Issues with the taskbar and desktop

[Guest]

I have Vista Home Premium 32-bit and I've got a few issues. After a short
amount of time, the taskbar gets really messed up (systray icons on left
side, can't click anything, desktop icons don't unhighlight, etc...). I can
temporarily rectify the issue by closing and restarting explorer.exe but
what's causing this to occur?

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, Windows Aero active
CPU, RAM: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 3.00GB RAM
Video: ATI Radeon X850 XT w/ Catalyst 7.1 Vista 32-bit drivers

 

[Guest]

geforcefly,

Do you have any third party applications attempting running inside Windows
Vista?

If so, will you provide the name(s) of the applications?

Also, is your version of Vista Genuine Microsoft, or OEM?

Since you are using an Athlon 64X, what you describe is most unusual.

 

[Guest]

These are the major programs that are running on startup:
RMClock 2.2 (manual CPU clock multiplier/voltage adjustment)
SpeedFan 4.31 (automatic fan speed control and temperature monitoring)
Google Picasa2 Media Detector 2.6.0
AVG Free 7.5.441
Logitech SetPoint 3.30.159 (for my MX310)
Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.3.1.2144

Other major drivers installed:
SpeedFan (it has its own driver)
ATi/AMD Catalyst 7.1 Vista 32-bit (for my graphics card)
nVidia nForce4 Vista Drivers (Systems management interface only)
The dreaded Starforce drivers (just updated to Feb 8, 2007) (so I can play
TrackMania Sunrise)

User Account Control is off (much too annoying for me)

OS is Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium retail upgrade (upgraded from
Genuine Windows XP Home w/ SP2 retail 4 days after installation)

I also forgot to say that when I switch between programs through Flip3D in
this state, the switched-out program is no longer usable and must be closed
through Task Manager.
Needless to say, this is very annoying.

2 screensnips that show the scrambled taskbar are at
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s106/geforcefly/Image5.jpg
and
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s106/geforcefly/Image4.jpg

 

[Guest]

Update:
The issue described above also happens with Windows Aero disabled. In this
instance, the taskbar ends up at the top of the screen and the desktop
wallpaper is dark. If anyone else's experiencing this issue and have a
solution (without reinstalling Windows or using one of my 2 MS tech support
calls), it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

same problem here.
Running full version (not OEM) of Ultimate.

Taskbar got messed up a few times -- can't click anything. Can,t even get to
shut down button. Had to shut down manually. Not sure what sequence of
things is .... Will keep tracking .

Dan
Sudbury, Canada

 

[Guest]

For me, it looks as though the RMClock utility is causing the problem for me.
There are no updates available to this program as I write this.

 

[Guest]

I have the EXACT same problem too. It happend THE VERY FIRST TIME I TURNED ON
MY LAPTOP and it happens everyday after that. I called to troubleshoot with
HPs technical support he had me make a new user account he said that will fix
the problem...guess what he was WRONG Im still having the same issue. it
pisses me off too

 

[MICHAEL]

Did you try this fix?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932406/en-us
After a Windows Vista-based computer has been running for an extended period of time, the
desktop screen may stop updating correctly. For example, you may experience any of the
following symptoms:
- Parts of the screen may go black.
- Parts of the screen may become transparent.
- The toolbar may disappear.
- The toolbar may appear at the top of the screen instead of at the bottom of the screen.

The download to the fix;

Update for Windows Vista 32 bit
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5C0C7FF4-C9C1-4119-8B59-18DADC49348A

Update for Windows Vista for x64-based systems
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A612D795-B26A-47DC-9FF3-BA711CA5BD14


-Michael

* DisgruntledVisaUser: