How To Fix Windows 10 Taskbar Not Working (2023)

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It can be very frustrating if the taskbar does not work properly as it is the launch point for many of the apps on your PC. Although taskbar not functioning properly isn’t an uncommon issue. Many people have reported this issue and it is also common in not just Windows 10 but also the previous versions of Windows as well.
There are many reasons that can cause this issue and also there can be different problems encountered by the different users as well. Whatever the problem with the taskbar not working properly, it can be easily fixed if you know the right solutions.
In this article, we are going to tell you how you can fix the taskbar not working in windows 10.
Here are a few issues you can face if your Taskbar is not working in Windows 10:
  • Unclickable taskbar
  • Frozen taskbar
  • Right-click taskbar not working
  • Taskbar thumbnails not working
  • Pinto taskbar not working
  • Lock the taskbar, auto-hide taskbar not working
  • Taskbar search not working in Windows 10
  • Taskbar not working on a startup
  • Taskbar jump list not working
  • Cortina taskbar not working
  • Taskbar buttons not working
Here are some of the solutions that you can try to resolve the taskbar not working issue in Windows 10:

How To Fix Windows 10 Taskbar Not Working

Solution 1: Check Drivers

One of the first things you should do when your taskbar is not working is to check the drivers. One of the reasons behind the taskbar not working is the bad driver. An incompatible driver can cause a lot of problems in your PC and corrupting the taskbar is one of them. This is where you make sure that all the drivers in your Windows 10 are up to date and you are using all the latest drivers.
If you find an outdated driver, you should update it quickly. Just run a quick scan in your Windows 10 and see if there is an outdated driver on your computer and if there is you can easily update it. It is a simple procedure that might fix the taskbar not working issue in Windows 10 and it won’t take too much of your time either.

Solution 2. Restart Windows Explorer

Another thing that you should be doing to fix the Windows 10 taskbar not working issue is to restart your Windows Explorer. Although we do have some complicated solutions, sometimes simpler solutions like restarting Windows Explorer can also fix the issue for you. This is why you should be considering restarting your Windows Explorer which would restore the functionality of the taskbar and other user interface features.
Here is how you do this:
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and choose to open the taskbar
  • Find Windows Explorer under Processes right-click on it and select End Task
  • The Task will relaunch after a while, after that, you can check whether the issue is resolved or not.
If not then move to the next solution.

Solution 3. Perform a PowerShell Fix

If restarting didn’t solve the issue then you can move to the next, a little complicated solution. Users have said that this has solved the taskbar not working issue. You can simply use Windows Powershell to solve the issue.
Here is how you can do that:
  • Right Click on the Start Menu button and then choose Command Prompt from Windows + X menu
  • In the Command Prompt enter Powershell and press enter
  • Now enter the command in the PowerShell: taskkill/f/Im.explorer.exe
  • Now close the PowerShell and go to the Local App Data
  • Find the TileDataLayer folder and Delete it
  • Now check whether or not the taskbar is working properly.

Solution 4: Reinstall Apps or ShellExperienceHost and Cortana

  • Choose PowerShell by right-clicking on Start Menu
  • Enter the following commands into PowerShell and press Enter
  • “Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | foreach {Add-AppxPackage -register “$($_.InstallLocation)appxmanifest.xml”
  • “Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | foreach {Add-AppxPackage -register “$($_.InstallLocation)appxmanifest.xml”
The first command is to re-register ShellExperienceHost and the second one is for re-registering Cortana.
Wait till the process is complete and see if the issue is resolved.

Solution 5: Update your System

Another one of the things that you should try out is updating your system. This one can also help you fix the Windows 10 Taskbar not working error, as old versions of Windows can be a problem and cause many issues as well, so you may as well update the system to make sure everything is working just fine.
Follow these steps to update the Windows:
  • Press Windows + I key to open the Settings app
  • Now go to the Update and Security option
  • Now click on the Check for Updates option
If there is an update available then you can just update the system and see if it solves the issue.

Solution 6: Perform System Restore

If some of the files got corrupted then you will have to perform the system restore. This would bring your system to its previous working state, without affecting your data and files. This makes it a safer and more reliable option than performing a clean install.
To perform this, you will need to follow these steps:
  • Type Recovery in the search bar and select Recovery from the list
  • Now select the Open System Restore
  • This will open the System Restore Window
  • Click on Next, this would proceed with the further process
  • If Available, check the Show More Restore Point
  • If there restore points, then select your desired one and click Next to proceed
  • Follow the instruction on the screen to complete the restoration process
This would also solve the issue for you, so check if the taskbar is working properly or not. If not then move to the next solution.

Solution 7: Use Troubleshooter

Troubleshooting is one of the best and most useful features in Windows 10 and it can certainly help you fix the taskbar not working issue in Windows 10 as well. Troubleshooters can also solve various other system-related problems, but right now we would focus on the taskbar issue.
It is also very easy to perform and you won’t have any difficulty in doing so. Here are the steps you need to follow to execute this solution:
  • Go to the Settings app
  • Now go to the Security and Update section of the settings
  • Select Troubleshoot from the menu on the left and select Windows Store Apps on the right
  • Now select the Run the Troubleshooter option
Now wait for a while and then check out the taskbar functionality and whether or not the issue is resolved.

Solution 8: Start Application Identity Service

Some of the users have said that starting the application identity service has solved the taskbar not working issue in Windows 10.
  • Go to the search
  • Type service.msc and open Services
  • Locate Application Identity Service and right-click on it to start it
Just wait for a while and there is no need to start your computer again, so you may as well check the taskbar and see if it worked for you.

Solution 9: Use DISM

DISM stands for Deployment Image Servicing and Management and its main purpose is to scan and fix corrupted files on your computer, including the taskbar. This is why you would need to consider using the DISM to resolve the taskbar not working issue in Windows 10.
  • Press Windows + X to start Command Prompt
  • In the Command line type the following commands DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
This should solve the issue for you, you should wait for a while and then see if it worked or not.

Solution 10: Perform a Clean Install

If none of the above solutions have worked for you, then you may need to perform a clean install. This means it happened because of some unknown reason that you couldn’t find, so at last, performing a clean install may help you out as well.
It would be time-consuming but it is also your best shot to solve the issue and get things done as well. Just back up the data and then perform the clean reinstall and then see if your Taskbar started to perform properly or not.

Solution 11: Create a New User Account

If the aforementioned solutions are too time-consuming or complicated for you then you can just go with creating a new user account.
As you know files can get corrupted sometimes and this can cause several system-related issues including the not working of the taskbar. You will either have to delete them or resolve them in any other way. At this time, creating a new user account would certainly help you as well.

Conclusion

Here, we have listed all the ways to fix the taskbar, not working issues. All these methods have helped some users to resolve the taskbar issue and they are pretty simple to perform as well. You can choose any one of them and see whether or not it works for you. That would be all for now as we have done our job and listed all the ways to fix the issue. Thank you and we hope our article was helpful.

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