Solved Unable to change size of taskbar and Microsoft Store apps are not visible on the taskbar, but can be clicked in seemingly empty areas of the taskbar.


jameswesthead

Well-known member
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5:23 PM
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24
OS
Windows 11
Recently, I've encountered some frustrating bugs in the taskbar. Initially, I attempted to adjust its height by either increasing or decreasing it. Surprisingly, there was no option in the settings to do so, but I found a registry tweak at Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\TaskbarSi. Modifying this DWORD value to 0, 1, or 2 should change the taskbar's size upon rebooting, yet it had no effect for me.

The primary issue, however, is that some apps pinned to the taskbar are present but not visible. When I hover over a seemingly empty area of the taskbar, the app's name pops up. Moreover, if I choose not to hide the taskbar labels, they appear next to the 'empty' space.

From what I can observe, this disappearing act seems to affect only Microsoft Store apps.

Despite the abundance of advice online, including from this forum, which suggests deleting and recreating the icon and thumbnail caches with various methods, none of these 'fixes' have made any difference.

I have run Dism /online /Cleanup-Image /scanhealth. It reveals no errors.
I also ran sfc /scannow. It DID find an error in the Media Player app (which is one of the invisible apps), and said that it had fixed it, but whatever it did made no difference.

I have tried using apps settings to repair and reset them, to no effect. I have also updated Microsoft Store, but none of the problem apps was updated.

Has anyone any further ideas? I can't think of anything except a 'repair upgrade' opting to keep all my data. I have a highly personalised Start Menu and many third party apps, so I am somewhat reluctant to take this nuclear option.
 
Windows Build/Version
23H2 OS Build 22631.4169

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    amd ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    gigabyte aorus master x570
    Memory
    32 gig corsair dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    not a gamer so a very basic fanless
    Monitor(s) Displays
    iiyama
    Hard Drives
    4 x 1terabyte nvme ssd
    PSU
    corsair rmi 850 watt
    Case
    fractal design r5
    Cooling
    noctua
I have a highly personalised Start Menu and many third party apps, so I am somewhat reluctant to take this nuclear option.
If those apps you speak of include one or more 3rd party apps that alter the GUI, that may well be the cause of your problem with the disappearing icons. Uninstall or update such app to newer version to see if it fixes the issue. If it doesn't rebuild your icon cache, Rebuild Icon Cache in Windows 11 Tutorial


Regarding taskbar size, that registry tweak you listed worked in earlier versions of 11, but not any more. You can not adjust the size of the taskbar natively or in the registry any longer. 3rd party app ExplorerPatcher says it can but since I don't use anything to alter my GUI I cannot attest to that. There are some users here who use it so maybe they will verify it
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 2600.1742
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme+256gb SKHynix m.2 nvme /External +512gb Samsung m.2 sata+1tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4249
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
Try a new user account and see if the taskbar is still not showing the apps.


 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4249
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
KB5022913 (Feb 2023) killed off TaskbarSi, to accomodate the "touch optimized" taskbar experience for tablet PC's.

You'll have to go with a 3rd-party UI mod like ExplorerPatcher or WindHawk to adjust the taskbar's height.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Thankyou all for your replies. Firstly, I have only one app that goes anywhere near the GUI and that is called "System Tray Menu" which I downloaded many months ago from here: . It just throws up a list of file and folders in a 'root' folder, which in my case is OneDrive. Secondly, the inability to change the taskbar height was not known to me, so thanks for the info, and I'll stop bothering about it. Thirdly, I have already tried the icon cache rebuild which is the subject of very detailed instructions from this forum, and it made no difference. So, I'm going to uninstall "system tray menu" to see what happens. Incidentally, I see that it is available as a portable function (the one I use) and also as a Microsoft Store function, so uninstalling it will just be a case of finding its files and deleting them. As for giving you a list of all the 3rd party apps I use, I am happy to do so, but it will be a very long list.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    amd ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    gigabyte aorus master x570
    Memory
    32 gig corsair dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    not a gamer so a very basic fanless
    Monitor(s) Displays
    iiyama
    Hard Drives
    4 x 1terabyte nvme ssd
    PSU
    corsair rmi 850 watt
    Case
    fractal design r5
    Cooling
    noctua
Hi, a few suggestions made on another taskbar issue post today.

This is a Microsoft bug that apparently has many reasons and solutions. Here are some solutions that you could try, but there is no guarantee that your problem is one of them :

  • Clear File Explorer history

Has apparently triggered this before.


Check both of these after the above tutorial:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations
%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

and delete all files from both folders (make a backup just in case).

Reboot and test

  • Reset & CLEAR Taskbar Pins​


Read the tutorial before you begin.
You will have to readd the ones missing.


  • Alternatively

As I know I already mentioned.

Create a new user account and check if the issue recurs in it. If it does not occur, it could indicate that your user account is corrupted. Access this link and follow the steps to copy all files from the corrupt user profile to the new one : Fix a corrupted user profile (Last drop down in the list) ensure also that it is an administrator account.
    • I’ve never had to create a new user account and migrate the old one so I cannot advise you. Maybe another member can.




For fixing a corrupt user account, allegedly this tutorial was made for that purpose, I can’t find an equivalent here. Ignore the title. Again, I can not advise.
Read first

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4249
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
Thanks again. I will try the above possibilities. I have added and deleted accounts before, so I know what to do. Before I do these things, though, I got rid of the portable "Systemtraymenu" app (I used the Everything App to find all its files and deleted them). Then I restarted, and it made no difference. I then re-installed it from Microsoft Store, and the app appeared in Start Menu, but was invisible on the taskbar when I pinned it. So I uninstalled it (incl. its registry entries) and re-installed the portable version. This time I was able to see it on the taskbar. So, thanks again,:-) and its a good job I like fiddling with my PC, both with software and hardware.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    amd ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    gigabyte aorus master x570
    Memory
    32 gig corsair dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    not a gamer so a very basic fanless
    Monitor(s) Displays
    iiyama
    Hard Drives
    4 x 1terabyte nvme ssd
    PSU
    corsair rmi 850 watt
    Case
    fractal design r5
    Cooling
    noctua
Hi Everyone,
I have tried everything and I now have only two options: 1) Create a new user account with the same privileges as the one I currently use, and start to use it instead. This will involve me in a lot of work, and the bits I miss will only become apparent as I try to use various apps and discover that they fail. It will definitely solve my problem, because I have already created such an account, and the taskbar works perfectly in it. or 2) use the windows repair facility which uses a current windows 1 1iso to re-install windows whilst leaving data and apps untouched. I migrated from 10 to 11 using this, and it worked pretty well, so perhaps it will be the least problematic. Whichever I choose, it will be reserved for rainy day.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    amd ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    gigabyte aorus master x570
    Memory
    32 gig corsair dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    not a gamer so a very basic fanless
    Monitor(s) Displays
    iiyama
    Hard Drives
    4 x 1terabyte nvme ssd
    PSU
    corsair rmi 850 watt
    Case
    fractal design r5
    Cooling
    noctua
1) is it only Store apps that don’t pin or don’t show when pinned?

2) Do you use Google Drive?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
Yes, it is only Store Apps that don't show when pinned. I used Google Drive some time ago, but removed it. I have checked and there is no trace of it on my computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    amd ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    gigabyte aorus master x570
    Memory
    32 gig corsair dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    not a gamer so a very basic fanless
    Monitor(s) Displays
    iiyama
    Hard Drives
    4 x 1terabyte nvme ssd
    PSU
    corsair rmi 850 watt
    Case
    fractal design r5
    Cooling
    noctua
I noticed the same issue in windows 10, but I only use 1 app from the store so I was only mildly curious as to why it wouldn't show in the taskbar. However, I was using a standard local account and when I rebooted into my admin ms account, the app would show up on the taskbar. I just attributed it to using a local account versus an ms account.

I haven't noticed the issue with 11 (yet) but I am using the usual admin ms account.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ABS
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10400F CPU @ 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. PRIME B560M-A AC Rev 1.xx
    Memory
    Corsair VENGEANCE® LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
    Sound Card
    Realtek Digital Output (Realtek(R) Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WEH WH24FX9019
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 60hz
    Hard Drives
    T-FORCE TM8FP800 1TB + a couple SATA SSDs
    PSU
    Gigabyte P650E
    Case
    DeepCool Matrexx 50 mid-tower
    Cooling
    a whole bunch of fans
    Keyboard
    generic
    Mouse
    Amazon Basic
    Internet Speed
    Starlink: speed varies
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + Andy Ful's utilities
    Other Info
    An assortment of "land fill, obsolete" computers all running Linux Mint 22 (at the moment).
Mine is an admin account. The apps are installed under admin.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    amd ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    gigabyte aorus master x570
    Memory
    32 gig corsair dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    not a gamer so a very basic fanless
    Monitor(s) Displays
    iiyama
    Hard Drives
    4 x 1terabyte nvme ssd
    PSU
    corsair rmi 850 watt
    Case
    fractal design r5
    Cooling
    noctua

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 24H2 26100.2033
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion TP01-2xxx
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 3 5300G
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics 4.00GHZ
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic
    Keyboard
    HP
    Mouse
    wireless Microsoft
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    Avira
I'd like to thank everyone for their help, even though I was unable to solve the problem, other than by repairing windows in place via a windows 11 iso, or by creating another user. I'm just going sit on the problem for a while, until a cold and miserable day arrives, and then get down to it. I'm going to mark this thread as closed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    amd ryzen 7 3700x
    Motherboard
    gigabyte aorus master x570
    Memory
    32 gig corsair dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    not a gamer so a very basic fanless
    Monitor(s) Displays
    iiyama
    Hard Drives
    4 x 1terabyte nvme ssd
    PSU
    corsair rmi 850 watt
    Case
    fractal design r5
    Cooling
    noctua
24h2 will be released in Oct. which will come to you thru WU as an upgrade rather than an update. (or you can download its iso and upgrade manually if yiou wish) It may well solve your problems. Would be worth the wait and see.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 2600.1742
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme+256gb SKHynix m.2 nvme /External +512gb Samsung m.2 sata+1tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium

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