In vista: taskbar does not show icons of opened files

The task bar is an important part of the Windows experience. Not only does it contain a variety of information including what time it is and how much battery life is left it's the way most Windows users open programs and documents. As such, the task bar disappearing is a stressful thing, but fixing this problem on your own is possible.

Auto-Hide Sometimes you may think your task bar has disappeared, but it's really just been set to "auto-hide." Move your mouse to the bottom of the screen and see if it pops up automatically. Then check all four sides of the screen. If the task bar was simply auto-hiding, disable this feature by right-clicking the task bar, clicking "Properties" and unchecking "Auto-hide the Taskbar." b> Reboot b> If your task bar disappears, and auto-hide isn't the culprit, the first thing you should do is reboot your computer this fixes the problems in most instances. Only one problem: because your task bar disappeared you can't access the "Start" menu in order to shut down the computer. Instead press "Alt," "Ctrl," and "Delete" at the same time and press "Restart" in the window that pops up after doing so. Your computer should restart, and in most cases your task bar should come back when it restarts. b> More Options b> If rebooting doesn't fix cause the task bar to reappear, your computer might have a problem starting explorer.exe, the program that displays the task bar and desktop icons in Windows. Press "Ctrl," "Shift," and "Esc" at the same time to bring up the System Manager. Then click "File," followed by "New Task (Run)" and type "explorer.exe" in the dialogue box that pops up. You now have your task bar and desktop icons back. Reboot to see if they stick around after rebooting. If not, repeat the process in the above paragraph. When you have you task bar back click "Start," then "Programs," then "Accessories," then "System Tools" and then "System Restore." Restore the computer to a time when everything was working fine by clicking that date on the calendar. Reboot to see if this fixes the problem. If none of this brought back your task bar permanently it may be time to run a repair install. Change My Task Bar b> In Windows operating systems, the taskbar shows your currently active windows and programs, shortcuts to your favorite programs, the time, your volume control, active programs and the "Start" button. You may want to change the taskbar so it has a different look or to customize it to suit your needs when using your computer. Windows XP users have fewer options than Windows Vista or Windows 7 users, but all operating system owners can make changes to the taskbar.

Right-click in your taskbar. Left-click on "Lock the taskbar" if it is currently checked. Otherwise, click back onto the taskbar. Click on any empty area of the taskbar. Drag the taskbar to the position (bottom, top, left or right side of the screen) you desire, and release it. Re the taskbar by moving your cursor to where the taskbar ends. Your cursor will change to a two-way arrow. Left-click and drag the taskbar until it reaches the you want. Move your cursor over the series of separator bumps between the Start button and the Quick Launch menu, and the Quick Launch menu and the active programs section of the taskbar, to alter the of the Quick Launch menu and the active programs area. Right-click the taskbar, and left-click on "Lock the taskbar" once you've completed the changes you wish to make. b> Change Taskbar Options b> Right-click on the taskbar, and left-click on "Properties." Modify the taskbar settings so that it appears the way you like. You can decide whether to show the Quick Launch menu (a series of icons for your most commonly used programs), to show thumbnails for your active programs in Windows 7 and Windows Vista and to group similar active programs, and to automatically hide the taskbar or to always have it on top of other windows. Click on the "Notification" tab in Windows 7 or Vista to modify the way the notification area to the far right appears. Stay on the taskbar tab in Windows XP. Hide inactive icons, and decide which information to show, including the clock or the volume, power and network icons in Windows 7 and Vista. Click on the "Customize" button to specify which programs or notifications should always show, never show or grow inactive with disuse. Click on the "Toolbars" tab in Windows 7 or Vista to specify which toolbars you wish to see in the taskbar. Your options will vary according to the programs you have installed on your computer but may include the Quick Launch, address bar and links toolbars. Click the "Apply" button, then "OK" once you have made the changes you desire. Hope this helps.

A.

1. Right-click the desktop.
2. Point to Arrange Icons By.
3. Click Show Desktop Icons.

B. To re-create the Show desktop icon yourself, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type notepad in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Carefully copy and then paste the following text into the Notepad window:[Shell]
   Command=2
   IconFile=explorer.exe,3
   [Taskbar]
   Command=ToggleDesktop
3. On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the file to your desktop as "Show desktop.scf". TheShow desktop icon is created on your desktop.
4. Click and then drag the Show desktop icon to your Quick Launch toolbar.

Show the Internet Icon at Taskbar

Right click on Task Bar -> Properties -> Notification Area Tab -> Check Network System Icon Box -> Apply -> OK.

BTW
Symbol=>Icon,
Bottom of the desktop screen=>Taskbar

First, right click on the taskbar and select Properties from the right click menu.

Alternatively, you can go to the Control Panel and type the word 'taskbar' in the search box from the upper-right side. Once the search results are loaded, click on the link that says 'Customize icons on the taskbar'.

The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window will show up on your screen. Here, go to the tab called Notification Area. In the System icons section check the Volume box and click on OK.

The Volume Mixer icon will now show up in the notification area of your taskbar

I hope that this information was helpful and thank you for contacting the experts.

go to control panel then open printers or other hardware then hola you can see your bluetooth icon and check the show the blluetooth icon in the notification area or if you'd check the two boxes on the option tab and connection area then try to connect thru bluetooth device so you'll see the bluetooth icon on the taskbar.

Might be a registry value error. Check the settings or do a system restore.

The taskbar is always running in Windows Vista. Unlike Windows XP, it can't be unlocked and hidden unless the 'auto-hide' feature is turned on. If 'auto-hide' is on, simply run your cursor along the bottom edge of the screen and the taskbar should pop-up.

To disable auto-hide, after moving your cursor to bring up the taskbar, right click the taskbar and click properties. Then under the Taskbar tab, uncheck auto-hide.

If auto-hide is off, it may indicate that explorer.exe is not running/has crashed. In order to restart explorer.exe you can either
1) Restart
2) Press CTRL+Shift+Escape, File -> New Task and then type in explorer.exe and run

Right click on your taskbar then choose properties. On the bottom of the box opened, there is a check box with label "Hide Inactive Icons". Uncheck the box.

Open task bar properties, from control panel, choose taskbar and start menu. Uncheck the check box at the bottom of the window.

The Power Options icon wont move to the taskbar. Double click on this icon, this opens the Power Options Properties window. Go to Advanced then select and select and tick Always show icon on the taskbar then apply. This should put the icon in the taskbar.


Try freeing some space using disk cleanup. You can also go to Internet Options to delete files stored in history.