In Summary
With Windows 11, Microsoft revamped the overall look and feel of the taskbar. However, the brand new centered Windows 11 taskbar is not working for many users online, making them feel disheartened. We have listed some of the best troubleshooting steps to fix the Windows 11 taskbar not working problem.
Although the revamped taskbar is a welcome change from Microsoft, many users online are disappointed and complain about the Windows 11 taskbar not working at all.
The taskbar has been an integral part of Windows for quite some time. Users use it every day to quickly launch their favorite applications, switch between them, access the Start menu, and more. To help you overcome this annoyance and enjoy the brand-new Windows 11 experience, let us take a look at some of the best troubleshooting steps to fix the task problem once and for all.
1. Restart your Windows PC
One of the easiest and most effective ways to fix the problem of the Windows 11 taskbar not working is to restart the process. Every time you restart your PC, all system services will be restarted, automatically fixing most of the problems. However, since the taskbar does not work, you cannot restart your PC using the traditional Start Menu method. However, you can easily restart your Windows 11 PC using the Alt + F4 key combination. Alternatively, you can also restart your PC using the valuable Task Manager Utility menu by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys together.
2. Restart Taskbar Services
If the Windows 11 taskbar does not work despite restarting your PC, you should try restarting Taskbar Services on your PC. Let us take a look at how you can do just that.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on your keyboard to launch the task manager menu. Here, click on more details and then select the processes tab. Under processes, scroll down till you find the Windows File Explorer option. Now, select the Windows Explorer option and hit the restart button in the bottom left corner of the active screen.
Once done, wait for a couple of seconds and try launching the start menu. You may even try force restarting the PC before rechecking the start menu functionality.
3. Repair System Files
The following method to fix the Windows 11 taskbar not working problem is to repair the system files. But, wait, will not that corrupt my PC or cause a trunk loop? Well, in most cases, this process should not damage your PC, but please try it at your own risk. Now that we have that disclaimer out of the way let us focus on repairing the system files.
Press the Windows + R key together to bring up the Run dailog box. Here type cmd and hit enter. (We are using the Run menu instead of using the search menu since the taskbar is currently not working). After the CMD window is launched, enter the following commands in a sequence one by one. Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth sfc /scannow After executing the above commands, close the CMD window and restart your PC. Now, the Windows 11 taskbar menu should start working again.
4. Restart System Services
Another method to fix the Windows 11 taskbar not working problem is to restart all system services via Task Manager. Let us take a detailed look at it.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on your keyboard to launch the task manager menu. Here, click on more details and navigate to the Details tab. Now, end task for the following services (i) ShellExperienceHost.exe (ii) SearchIndexer.exe (iii) SearchHost.exe (iv) RuntimeBroker.exe Once done, restart your PC, and the taskbar should start working.
5. Run Windows Security Check
Windows offers its users a sense of freedom by allowing them to install any software available on the network, but sometimes this freedom can turn out to be a fraud. What do I mean by that? Well, often, these untested third-party programs can mess up Windows settings, causing the taskbar to fail. However, you can quickly run a Windows security scan to check for security vulnerabilities in the system and fix Windows 11 Taskbar not working problem.
Use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to launch the settings menu on Windows 11. Here, navigate to the Privacy and Security Tab from the left pane. Select the Windows Security Option.
Now, choose the Virus and Threat option. Once done, hit the quick scan option.
The tool will scan your PC and check for any viruses. After the scan is completed, the taskbar menu issue should get resolved.
6. Disable Auto Hide Taskbar Feature
Windows 11 is packed with new updates and features; one of these new features is the taskbar auto-hide feature. As the name suggests, this feature automatically hides the taskbar after a while, fooling you into thinking it’s not working when it’s not. I do not like this feature; how can I disable it? Disabling the taskbar auto-hide feature is relatively simple; let us take a look.
Use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to launch the settings menu on Windows 11. From the left pane, select the Personalizations option. Here, click on the taskbar and choose the Taskbar behaviour option.
Once done, simply uncheck the Automatically hide taskbar option.
7. Update Graphics Driver
Another culprit in the room for the Windows 11 taskbar not working problem is outdated graphics drivers. To fix this, perform the following steps.
Press the Windows+X key and launch the device manager. Now, look for the processors’ option and click on it. Once done, right-click on the graphics card and select update driver from the drop-down list.
After the drivers are updated, recheck the Windows 11 start menu functionality.
8. Change Taskbar Alignment to Center
While there are ways to move Windows 11 taskbar alignment to left or right, many users have reported that the taskbar freezes in such situations, possibly due to some registry issues. You can try changing it back to the center to fix the unresponsive taskbar issue. To do that, open the Taskbar settings, go to the Taskbar Behaviors section and select ‘Center’ in the dropdown next to Taskbar alignment.
9. Turn Off Fast Startup
Turning off the Fast startup feature has proven beneficial in cases where the Windows 11 taskbar appears without icons and buttons at startup.
To turn it off, open Task Manager and go to File > Run new task. Enter Control Panel and click OK. In the Control Panel window, click on Power Options (or Hardware and Sound > Power options), and click on “Choose what the power buttons do” in the left sidebar. Here, look for the “Turn on fast startup (recommended)” option and uncheck the box next to it.
10. Check for Updates
Probably the most common and easiest way to fix the problem of the Windows 11 taskbar not working is to update Windows 11 to the latest version. Press the Windows+I key combination and navigate to the Updates section to update your PC.
11. Reset your Windows 11 Machine
If Windows 11 Taskbar does not work even after trying all the above troubleshooting methods, your only option is to reset your Windows 11 computer. Press the Windows + I key combination and navigate to the Reset PC option in the settings PC to reset your PC.
Fix Windows 11 Taskbar Not Working Issue Fauciely
If you use any of the troubleshooting methods described above, you should be able to fix the Taskbar issue on your Windows 11 machine and start using the brand-new UI and features. Let us know in the comments below if you found this article helpful and successfully fixed the Windows 11 Taskbar not working issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the worst-case scenario, when Taskbar stops working again, you can fix the problem again using the troubleshooting steps mentioned above. You can also restart the Windows 11 taskbar by right-clicking on the taskbar, selecting “Taskbar Settings” and then clicking the “Restart” button. It contains icons for currently running programs and allows you to open new programs, switch between open windows, and access system settings.
- Click on the Start button.
- Click on the Control Panel option.
- Click on the Taskbar and Start Menu option.
- Click on the “Unfreeze the taskbar” option. To show the taskbar, click the Show hidden icons arrow (the one with two lines) on the far right of the notification area, and then select Taskbar. If your taskbar is still frozen, restart your computer.
- Restart your computer. - Press the Windows key + R. - Type “Task Manager” (without quotes) and press Enter. - Right-click on the Taskbar and click “Properties”. - Click “Settings” and make sure “Taskbar” is set to “All Buttons This can be caused by a variety of things, including a program freezing or an issue with Windows itself.
- Open the Settings app (Settings icon in the Start menu). 2. Click on the Personalization icon. 3. Select “Taskbar and Start Menu” in the left pane. 4. Click the “Restore” button in the right pane. If your Taskbar is missing, or it’s not working correctly, you can restore it by following these steps:
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop and select Taskbar. - In the Taskbar Properties window, click the Restore Default button. - Click OK to close the window.
Press Windows + R Run control Go to uninstall a program Go to installed updates Uninstall Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB5006674).
