Icons Keep Disappearing From Taskbar - Windows 11

Anonymous
2022-09-07T13:59:50+00:00

I upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11 a few months ago, and ever since I've been having a problem where the icons disappear from the taskbar. It happens while I'm using the laptop as well as when it comes out of hibernation.

I know this can be fixed temporarily by restarting Windows Explorer in the task manager, but this is happening several times a day and it's getting annoying. Is there a permenant fix yet?

I'm using Windows 11 Home version 21H2 build 22000.856 on a HP laptop with an Intel i5 1035G1 processor and 8GB of RAM. The problem didn't exist when I was running Windows 10.

Thanks.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | 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.

0 comments

163 answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2025-03-18T21:17:24+00:00

    Call me old school, but I like the Windows 7 style start menu, so I have been using StartIsBack since Windows 10 with no problems. When I upgraded to Windows 11, I started using using StartAllBack (Win 11 version) with no problem. I decided to try out the Windows 11 Start Menu on my Dell Desktop (I liked it on my HP Laptop) and uninstalled StartAllBack. Within a day I had taskbar icons not showing up. I found a way to add the Explorer restart to the desktop right-click menu, but the disappearing icons were too annoying so I reinstalled StartAllBack and no issues with icons not showing. So, I use StartAllBack on my Desktop and the standard Windows 11 start button and taskbar on my laptop.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2024-12-25T19:02:23+00:00

    The icons kept disappearing on mine pc too. But it has stopped disappearing now, i think its because i cleared some system files, I used my antivirus program to clear the files, maybe you can use ccleaner?
    I cleared the temp folder, logfiles for windows update, microsoft internet explorer buffer and temp system folder.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2024-12-02T17:01:12+00:00

    The only thing I've found that brings them back, other than a full restart, is to use Task Mgr to restart File Explorer. This always has brought back all the icons. Doing that is not that big a deal, it's more the thought that since it's not that big a deal MS could have made a software fix that dealt with the issue behind the curtain.

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2024-11-30T12:43:32+00:00

    Same here. 24H2 brand new Lenovo laptop and icons disappear. After over thirty years, the shell team STILL didn't get the basics right.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2024-11-18T07:27:24+00:00

    for anyone who came to this recently like I did, I've noticed that the icons don't disappear for me if in settings under System > Multitasking I have Desktops > "On the taskbar, show all the open windows" set to "On all desktops".

    If anyone else can confirm it would be nice so I know I'm not crazy.

    My assumption is that when windows adds/removes the icons if you have it set to only show for your current desktop that they aren't being reinitialized correctly.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments