Missing System Tray Items in Xp

[John]

Hi:
I have a newly upgraded Xp home installation (it was Me) and frequently
systray Icons permanently disappear upon restart. The only way to get them
back that I have found is to restore the system back to a time when they
existed. Xp is fully updated (with SP3) and the "hide inactive icons" box is
not checked in the display properties.

In searching the net I find that this problem seems to have been around for
a long time and everybody seems to have their own pet fix for it, and none
of the fixes seem to work for everybody.

I searched the MS website and wasn't able to locate an article which
addressed it.

Can anyone point me to a MS endorsed fix?

I have several Xp computers and this is the only one where this glitch shows
up.

Thanks, John

 

[WeRQPR]

John - I had the same problem but found a work around after extensive
searching. Check "My Network Places" and on the left hand side under network
tasks does it say "show" or "hide" icons for networked UPnP devices. If it
says "hide" click on this and follow the instructions. This cured my problems
- don't asky how but it did.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

What icons in the Notifications area (AKA systray) are disappearing?

Is the computer fully patched at Windows Update & running WinXP SP3?

 

[Tim Meddick]

This 'fix' ("Show icons for networked UPnP devices") probably worked because
changing this 'refreshes' all icons that should appear in the Notification
Area.

I say "should appear" because I believe that the icons are still there but,
because of the way Windows XP is constructed, sometimes (and only on some
machines) it fails to enumerate the icons that are there so they 'disappear'
while their parent programs are still loaded in memory.

If this is a correct assumption, it would work whether you chose to 'hide'
or 'show' UPnP devices but, by merely changing the option from one to
another, your 'invisible' taskbar icons should re-appear.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[John]

Thanks, it seems that there are several solutions like this and they all
involve the occult at some level or another. I did as you suggested (and hid
the icons), and we will see if the systray icons disappear again. Since I
don't know what a "networked UPnP device" is I really wonder what else I may
have hidden. Hopefully it is nothing important. Thanks again, John

Has anyone seen anything from MS or a MVP on this issue? Thanks, John

 

[John]

Yes, it is up to date (SP3 etc). The icons that disappear are usually one
for my Timex USB watch and another dns update program that runs all of the
time. I think the programs are running fine,(at least they show up in the
task manager as running) but the icons just get lost.

Thanks, John

 

[John]

Thanks, I'll try that next time they go away.

John

 

[Tim Meddick]

A networked UPnP device is a UPnP (Universal Plug 'n' Play - any device that
you can plug into your PC and gets recognised) device that is attached -
not straight to your computer - but attached via the network.

Example: a USB cd-rom drive attached to another computer on the network.

If yours is a 'standalone' computer then you won't have any.


==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Did you install the two applications when you were running WinME? Have you
tried reinstalling them in WinXP?

 

[John]

Yes, both of them came across from Me. I haven't tried re-installing them
but I doubt that that is related to the problem. because this issue has also
affected the clock form time to time. The clock hasn't been an issue lately
and I think that there might actually have been an update that helped it
out. I seem to remember it straightening up its act after SP3 was installed.

Intuition tells me that this is something from deep within the bowels of
windows Xp. Have you seen anything from MS on this subject? There is a lot
of mention of it in the various "problem forums" with many iffy solutions
and work-arounds so I am apparently not alone, but MS seems to have really
remained mute on it from what I can see. Hopefully a bulliten that I haven't
seen has crossed your path.
Thanks, John

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

I suspect there's a much simpler explanation: The 2 programs didn't wholly
"survive" the upgrade experience. I'd recommend just reinstalling both of
them, John.

If you wanna try something just for the h*** of it, you'll find various
Notification Area tweaks here: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm