. Exploiting their dominant market position is eventually the beginning of the end.