Solved I can't open programs on the left-side of my taskbar?


Citrusflavour01

Well-known member
Local time
5:25 PM
Posts
22
OS
Windows 11
Every time I hover over the programs the blue circle shows up. I can't open them unless I use the desktop shortcuts. It sometimes goes away but more often than not it just won't let me control my taskbar fully. I never experienced this problem on Windows 10.

Update:

Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 21H2
OS build 22000.556
 

Attachments

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Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE B550 Aorus Pro V2
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz C16
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ti VENTUS 3X 8G OC
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    NVMe Gen 4 Sabrent Rocket 1TB (boot)
    NVMe Gen 3 ADATA 512GB (secondary)
    PSU
    RM750x Corsair
    Case
    Corsair CW-9060051
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB + iCUE H150i Elite CAPELLIX
    Keyboard
    Logitech G213 PRODIGY
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Browser
    Edge
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
    Memory
    G.Skill Gaming Memory Ripjaws V 32GB (2x16GB) 3600mhz CL18
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Radeon RX 6500 XT Mech 2X 4G OC
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
Only based on the icon you were hovering over, it could be that Explorer.exe was having issues... you could try to restart that, but sadly I have no other clues/ideas of things to help. But to help others help you, could you please post your Windows version number so we have a better idea of what you're working with.

To attempt to restart explorer, open an admin command prompt and type the following:
Batch:
taskkill /im explorer.exe /f
start explorer.exe
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro β
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion Laptop 15-eg0070wm
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xᵉ Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2TB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    macOS Ventura
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple iMac 27" 5K (2017)
    CPU
    3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
    Memory
    40 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon Pro 570 4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" 5K, 34" UW
    Screen Resolution
    Mon 1: 5120 × 2880 Mon 2: 2560 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    32GB NVME, 1TB SSD
A tip: the right-click of the Taskbar to get Task Manager has been moved to the right-click of the Start/Windows button and can Restart Windows Explorer from there. A number of other things from the previous Control Panel are there also.

1648764930660.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Symbol indicative of programme already running. Restart computer and try again?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-9400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1TB SSDs
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Classic Australian w.a.p.
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro (latest upadte ... anally always)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
Symbol indicative of programme already running.
Small colored underscore under an icon on the Taskbar, Firefox and Solitaire now open.

1648774374493.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-9400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1TB SSDs
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Classic Australian w.a.p.
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro (latest upadte ... anally always)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
Usually that blue spinning circle/ring means Windows or a program is trying to load, about the same thing as ring of dots at startup.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Only based on the icon you were hovering over, it could be that Explorer.exe was having issues... you could try to restart that, but sadly I have no other clues/ideas of things to help. But to help others help you, could you please post your Windows version number so we have a better idea of what you're working with.

To attempt to restart explorer, open an admin command prompt and type the following:
Batch:
taskkill /im explorer.exe /f
start explorer.exe
A tip: the right-click of the Taskbar to get Task Manager has been moved to the right-click of the Start/Windows button and can Restart Windows Explorer from there. A number of other things from the previous Control Panel are there also.

View attachment 25860
It seems that restarting windows explorer fixed the problem for now. The bothersome thing is that I might need to restart explorer every time I come across this problem but at least it has been fixed for most of the day now!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE B550 Aorus Pro V2
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz C16
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ti VENTUS 3X 8G OC
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    NVMe Gen 4 Sabrent Rocket 1TB (boot)
    NVMe Gen 3 ADATA 512GB (secondary)
    PSU
    RM750x Corsair
    Case
    Corsair CW-9060051
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB + iCUE H150i Elite CAPELLIX
    Keyboard
    Logitech G213 PRODIGY
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Browser
    Edge
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
    Memory
    G.Skill Gaming Memory Ripjaws V 32GB (2x16GB) 3600mhz CL18
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Radeon RX 6500 XT Mech 2X 4G OC
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
I'd be running some disk checking software just in case the drive might be failing (programs can hang while Windows tries to start them and/or tries to find better/spare drive space to open the (extra) required files).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-9400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1TB SSDs
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Classic Australian w.a.p.
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro (latest upadte ... anally always)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS

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