Intermittent startup problems.

[Stan]

Every so often when starting up my system, some of the icons do not
appear in the taskbar (indicating that the missing ones didn't start.
There are two cases I experience.

1. Every so often the Volume icon does not appear. I check the Sound
and Audio in the Control Panel and find that the option to place the
icon in the taskbar has been checked. I uncheck it and Apply, then
check it and Apply and the icon appears in the taskbar.

2. The other case that I experience occasionally is that the Network
Connection icons appear in the taskbar and nothing else appears (where I
normally have Sound, Sony, NAV, Winamp, Mozilla). The Network
Connection icons usually appear in the middle of the set of taskbar
icons. I restart my system and it then works OK.

Anyone know what causes these intermittent problems?

 

[Sharon F]

Every so often when starting up my system, some of the icons do not
appear in the taskbar (indicating that the missing ones didn't start.
There are two cases I experience.

1. Every so often the Volume icon does not appear. I check the Sound
and Audio in the Control Panel and find that the option to place the
icon in the taskbar has been checked. I uncheck it and Apply, then
check it and Apply and the icon appears in the taskbar.

2. The other case that I experience occasionally is that the Network
Connection icons appear in the taskbar and nothing else appears (where I
normally have Sound, Sony, NAV, Winamp, Mozilla). The Network
Connection icons usually appear in the middle of the set of taskbar
icons. I restart my system and it then works OK.

Anyone know what causes these intermittent problems?

If one of the programs associated with your tray icons has trouble loading,
it can cause other icons not to appear (and possibly not to load). A quick
workaround is to log off and then log back on again (not a restart!). The
bulk of the system is loaded and those items that didn't make it to the
tray on the first try often appear when you log on again.

You could also try troubleshooting to find out *which* icon/program is
causing the holdup. Use Start> Run> MSCONFIG: startup to help you with
that. One method: Uncheck half of the items here. Restart to see if they
all show up. If yes, then start adding the rest of the items back in one at
a time. Restarting after each addition (full restart, not a log off/log
on).

If the first group of allowed items did not all show up, then reverse the
selection to the other half. Then start adding items back one at a time. If
you are able to pinpoint an item or two that causes your problem, change
its startup behavior. Recommend not allowing autostart on boot, instead
launch the program manually from a shortcut.

Be forewarned, that the notification area (often referred to as the system
tray), is a bit unpredictable in XP and has been ever since its release.
You may go through all of the troubleshooting and think that you have it
figured out, only to find something missing again on the next startup. If
that happens, backtrack to plan A: "log off/log on."

 

[Stan]

If one of the programs associated with your tray icons has trouble loading,
it can cause other icons not to appear (and possibly not to load). A quick
workaround is to log off and then log back on again (not a restart!). The
bulk of the system is loaded and those items that didn't make it to the
tray on the first try often appear when you log on again.

You could also try troubleshooting to find out *which* icon/program is
causing the holdup. Use Start> Run> MSCONFIG: startup to help you with
that. One method: Uncheck half of the items here. Restart to see if they
all show up. If yes, then start adding the rest of the items back in one at
a time. Restarting after each addition (full restart, not a log off/log
on).

If the first group of allowed items did not all show up, then reverse the
selection to the other half. Then start adding items back one at a time. If
you are able to pinpoint an item or two that causes your problem, change
its startup behavior. Recommend not allowing autostart on boot, instead
launch the program manually from a shortcut.

Be forewarned, that the notification area (often referred to as the system
tray), is a bit unpredictable in XP and has been ever since its release.
You may go through all of the troubleshooting and think that you have it
figured out, only to find something missing again on the next startup. If
that happens, backtrack to plan A: "log off/log on."

Thanks, Sharon. Yes, today it is seems to be almost random on what
shows in the tray and what doesn't. I think I'll go to the logoff/logon
solution.

oo