Have you recently upgraded your PC to Windows 11, and you see that the Windows 11 taskbar is not working correctly? Well, you are not alone. I recently installed the Windows 11 update on my PC. I too experienced that the taskbar at times becomes unresponsive. I have mostly seen it happening when I click on the search icon. So, in this guide, I bring you a few troubleshooting methods that seem to work in fixing the unresponsive taskbar of Windows 11.
Windows 11 offers less clutter than Windows 10, but we are bound to experience random bugs as it is fairly new. The system files may have some issues that are causing the glitch. There may be some pending updates for Windows 11 that you are yet to install. So, the current version of Windows 11 may have some bug, rendering the taskbar unresponsive.
Secondly, if you have installed any app or plugin after upgrading to Windows 11, it may have brought along some malware if you downloaded the app from an untrusted source on the internet.
Fix 1. Restart your Computer
Rebooting your PC often helps fix software issues that may be incidental. Even I tried restarting my computer, and I observed that the taskbar glitch gets fixed.
- Tap the Windows key.
- Then click on the power button icon.
- From the menu, as shown in the screenshot, click on Restart.
- Let the PC restart, and then try to use the Taskbar of Windows 11. If it works smoothly and is responsive, then your issue is solved. Otherwise, try the other troubleshooting methods that I have mentioned.
Fix 2. Reboot Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer consists of the taskbar service. So, when you reboot the Explorer, it technically kills the active services of the taskbar, and upon restarting the taskbar, it should fix the unresponsive issue.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to invoke the Task Manager.
- Click on Task Manager.
- Under Processes, navigate to Windows Explorer.
- Right-click on it and select Restart.
- Ideally, you should also restart your computer.
- After the PC restarts, check if the taskbar is working or not.
Fix 3. Install Windows OS Update
Maybe you missed out on installing any latest update, which may have brought the fix for such bugs on Windows 11. So, make sure your system is updated by installing any new update that Microsoft rolls out.
- Press Windows + I key combination.
- Then click on Windows Update.
- At the top of the screen on to the right side, click on Check for Updates.
- Normally, if an update is available, the Windows will download it if WiFi is available, and you will be notified of the same.
- Otherwise, you can always manually check using the above steps. [for Windows 11]
Fix 4. Close System Files
By closing, I mean ending the tasks of the system files that usually keep running in the background. There are 4 such files, which you can access in the Task Manager.
- ShellExperienceHost.exe
- SearchIndexer.exe
- SearchHost.exe
- RuntimeBroker.exe
- Open Task Manager by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Del key combination.
- Click on the tab Details.
- Look for the above-mentioned files.
- Right-click on them and select End Task.
- Restart the computer as well, and then try to use the Taskbar. The issue should be fixed now.
Fix 5. Fix the Corrupt System Files
It may happen that while you were performing the Windows 11 upgrade from Windows 10, some system files may have become corrupt. This may lead to Windows 11 taskbar not working correctly. It is not necessary that every user face this issue, but it is better to know how to fix it.
- Press the Windows key to bring up the search console.
- Type Cmd and press enter to open the Command Prompt.
- Now type the following commands one after the other
Dism/Online/Cleanup-Image/ScanHealth
Dism/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth
Sfc/scannow
- Make sure to press enter after each command to execute them.
As you can see from these command names, the Windows OS will search for corrupt files and fix them. Note that the clean-up process may take a long time. So, while the process is active, do not press anything or cancel it.
Fix 6. Scan for Malware on Computer
If you frequently access several websites(unsafe ones) and maybe you have installed certain apps/plugins which may not belong to any authorized publisher, then there are chances you will find malware on your computer.
Though Windows OS will warn you of a potential threat, you can manually perform a scan for a possible case of malware. Often when malware is present on your PC, certain apps or services tend to slow down or become unresponsive at times.
- Go to Windows Settings by pressing Windows + I.
- On the left-hand panel, click on Privacy & Security.
- Then on the top, click on Virus & Threat Protection. [If there is no issue regarding malware, you will see the status as No Action Needed with a green tickmark]
- A new window will open up with the option Quick Scan. Click on it.
- The system will scan for any possible malware and notify you to take action on it.
- Taking action means you can put the infected file for quarantine to remove it altogether from your PC.
Once the PC is free from malware, then the Windows 11 taskbar should function without any glitches.
Fix 7. Reinstall UWP
Reinstalling the basic Universal Windows Program can fix Windows 11 taskbar not visible issue. You need to run a command in the Windows PowerShell as Admin.
Press Windows Key + S to open the search bar and type Windows PowerShell. Open the software as administrator.
Type this command and hit enter it to execute:
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$ ($ _. InstallLocation) \ AppXManifest.xml”}
Wait for a few minutes until the command is successfully executed.
So, these are some of the techniques you can implement to fix the issue of the Windows 11 taskbar not working on your PC.
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