In Windows 10, sometimes the Taskbar may stop responding. You may not be able to open Start, may not be able to click the icon on the Taskbar, the Taskbar may not automatically hide, or you may not be able to perform other tasks on the Taskbar.
If the Taskbar is not working correctly, you can try the following troubleshooting methods to get the Taskbar working again.
Method 1: Restart Windows Explorer
Restart File Explorer restarts the Taskbar. So it is recommended to restart File Explorer when Taskbar is not responding or working. Here’s how to restart File Explorer.
Step 1: Simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on the keyboard to open Task Manager.
Step 2: Click the More details button if you can’t see the full version of Task Manager. If you get the full version, skip to the next step.
Step 3: In the Processes tab -> Windows Explorer -> right-click on it and then click the Restart option to restart File Explorer and Taskbar.
If you cannot view Windows Explorer entries, please open any folder or File Explorer to view the entry.
Method 2: Restart your computer once
Restarting File Explorer should resolve the issue. But if that doesn’t happen, close all running apps and restart your computer once. Check if the Taskbar is active now.
Method 3: Run the startup troubleshooter & Taskbar
If the Start menu doesn’t open when you click the Start button, use the official Start menu Troubleshooter available for Windows 10 to diagnose and troubleshoot the Start menu. Download the Start menu troubleshooter and run it along to fix all the problems.
Method 4: Restore Windows 10 to the day before it crashed
If the system restores point feature is enabled for your Windows 10 drive, you can restore Windows 10 to an earlier date when the Taskbar works to resolve the issue. You can refer to our guide on fixing Windows 10 to a previous date for step-by-step instructions.
Method 5: Create a new user account
If the Taskbar is not working even after following the troubleshooting instructions mentioned above, you can create a new user account and check if the Taskbar is working there. If the Taskbar works without issue, you can move all files from your current user account to the new Taskbar and install the required programs.
Method 6: Reset or reinstall Windows 10
If there is no solution to help you solve the Taskbar issue, you have no choice but to reset or reinstall Windows 10. As you know, you can reset Windows 10 without losing data.
If you want to do a clean install, get Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft and then refer to creating bootable USB of Windows 10 tutorial and reinstall Windows 10 without data loss.
