Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? - Page 2

vacuouss · December 28th, 2007

try opening the task bar properties, selecting the Notification Area tab, and make sure the Network system icon is being displayed. I see the flashing on my machine when its not displayed, and can stop the flash by redisplaying it.

phaco · January 22nd, 2008

Originally Posted by Queue

My taskbar problem is similar to those described here, but I'll explain the differences and what I found is causing the problem.

The more annoying problem is that every so often, only a thin line will show up for the taskbar as if the bar had been sized to zero, except that grabbing the line and trying to drag it up to increase lines doesn't work. This effectively makes it impossible to access the taskbar or system tray in any way.
Queue

I have the same problem with the "disappearing" taskbar, and I don't have WinAmp installed. It frequently happens after opening just about any program or window. To restore its normal behavior, I have to act like I'm changing the desktop background photo. Simply by clicking on the "fit to screen" or "tile" option, then back to whatever I had it set at, works. But then the problems occurs again frequently. I finally discovered that as long as I have the taskbar set at double-height, the problem doesn't occur.

I also have the flashing taskbar problem, but haven't been able to come up with a working solution or complete explanation for that yet. This is a problem on my two new Dell PCs (XPS 420, and Dimension E520) running Vista Home Premium.

erock1982 · February 10th, 2008

OK heres the quickfix for this problem. Who knows if microsoft is even listening because its a pretty common issue. This will stop the crunchup on the taskbar for some time. It probably happens to me a couple times a day its annoying and I hope they fix it. Follow the instructions each time it happens.

When it happens press control+alt+delete. A menu pops up giving you several options. Select 'start task manager'. The windows task manager will appear. Click on 'explorer' then click 'end process' on the bottom right with explorer highlighted. A dialog box will appear asking you if you want to 'end the process'. Click 'end process'. You will see that the taskbar no longer appears and windows explorer is no longer functioning. The task manager will still be an active window. In the 'task manager' click 'File' then 'New Task (run)'. A dialog box will appear. Next to where it says 'Open:' type 'Explorer' then hit enter. The task bar will reinitialize and all of your open programs will be right where they should be but in the reverse order in the taskbar.

This should solve the problem until it happens again like i said it only happens to me a couple times a day. BUT, the solution DOES work.

AlcSilian · February 16th, 2008

Hello guys. I experience the same problem. First experienced on Windows Ultimate X64, then Home Premium X64, and now Business X64. I do not know what the hell is the problem..... I checked the logs and i found something very weird... The flashing of windows and taskbar may be caused by a security thing or glitch. I do not know how to call it and i didn;t found any solve. The flashing its really annoying taskbar flashing, windows borders flashing.....
ANyway i will tell you to check the Event Viever - Security... ANd there it is every 10 15 seconds guest logoff (audit sucess - An attempt was made to unregister a security event source., or something else)
Find a fix and post it ...

biggerfoot · March 19th, 2008

It sounds funny that showing the network tray Icon may fix this issue. Could it be that we have some kind of program update check or program verification check blocked by our firewall (for some reason....). It may be trying to connect every few seconds to get verification of registration.

ouji · July 2nd, 2008

Hi there,

I am actually having a different problem.

My taskbar is not flashing, but instead, I cannot click on anything on the taskbar other then my Windows logo. If I try clicking on the taskbar (everywhere else except the logo), I just get this "ting" sound and nothing else happens. This happened after my Windows was updated - I am currently using Windows Home Basic.

krouse · August 25th, 2008

None of the fixes described in this thread had any effect on my flashing taskbar EXCEPT changing the appearance to Windows Vista Basic. However, doing that gave rise to a different problem with the taskbar. It usually does not disappear completely but seems to paste itself over the top of whatever window is behind it (or the desktop wallpaper) and hang there. If I move the cursor over it several times, eventually it disappears completely.

notjustgc · December 12th, 2008

I was able to immediately and completely fix this exact problem.

The issue started earlier today. Checking the notification area just a few minutes ago, I confirmed that both my sound and networking notification icons had disappeared.

I right-clicked on the taskbar and selected "Properties," clicked on the "Notification Area" tab, and made sure all four options (clock/volume/network/power) at the bottom were checked before clicking Apply and OK.

Problem solved! Good luck.

heatlesssun · December 17th, 2008

I experienced the flashing taskbar problem on my new HP tx2 convertible tablet PC and I found a simple solution in my case which should apply to others I hope.

The solution is very simple. Right click on the taskbar and select "Properties". Select the "Notification Area" tab and then check the "Hide inactive icons" checkbox. This will enable the "Customize...” button. Next click the "Customize...” button.

A list of taskbar icons will display in a table with two columns broken into two groups, "Current Items" at the top of the list and "Past Items” at the bottom. The second column labeled "Behavior" is the key to procedure. Each taskbar icon has a behavior associated with it that has three states:

Hide when inactive
Hide
Show

I believe that the source of the taskbar flashing in my case is the first behavior state “Hide when active”. Even if you have the "Hide inactive icons” checkbox unchecked on the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" dialog, individual taskbar icons can apparently still hide themselves. I believe that it is this automatic handling of icons that causes the intermittent flashing of the taskbar as individual items decide to hide and unhide themselves.

And now the solution. Simply set the behavior for each icon in the "Current Items" group to either "Hide" or "Show". DO NOT leave have any items set to “Hide when inactive”. In the “Past Items" you will probably see a lot more icons listed for apps that you either don't use much or have even uninstalled. I didn't set every item in this group to "Hide" or "Show", only the items that I expected to use.

So after a day of implementing this procedure the taskbar has not flashed once that I've noticed when it use to flash at least once almost every minute.

Hope this helps someone else!

frunk · July 7th, 2009

Hello everyone,
I have experienced a similar problem (taskbar going crazy, flashing of the icons at high speed, ...). I had been using Vista for 16 months and everything (almost) was perfect until two weeks later.
For the last two weeks, I have searched the Internet, hoping to find an answer that would allow me to solve my problem. At first, my most plausible hypothesis was that my computer might have had suffered from over-heating, what could be causing the whole thing. However, I ran some tests and the evidence was not pointing towards that direction.
This morning, while I was about to give up, I desperately pulled the USB cable that connected my wireless keyboard and mouse to my computer. Suddenly, everything went quiet. No more flashing of the taskbar. I was free again!
I am now 99% sure that a malfunctioning of a wireless keyboard (or mouse) is what causes the problem, at least in my case. So if you are under a similar curse and that you have been using a wireless keyboard, you might want to have a closer look at it!
As for me, I did not have the chance to buy a new keyboard yet. So when the taskbar goes flashing again, I just have to make sure that the mouse is closer to the wireless receptor than is the keyboard (note: my keyboard and mouse are governed by the same receptor). This little adjustment seems to be enough to prevent the flashing. However, I will purchase a new keyboard as soon as I get the chance. Only then will I have the right to use “100% sure” instead of “99% sure”.

Frunk

assclown · July 8th, 2009

I have had the issue twice. First time was as stated above, my mouse battery was getting low, and started tweaking out and it just spazzed out vista. However now, ever since i bought an ATI card (mistake) it tweaks out depending on what program is running, generally with Photoshop CS4. Never did it with my Nvidia cards, every. I even have a clean install now, same issue.

frunk · July 16th, 2009

Originally Posted by frunk

Hello everyone,
I have experienced a similar problem (taskbar going crazy, flashing of the icons at high speed, ...). I had been using Vista for 16 months and everything (almost) was perfect until two weeks later.
For the last two weeks, I have searched the Internet, hoping to find an answer that would allow me to solve my problem. At first, my most plausible hypothesis was that my computer might have had suffered from over-heating, what could be causing the whole thing. However, I ran some tests and the evidence was not pointing towards that direction.
This morning, while I was about to give up, I desperately pulled the USB cable that connected my wireless keyboard and mouse to my computer. Suddenly, everything went quiet. No more flashing of the taskbar. I was free again!
I am now 99% sure that a malfunctioning of a wireless keyboard (or mouse) is what causes the problem, at least in my case. So if you are under a similar curse and that you have been using a wireless keyboard, you might want to have a closer look at it!
As for me, I did not have the chance to buy a new keyboard yet. So when the taskbar goes flashing again, I just have to make sure that the mouse is closer to the wireless receptor than is the keyboard (note: my keyboard and mouse are governed by the same receptor). This little adjustment seems to be enough to prevent the flashing. However, I will purchase a new keyboard as soon as I get the chance. Only then will I have the right to use “100% sure” instead of “99% sure”.

Frunk

I have had my new wireless keyboard for almost a week now! So far, everything is working perfectly. No more flashing of the taskbar! Thus, in my case, a malfunctioning of the wireless keyboard is definitely what was causing the problem. I hope this helps…

MuffinPowa · February 28th, 2010

i think my problem is the same as all of yous. i recently installed nortan 360 and now my start bar will not come up. when i turn the laptop on its all good, than this thing pops up saying internet explorer has stopped working so i let it restore. than everything dissapears and the only thing showing is that bar on the right side that comes with vista computers. my mum said its not from nortan but this has never happened before

i cant even click on the start button, see how low my battery is or anything.

December 28th, 2007	Top \| #21
vacuouss OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: December 2007 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? try opening the task bar properties, selecting the Notification Area tab, and make sure the Network system icon is being displayed. I see the flashing on my machine when its not displayed, and can stop the flash by redisplaying it.

January 22nd, 2008	Top \| #22
phaco OSNN Junior Addict Joined: January 2008 Posts: 2 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? Originally Posted by Queue My taskbar problem is similar to those described here, but I'll explain the differences and what I found is causing the problem. The more annoying problem is that every so often, only a thin line will show up for the taskbar as if the bar had been sized to zero, except that grabbing the line and trying to drag it up to increase lines doesn't work. This effectively makes it impossible to access the taskbar or system tray in any way. Queue I have the same problem with the "disappearing" taskbar, and I don't have WinAmp installed. It frequently happens after opening just about any program or window. To restore its normal behavior, I have to act like I'm changing the desktop background photo. Simply by clicking on the "fit to screen" or "tile" option, then back to whatever I had it set at, works. But then the problems occurs again frequently. I finally discovered that as long as I have the taskbar set at double-height, the problem doesn't occur. I also have the flashing taskbar problem, but haven't been able to come up with a working solution or complete explanation for that yet. This is a problem on my two new Dell PCs (XPS 420, and Dimension E520) running Vista Home Premium.

February 10th, 2008	Top \| #23
erock1982 OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: February 2008 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? OK heres the quickfix for this problem. Who knows if microsoft is even listening because its a pretty common issue. This will stop the crunchup on the taskbar for some time. It probably happens to me a couple times a day its annoying and I hope they fix it. Follow the instructions each time it happens. When it happens press control+alt+delete. A menu pops up giving you several options. Select 'start task manager'. The windows task manager will appear. Click on 'explorer' then click 'end process' on the bottom right with explorer highlighted. A dialog box will appear asking you if you want to 'end the process'. Click 'end process'. You will see that the taskbar no longer appears and windows explorer is no longer functioning. The task manager will still be an active window. In the 'task manager' click 'File' then 'New Task (run)'. A dialog box will appear. Next to where it says 'Open:' type 'Explorer' then hit enter. The task bar will reinitialize and all of your open programs will be right where they should be but in the reverse order in the taskbar. This should solve the problem until it happens again like i said it only happens to me a couple times a day. BUT, the solution DOES work.

February 16th, 2008	Top \| #24
AlcSilian OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: February 2008 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? Hello guys. I experience the same problem. First experienced on Windows Ultimate X64, then Home Premium X64, and now Business X64. I do not know what the hell is the problem..... I checked the logs and i found something very weird... The flashing of windows and taskbar may be caused by a security thing or glitch. I do not know how to call it and i didn;t found any solve. The flashing its really annoying taskbar flashing, windows borders flashing..... ANyway i will tell you to check the Event Viever - Security... ANd there it is every 10 15 seconds guest logoff (audit sucess - An attempt was made to unregister a security event source., or something else) Find a fix and post it ...

March 19th, 2008	Top \| #25
biggerfoot OSNN Junior Addict Joined: December 2005 Posts: 3 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? It sounds funny that showing the network tray Icon may fix this issue. Could it be that we have some kind of program update check or program verification check blocked by our firewall (for some reason....). It may be trying to connect every few seconds to get verification of registration.

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July 2nd, 2008	Top \| #26
ouji OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: July 2008 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? Hi there, I am actually having a different problem. My taskbar is not flashing, but instead, I cannot click on anything on the taskbar other then my Windows logo. If I try clicking on the taskbar (everywhere else except the logo), I just get this "ting" sound and nothing else happens. This happened after my Windows was updated - I am currently using Windows Home Basic.

August 25th, 2008	Top \| #27
krouse OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: August 2008 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? None of the fixes described in this thread had any effect on my flashing taskbar EXCEPT changing the appearance to Windows Vista Basic. However, doing that gave rise to a different problem with the taskbar. It usually does not disappear completely but seems to paste itself over the top of whatever window is behind it (or the desktop wallpaper) and hang there. If I move the cursor over it several times, eventually it disappears completely.

December 12th, 2008	Top \| #28
notjustgc OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: December 2008 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? I was able to immediately and completely fix this exact problem. The issue started earlier today. Checking the notification area just a few minutes ago, I confirmed that both my sound and networking notification icons had disappeared. I right-clicked on the taskbar and selected "Properties," clicked on the "Notification Area" tab, and made sure all four options (clock/volume/network/power) at the bottom were checked before clicking Apply and OK. Problem solved! Good luck.

December 17th, 2008	Top \| #29
heatlesssun OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: December 2008 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? I experienced the flashing taskbar problem on my new HP tx2 convertible tablet PC and I found a simple solution in my case which should apply to others I hope. The solution is very simple. Right click on the taskbar and select "Properties". Select the "Notification Area" tab and then check the "Hide inactive icons" checkbox. This will enable the "Customize...” button. Next click the "Customize...” button. A list of taskbar icons will display in a table with two columns broken into two groups, "Current Items" at the top of the list and "Past Items” at the bottom. The second column labeled "Behavior" is the key to procedure. Each taskbar icon has a behavior associated with it that has three states: Hide when inactive Hide Show I believe that the source of the taskbar flashing in my case is the first behavior state “Hide when active”. Even if you have the "Hide inactive icons” checkbox unchecked on the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" dialog, individual taskbar icons can apparently still hide themselves. I believe that it is this automatic handling of icons that causes the intermittent flashing of the taskbar as individual items decide to hide and unhide themselves. And now the solution. Simply set the behavior for each icon in the "Current Items" group to either "Hide" or "Show". DO NOT leave have any items set to “Hide when inactive”. In the “Past Items" you will probably see a lot more icons listed for apps that you either don't use much or have even uninstalled. I didn't set every item in this group to "Hide" or "Show", only the items that I expected to use. So after a day of implementing this procedure the taskbar has not flashed once that I've noticed when it use to flash at least once almost every minute. Hope this helps someone else!

July 7th, 2009	Top \| #30
frunk OSNN Junior Addict Joined: July 2009 Posts: 2 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? Hello everyone, I have experienced a similar problem (taskbar going crazy, flashing of the icons at high speed, ...). I had been using Vista for 16 months and everything (almost) was perfect until two weeks later. For the last two weeks, I have searched the Internet, hoping to find an answer that would allow me to solve my problem. At first, my most plausible hypothesis was that my computer might have had suffered from over-heating, what could be causing the whole thing. However, I ran some tests and the evidence was not pointing towards that direction. This morning, while I was about to give up, I desperately pulled the USB cable that connected my wireless keyboard and mouse to my computer. Suddenly, everything went quiet. No more flashing of the taskbar. I was free again! I am now 99% sure that a malfunctioning of a wireless keyboard (or mouse) is what causes the problem, at least in my case. So if you are under a similar curse and that you have been using a wireless keyboard, you might want to have a closer look at it! As for me, I did not have the chance to buy a new keyboard yet. So when the taskbar goes flashing again, I just have to make sure that the mouse is closer to the wireless receptor than is the keyboard (note: my keyboard and mouse are governed by the same receptor). This little adjustment seems to be enough to prevent the flashing. However, I will purchase a new keyboard as soon as I get the chance. Only then will I have the right to use “100% sure” instead of “99% sure”. Frunk

July 8th, 2009	Top \| #31
assclown OSNN Citizen Man Joined: June 2005 Location: Washington Posts: 80 Reputation: 10 Power: 85	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? I have had the issue twice. First time was as stated above, my mouse battery was getting low, and started tweaking out and it just spazzed out vista. However now, ever since i bought an ATI card (mistake) it tweaks out depending on what program is running, generally with Photoshop CS4. Never did it with my Nvidia cards, every. I even have a clean install now, same issue. Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz, XFX 780i SLI, HIS ATI RADEON 4850 1gig IceQ4 , 8gig Gskill Dual Channel Memory, 30" Dell Monitor @ 2560x1600

July 16th, 2009	Top \| #32
frunk OSNN Junior Addict Joined: July 2009 Posts: 2 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? Originally Posted by frunk Hello everyone, I have experienced a similar problem (taskbar going crazy, flashing of the icons at high speed, ...). I had been using Vista for 16 months and everything (almost) was perfect until two weeks later. For the last two weeks, I have searched the Internet, hoping to find an answer that would allow me to solve my problem. At first, my most plausible hypothesis was that my computer might have had suffered from over-heating, what could be causing the whole thing. However, I ran some tests and the evidence was not pointing towards that direction. This morning, while I was about to give up, I desperately pulled the USB cable that connected my wireless keyboard and mouse to my computer. Suddenly, everything went quiet. No more flashing of the taskbar. I was free again! I am now 99% sure that a malfunctioning of a wireless keyboard (or mouse) is what causes the problem, at least in my case. So if you are under a similar curse and that you have been using a wireless keyboard, you might want to have a closer look at it! As for me, I did not have the chance to buy a new keyboard yet. So when the taskbar goes flashing again, I just have to make sure that the mouse is closer to the wireless receptor than is the keyboard (note: my keyboard and mouse are governed by the same receptor). This little adjustment seems to be enough to prevent the flashing. However, I will purchase a new keyboard as soon as I get the chance. Only then will I have the right to use “100% sure” instead of “99% sure”. Frunk I have had my new wireless keyboard for almost a week now! So far, everything is working perfectly. No more flashing of the taskbar! Thus, in my case, a malfunctioning of the wireless keyboard is definitely what was causing the problem. I hope this helps…

February 28th, 2010	Top \| #33
MuffinPowa OSNN One Post Wonder Joined: February 2010 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Re: Anyone experiencing taskbar problems with Vista? i think my problem is the same as all of yous. i recently installed nortan 360 and now my start bar will not come up. when i turn the laptop on its all good, than this thing pops up saying internet explorer has stopped working so i let it restore. than everything dissapears and the only thing showing is that bar on the right side that comes with vista computers. my mum said its not from nortan but this has never happened before i cant even click on the start button, see how low my battery is or anything.

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