Are you one of those facing the Frozen taskbar issue in Windows 10? It’s one of the most popular problems that all the Windows 10 users have reported and it has recently come to my attention as well. I am a Mac user though I do have a desktop for gaming where I faced this issue.
My taskbar became 100% unresponsive and for a certain period of time, I was indeed panicking. So I started troubleshooting and digging online to find the solution. After hours of research and some trial and error, I was able to fix this and in this guide, I will share all those exact methods so that you can try them out and solve this error on your PC.
Although Windows 10 is the best version by Microsoft, there are several bugs in it out of which the Frozen Taskbar is what I faced recently. So here I am with a guide on how to solve Windows 10 Frozen Taskbar issue in the best way possible.
Contents
What is Taskbar Frozen Windows 10 Problem?
It is a totally unresponsive and unusable state of the Windows taskbar. This issue basically stops you from interacting with the Windows Taskbar in anyway. It won’t hide nor will you be able to click (left/right) on it. This problem has also been encountered on Windows 7 & 8.
Possible Causes of Frozen Taskbar Issue
One thing to note here is that there isn’t one single root cause of this problem. So what is responsible for this issue? Below are some of the probable causes, have a look at them:
- If you downgrade or upgrade from or to Windows 10
- Some applications may be malfunctioning on your system
- Too much RAM is being used by various applications
- Disabled services or Windows Explorer not responding to the system
How to Fix Windows 10 Taskbar Frozen Issue
As I said earlier, that there are several methods which I dug and found out that can potentially work to solve this issue. I will be discussing each one of them one by one with step by step procedures so it becomes pretty easy for you to follow and implement.
Method 1: Restart Windows Explorer
You obviously need to use a shortcut using your keyboard since you won’t be able to access the taskbar at this moment. So,
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination
- Choose “Task Manager” from the list of options
- In the “Process” tab, find and click on “Windows Explorer“
- Right click on it and choose “Restart” or simply click the Restart button at the bottom of the window
On Windows 7, you will have to do this process manually by launching the Task Manager and then,
- In the Task Manager, click on Start > Run new task
- Type “explorer.exe” in the field and then check the box “Create this task with administrative privileges.”
- Click on OK
Method 2: Powershell Fix
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch Windows Task Manager
- Click on More Details, now select the Services tab and ensure that MpsSvc is running (it’s Windows Firewall)
- Now press Windows (key) + R to launch the Run prompt
- Enter “powershell” in the field box and hit on OK (make sure the checkbox is ticked)
- In the Powershell window, paste this: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
- Hit Enter
That’s it, your Windows Taskbar should be fixed once you run this command.
Method 3: Enabling User Manager
At times, if the user manager is disabled, it might result into the Windows taskbar not working. Re-enabling it can solve the issue almost instantly. Just follow the below steps to do the same:
- Press Windows (key) + R to launch the Run prompt
- Type services.msc in the search box field and press Enter or click on OK
- Find the “User Manager” from the list and double click on it
- Set the Startup type to “Automatic” and click on OK
- Restart your PC/laptop and the problem will be fixed
Method 4: Run a SFC Scan
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch the Windows Task Manager
- Now click on Start >> Run New Task to launch the Run prompt
- Type “cmd” in the field and hit on OK (ensure that the checkbox is ticked)
- In the Command prompt window, type this: sfc /scannow
- Hit Enter and wait till verification is 100% complete (check below image)
Method 5: Run DISM Image Management Command
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch the Windows Task Manager
- Now click on Start >> Run New Task to launch the Run prompt
- Type “cmd” in the field and hit on OK (ensure that the checkbox is ticked)
- In the Command prompt window, type this: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- Hit Enter and wait till the operation is 100% complete (check below image)
Method 6: Disable Recently Opened Items
Such items can often slow down your system causing the freezes and lags. Just disable them and everything will start running smoothly as before.
- Press Windows (key) + I and open the Settings app
- Choose Personalisation and select Start tab from the left column
- Use toggle button next to “Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar” to turn it OFF and disable
Reboot your system and the taskbar will be back and running as per it’s original operation.
Method 7: Uninstall Applications
Some Windows softwares or applications like Dropbox, Classic Sheel and others have been identified by some users and known to cause the taskbar freezing problem. It would be a good idea to uninstall them to fix the issue.
- Press Windows (key) + R to launch the Run prompt
- In the field box, type “appwiz.cpl“
- Hit Enter key
- Locate the application (causing issues) and double click on it to uninstall it (following the on-screen instructions)
- Once done, reboot your PC and the problem should be fixed now
Method 8: Create a New User Account
- Press Windows (key) + R and open Run prompt
- In the dialog box, type “cmd” and press Enter key
- Now in the Command Prompt window, type: net user Admin222 MyPassword /add
- Press Enter key
- Now type: net localgroup Administrators Admin222 /add
- Hit Enter key again
This will create a new user in your Windows system with the username “Admin222” and password “MyPassword“. Once you switch to the new user by keeping all settings same, you will no longer face the taskbar issue.
Other Safety Measures
While I am pretty sure that ONE of the 8 above methods will surely work out for you. You should always take some precautionary measures in order to save the trouble.
- Keep your software and graphic drivers up-to-date
- Update your Windows OS to the latest version
- Performing a clean boot can also help many Windows issues
- A full system restore is a good option as well to fix this issue
Final Words
That’s it for today! I hope your issue of Windows 10 Frozen Taskbar was solved by following this mammoth guide.
I have covered almost every method which can be used to fix this problem. Do share your views and what worked for you by commenting below. If you are still facing and issues, do let me know and share this guide so every Windows user doesn’t get irritated as you did until you read this post. Cheers and thanks for reading!
