Windows 10: Taskbar stops working

The task bar becomes unresponsive and when I mouse over it, the cursor becomes a spinning wheel and never stops.I can't access the Start menu.I can't access the search in the taskbar.The Windows key on the keyboard does nothing.I can't type anything in the search bar of a folder window.If I right-click the taskbar, all the icons disappear and it becomes a blank gray bar with the cursor still spinning. The time and date are still visible, but the app icons, the battery icon, and the Wifi icon are all gone.I cannot open Windows Photos double-clicking a jpg file does nothing.What I *can

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taskbar tranparency

Hi Dan,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused. I will surely assist you with this.

I would suggest you to change the desktop themes and check if you are able to see the transparent taskbar.

If that doesn't help I would suggest you to end the explorer.exe and restart it and see if you are able to see the transparent taskbar.

Please follow the steps below to restart explorer.exe:

stop and start Explorer.exe

• • 
    Right click on the taskbar and select task manager.
    
  • 
    In the process Right click on windows explorer and end the task
    
  • 
    Restart the task by clicking on the file and select new task
    
  • 
    Type Explorer.exe and press enter.
    

And see if it helps.

Do let us know the result. We will be glad to help if you need further assistance.

 

Windows 10 Taskbar is not working and "fixes" don't fix it.

Hi Carole,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community and being a part of Windows 10.

I understand your concern about accessing Taskbar on Windows 10. We will help you with resolving the issue.

Provide us the additional information to understand the issue and assist you better:

• What exactly happens when you press Alt+Tab keys from the keyboard to switch between the apps?
• Have you made any changes to the operating system prior to this issue?
• What are the troubleshooting steps you have tried to resolve the issue?

As you said Taskbar is not working, and you will minimize all the opened apps to access the one you wish to from Taskbar. Be clear with how exactly you are trying to accessing the apps from Taskbar.

Step 1: I suggest you to check if you have enabled the Auto-hide option for Taskbar, if so try to disable and check if it helps.

Steps to enable auto-hide Taskbar:

• Right click in the empty space on the Taskbar, click on
  Properties,
• Under Taskbar tab, uncheck the Auto-hide the Taskbar option, click on
  Apply and Ok.

Step 2: I suggest you to install all the pending updates on your device.

• Connect to the internet.
• Press Windows key and type
  updates.
• Click on Check for updates.
• Under Windows Updates, click on
  Check for updates.
• Try to install the updates being shown.

Hope it helps. Get back to us with an updated status of this issue and brief description for further assistance.

 

Taskbar not working

Hi Frank,

In addition to Sumit Dhiman suggestion I suggest you to follow the link below and follow the troubleshooting steps

suggested.

Troubleshoot problems opening the Start menu or Cortana

The troubleshooting steps suggested in the link above applies to Taskbar too.

Do let us know if you are able to use Taskbar. Thank you.