Taskbar disabled

[Samuel Marin]

Hi all.

I've been suffering this new problem for a fortnight, now.
Once after a reboot my taskbar (XP SP2) has stopped responding at all. I
get the 'not possible' sound whenever I click anywhere on the bar (start
button, quick launch, clock, systray). Nothing is greyed out. Just looks
disabled.
The Windows key will work but only if I click once on the taskbar (as if
to get the focus there). The best I can do is open the task manager,
close explorer.exe and start it again, then launch a couple of missing
programs that stopped with explorer. The taskbar is then back to normal.
Strangely enough, apart from this particular annoyance, everything seems
to be working just fine. PC is quite stable (I run all sorts of apps,
like games, heavy music editing, heavy video editing, etc.) and doesn't
need any reboot for days or weeks.

Any help is really appreciated.

Sam.
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Samuel Marin]

Samuel Marin a écrit :

Hi all.

I've been suffering this new problem for a fortnight, now.
Once after a reboot my taskbar (XP SP2) has stopped responding at all. I
get the 'not possible' sound whenever I click anywhere on the bar (start
button, quick launch, clock, systray). Nothing is greyed out. Just looks
disabled.
The Windows key will work but only if I click once on the taskbar (as if
to get the focus there). The best I can do is open the task manager,
close explorer.exe and start it again, then launch a couple of missing
programs that stopped with explorer. The taskbar is then back to normal.
Strangely enough, apart from this particular annoyance, everything seems
to be working just fine. PC is quite stable (I run all sorts of apps,
like games, heavy music editing, heavy video editing, etc.) and doesn't
need any reboot for days or weeks.

Any help is really appreciated.

Sam.
(e-mail address removed)

I'm sorry to insist here, but this problem is really getting on my
nerves. Would anyone know even a clue or a good source to read?
Thanks.
Sam.

 

[Jim Robin]

Bonjour Sam,

I'm not an experienced / competent user of Windows so maybe what I suggest
is no good. Also, the experienced ones will probably once again shoot me
down in flames for suggesting such nonsense ;-)

I would think of getting a good copy of explorer.exe from a computer that is
known to be working fine and then transfer it to yours. Will it make a
difference? I don't know but perhaps worth a try?

Might there also be any point in running a system file check? START RUN
sfc /scannow Be warned it takes a LONG time so do it before bed!

Best wishes,

Jim

 

[Elmo]

Hi all.

I've been suffering this new problem for a fortnight, now.
Once after a reboot my taskbar (XP SP2) has stopped responding at all. I
get the 'not possible' sound whenever I click anywhere on the bar (start
button, quick launch, clock, systray). Nothing is greyed out. Just looks
disabled.
The Windows key will work but only if I click once on the taskbar (as if
to get the focus there). The best I can do is open the task manager,
close explorer.exe and start it again, then launch a couple of missing
programs that stopped with explorer. The taskbar is then back to normal.
Strangely enough, apart from this particular annoyance, everything seems
to be working just fine. PC is quite stable (I run all sorts of apps,
like games, heavy music editing, heavy video editing, etc.) and doesn't
need any reboot for days or weeks.

Try some of these:

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

117. Restore Taskbar and Start Menu
164. Restore Taskbar to Default Functionality
243. Allow Changes Being Made to Taskbar
(r-h column) Taskbar Toolbar Menu is Greyed Out - Restore
298. Taskbar Repair Tool Plus! (Purchase)