Windows - Taskbar Has Disappeared from the Desktop
This page explains how to get the taskbar to reappear.
Symptom
- You cannot see the taskbar (which contains the "Start" button) anywhere on your desktop.
Causes
The taskbar may be hiding at the bottom of the screen after being accidentally resized
Put the mouse pointer on the bottom border of your screen.
- If the pointer turns into a double-arrow
, click and drag upwards. - If your taskbar isn't hiding at the bottom of the screen, try moving the mouse to the right, left, and top edges, looking for the double-arrow.
If the presentation display was changed, the taskbar may have moved off of the visible screen (Windows 7 and Vista only)
Press and hold the Windows logo key on your keyword, then tap the P key to bring up the presentation display mode options.
- Make sure "Computer only" or "PC screen only" is selected.
- Use the arrow keys to toggle between options and click Enter to select the correct display mode ("Computer Only" or "PC screen only").
The taskbar may be set to "Auto-hide"
Press the Windows key on the keyboard to bring up the Start Menu. This should also make the taskbar appear.
- Right-Click on the now-visible taskbar and select Taskbar Settings.
- Click on the 'Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode' toggle so that the option is disabled, or enable "Lock the taskbar".
- The taskbar should now be permanently visible.
The 'explorer.exe' process may have crashed
Open the Task Manager using either Ctrl+Alt+Del or Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
- If explorer.exe is already running, select it and choose End Task before continuing on.
- Click the File menu and select New Task.
- In the dialog box, type 'explorer.exe' to restart the process.
Notes
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If the task bar is in the wrong position and/or you would like to move it, visit Windows - Moving the taskbar from its default position.
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If the above solutions fail, or if the problem recurs, please contact the UW-Madison DoIT Help Desk for assistance.