Fix: Taskbar Icons Not Showing on Windows 11

Windows 11 has numerous new features, and with great features also come some issues. One of the frustrating issues is that some app icons may not appear on your taskbar at times, and you may see an empty spot where the app icon should be. So, in this article, we will go over several fixes for taskbar icons not showing on Windows 11 PCs or laptops.

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How to Fix Taskbar Icons Missing on Windows 11

An empty Windows 11 taskbar could be quite frustrating. If you’re experiencing this issue on your PC for any reason, don’t worry. Below, we will cover various solutions to this problem.

Note: Because there’s no specific fix for this issue, you will need to try each of the solutions listed below and see which one works for you. So, with that in mind, let us begin.

Fix 1. Log out and Log in back to your Microsoft Account

Signing out and then re-signing into your Microsoft account may help you fix taskbar icons not showing on Windows 11.

To do it, go to Start Menu, and click on your username in the bottom left corner of the Start Menu.

Start Menu > Profile

Select “Sign out” from the option that appears.

Click Sign out and sign in back — Click Sign out

After this, you’ll be greeted by the startup page. Make sure you log in to see if the missing Taskbar icons issue on Windows 11 has been addressed.

Fix 2. Restart File Explorer Using Task Manager

Are taskbar icons missing? Restarting File Explorer may also help you fix it. So you should definitely give it a shot. The following steps will show you how to restart Windows Explorer from the Task Manager:

Open File Explorer using the “Windows + E” shortcut keys.
Next, right-click on the Start Menu and select “Task Manager” to open it.

Open Task Manager by right-clicking on Start Menu — Open Task Manager

Now, find and right-click on “File Explorer” within Task Manager and click “Restart“.

Right-click on Windows Explorer and click Restart — Restart Windows Explorer

Fix 3. Disable Automatically Hide The Taskbar

Open the Settings app by searching for it in the start menu.

Then go to “Personalization” from the left pane and select “Taskbar“.

Go to Personalization, and select Taskbar — Personalization > Taskbar

Now expand the “Taskbar behaviors” section and disable the “Automatically hide the taskbar” option.

Fix 4. Disconnect the Second Monitor

While using two monitors, a number of users ran into this problem. You can also try disconnecting the second monitor for a short period of time in order to fix the issue. After that, reconnect it to check if the problem still exists.

Fix 5. Use SFC /scannow Command

If any of the system files get corrupted, you should consider running the SFC command. The System File Checker is a command-line utility application that analyzes your computer for faulty system files and replaces them with their working counterparts. So running this command can help you fix the problem with the Taskbar icons.

To begin, search for “CMD” in the Start Menu, and select “Run as administrator” to run it with administrator privileges.

Next, type in the command line below and hit the “Enter” key on your keyboard:

SFC /scannow

Run SFC /scannow in cmd — Run SFC /scannow

It will now launch the System File Checker, which will begin the scanning process. This may take a few minutes. Once completed, restart your PC and check if the missing Taskbar icons issue on Windows 11 has been resolved.

Fix 6. Modify TaskbarSd Settings using Registry Editor

Open the Run Command using “Windows + R” type “regedit” and hit “Enter” to launch the Registry Editor app.

open Registry Editor using Run Window — regedit

Next, copy and paste the address below in the Registry Editor search bar and hit Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Going to TaskbarSd location in Registry Editor

Now, Double-click the TaskbarSd key and change its value to 1 if it’s set to 0 (zero).

Next, open Command Prompt as an administrator, and execute the below command line:

taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe

Run taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe in Command Prompt

This will restart File Explorer. When done, see if the problem is fixed.

Fix 7. Delete Icon Cache File

The IconCache database in Windows is where Windows stores all of the app’s icon files. The entire IconCache folder may get corrupted if a single app’s icon is corrupted. You should thus remove that cache file and start again with a new one. For that, follow the below steps:

To begin with, launch the File Explorer by searching for it in the Start Menu.

Open File Explorer from Start Menu — File Explorer

Next, copy and paste the following address into the File Explorer address bar. Make sure to replace the username accordingly.

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local

Now, find and permanently delete the IconCache file using “Shift + Delete“.

Then, restart your PC and let the icon cache files refresh.
After that, see if the problem with the missing Taskbar icons in Windows 11 has been resolved.

Fix 8. Delete IRIS Service

Another option is to uninstall the IRIS service. Here’s how to do it:

To begin, launch Command Prompt as administrator.

Then, type the following command line and press “Enter” to run it.

reg delete HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\IrisService /f && shutdown -r -t 0

Delete IRIS Service using CMD — Delete IRIS Service

After the command has been successfully completed, restart your computer. Then see if it solves the problem of missing Taskbar icons in Windows 11.

Fix 9. Change Date and Time Settings

To begin with, open the Settings app using the “Windows + I” shortcut keys.
Next, go to “Time & language” from the left pane, and select “Date & time” from the right.

Go to Time & language an select Date & time — Time & language > Date & time

Now, make sure your date and time settings are correct.
You can also select your Time Zone and let your computer set up the time zone automatically.

Fix 10. Uninstall Recent Updates

In some cases, the latest Microsoft quality or feature update may cause a few issues. Y you can consider deleting the problematic update from your PC to solve this issue. Here’s how it’s done:

To begin with, open the Control Panel by searching for it in the Start Menu.

Open Control Panel from Start Menu — Control Panel

Select “Programs“.

Next, click on the “View installed updates” link from under Programs and Features.

Now, click on “Uninstall” in front of the update found, and click Uninstall again to confirm.

Once the update has been uninstalled, restart your PC. When it boots up, the Taskbar issue would have been rectified as well.

Fix 11. Delete TrayNotify using Registry Editor

The TrayNotify Registry key manages the D-Word files IconStreams and PastIconStream. Both of these files are in charge of efficiently handling the icons on the Taskbar, Action Center, and the desktop icons set. If you notice that icons are missing or not showing in their normal locations, you should consider deleting both of these files and allowing the system to construct a new instance from scratch. Here’s how to do it:

To begin with, open the Registry Editor app from the Start Menu.
Next, copy and paste the below address in the address bar and hit Enter.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify

Now, select both the IconStreams and PastIconStream files from the right-hand side and hit the “Delete” button.

Delete TrayNotify using Registry Editor — Delete TrayNotify

Now, restart your computer after deleting both files. Wait for some moments for the system to recreate these files.
Check to see whether it resolves the issue with missing Taskbar icons in Windows 11.

Final Words

So, these are the eleven solutions to fix Taskbar icons not showing on Windows 11 problem. Try each of these solutions in whatever order you like. Do let us know if you encounter any problems when doing so in the comments area. Likewise, all your queries are welcomed in the comments section below.

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