Hi

I am having a problem with the taskbar in Windows. Every now and again it
does not respond to input ie clicking on the start button, right clicking
etc. The OS is not frozen, clicking on the desktop works OK.

Eventually the taskbar begins responding again and all the previous attempts
to access the taskbar occur at the same time ie start menu
opens/closes/opens/closes etc.

I have had the task manager open when this has occured and the system does
not show any activity (CPU usage 0-1%).

Any help would be appreciated.

If you manage to solve this, tell me too. I have exactly same problem.

--
> Ayush [ Be ''?'' Happy ]

"Russ" <Russ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3BD436C6-BABD-4602-937D-82D9519985AE@microsoft.com...
| Hi
|
| I am having a problem with the taskbar in Windows. Every now and again it
| does not respond to input ie clicking on the start button, right clicking
| etc. The OS is not frozen, clicking on the desktop works OK.
|
| Eventually the taskbar begins responding again and all the previous
attempts
| to access the taskbar occur at the same time ie start menu
| opens/closes/opens/closes etc.
|
| I have had the task manager open when this has occured and the system does
| not show any activity (CPU usage 0-1%).
|
| Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,
I too just had a similar problem (go to this post :
Taskbar & startup menu not working & read my problem) & spent all day
yesterday working on it. Some of the suggestions at least helped me at least
to get into my Msconfig. I too didn't have any action on the Taskbar, all I
had was the busy signal when I would move my mouse over it. I had tried
different Restore points & Goback & nothing worked, I must have rebooted my
computer about 50 times with all the trials.
Anyway, I tried booting into Safe Mode & it worked, so I figured it had to
be something that loads up normally. I finally just played with the config
files by first trying Diagnostic mode/startup & then using Selective startup
by unselecting & then selecting items in the Services tab & also Startup tab
& finally managed to turn off the right item that was messing up my taskbar.
Since then it's works fine again.
I still have to uninstall whatever it was somehow that was messing it up but
at least it works. I hope this makes sense.
Dukesfan

"Russ" wrote:

> Hi
>
> I am having a problem with the taskbar in Windows. Every now and again it
> does not respond to input ie clicking on the start button, right clicking
> etc. The OS is not frozen, clicking on the desktop works OK.
>
> Eventually the taskbar begins responding again and all the previous attempts
> to access the taskbar occur at the same time ie start menu
> opens/closes/opens/closes etc.
>
> I have had the task manager open when this has occured and the system does
> not show any activity (CPU usage 0-1%).
>
> Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,
I too just had a similar problem (go to this post :
Taskbar & startup menu not working & read my problem) & spent all day
yesterday working on it. Some of the suggestions at least helped me at least
to get into my Msconfig. I too didn't have any action on the Taskbar, all I
had was the busy signal when I would move my mouse over it. I had tried
different Restore points & Goback & nothing worked, I must have rebooted my
computer about 50 times with all the trials.
Anyway, I tried booting into Safe Mode & it worked, so I figured it had to
be something that loads up normally. I finally just played with the config
files by first trying Diagnostic mode/startup & then using Selective startup
by unselecting & then selecting items in the Services tab & also Startup tab
& finally managed to turn off the right item that was messing up my taskbar.
Since then it's works fine again.
I still have to uninstall whatever it was somehow that was messing it up but
at least it works. I hope this makes sense.
Dukesfan

"Russ" wrote:

> Hi
>
> I am having a problem with the taskbar in Windows. Every now and again it
> does not respond to input ie clicking on the start button, right clicking
> etc. The OS is not frozen, clicking on the desktop works OK.
>
> Eventually the taskbar begins responding again and all the previous attempts
> to access the taskbar occur at the same time ie start menu
> opens/closes/opens/closes etc.
>
> I have had the task manager open when this has occured and the system does
> not show any activity (CPU usage 0-1%).
>
> Any help would be appreciated.

I am having this too. I can move the mouse to other programs on my task bar but the clicks are unresponsive. When this happens, I can also not move the task bar.

I get get around the unresponsive taskbar by
1) Using ALT + Tab to move between programs.
2) Using Ctrl + ALT + Delete to start up the Task Manager, after which the task bar becomes responsive again.

But then after a while the task manager becomes unresponsive again.

I have checked for viruses but apparently there are none in my system (according to more than one program) but perhaps it is a hidden virus.

I have used the task manager & services console to turn off as many services as I could. I have not located the service/program that is causing the problem. I am glad that I have been able to delete some unwanted services, but at the same time I do not want to delete too many.

In Vista apparently there is something called GDI object leak (Graphical display objects are not mapped properly by the system, and so clicking them does not work, and microsoft has published a fix for it). There have been some updates to windows lately so there is an outside chance that it is a Windows problem.

Any help greatefully recieved.

Should I do a highjack this and send it somewhere?

I suspect
1) A Windows update since there were a lot of updates recently. But then, you'd think it would be all over the net. I suspect some OS malfunction because just starting up the manager cures the problem temporarily. It perhaps could be that a virus turns itself off to remain hidden when the task manager is on.
2) My SD MS CF etc card reader which is a bit dogdy lately. It is a cheapo card reader. I have problems with the same piece of equipment before, since replaced with one by the same manufacturer. At the moment it is refusing to recognise CF cards at times.
3) A virus of course but the virus software I have tried says not.

This is driving me around the bend.

I keep my task bar at the top of the screen (since I used a Mac before Windows had a taskbar). But alas the problem remains when I move the taskbar back to its default position.



Some keywords to make this thread more searchable. "taskbar does not work" "taskbar not working" "taskbar malfunction" "task bar can't be clicked" "can't click taskbar"

More symptoms

1) The problem is intermittant. Sometimes I can come to the task bar after a while and it will work. I am not sure why. Virus activity?

2) I have one piece of software that assumes that the taskbar is at the bottom and does not work properly, having its top area obscured by the taskbar. I should try unistalling that software but I don't think it is the problem.

3) INTERESTINGLY, *sometimes* when I go to the top right (remember my task bar is at the top) of unresponsive taskbar to where the system clock is displayed, I get a tooltip, one of those little explicative yellow popup boxes, that corresponds to the explanation that should occur I were pointing at a program-top-bar, top right hand corner button, i.e. it says "close" or "return to original size" (by the way I am using a non-English language windows, so my back translation may not be exact).
This suggests, that the problem is some sort of mapping. The OS thinks that there is the top bar of a program (that fad from dark blue to light blue thing at the top of program windows) where my task bar should be.
Hence it could be a registry corruption issue, possibly due to (2) above. Somewhere along the line I have moved my task bar off the top of my screen?

4) It is not only the task bar (and start button) that is the problem. The task manager is one of those windows that always displays on top. When the problem is happening then even though the task manger is displayed on top, I can not click into and activate the task manager. I must use Ctrl + Alt + Delete.

I am trying AVG Free as well. It has already scanned the registry, processes and system directory and found nothing.
I am doubting a virus, since even pressing Alt+Tab to change between programs temporarily fixes the issue. I am thinking it is some sort of mapping problem. I think that the OS sometimes thinks that the taskbar is offset somewhere.

This advice looked good.
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/566349-cant-click-desktop-taskbar.html
It recommends creating a new Admin user account and using that instead.

The new user account did not SEEM to have the problem (it is intermittent so it is difficult to say)

But before I could copy my old user profile
Microsoft Corporation
wholesale to see if the bug comes with the copy, the taskbar became unresponsive again.

Somehow the new account seems to be faster. Maybe I will stick with it.

Where is your original post?

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm


"undisclosed" wrote in message
news:7e1c7868da9b3044490ab55b9b71ef44@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> I am trying AVG Free as well. It has already scanned the registry,
> processes and system directory and found nothing.
> I am doubting a virus, since even pressing Alt+Tab to change between
> programs temporarily fixes the issue. I am thinking it is some sort of
> mapping problem. I think that the OS sometimes thinks that the taskbar
> is offset somewhere.
>
> This advice looked good.
> 'http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/566349-cant-click-desktop-taskbar.html'
> (http://tinyurl.com/yam6jdp)
> It recommends creating a new Admin user account and using that instead.
>
>
> The new user account did not SEEM to have the problem (it is
> intermittent so it is difficult to say)
>
> But before I could copy my old user profile
> 'Microsoft Corporation' (http://tinyurl.com/gq9fb)
> wholesale to see if the bug comes with the copy, the taskbar became
> unresponsive again.
>
> Somehow the new account seems to be faster. Maybe I will stick with it.
>
>
> --
> timtak

I edited my original post because the "solution" did not work.

I still have the problem in my new admin user as the old.

What was your original question/post?

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm


"undisclosed" wrote in message
news:4819f9b300507d4f75a5e7268a7d6587@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> I edited my original post because the "solution" did not work.
>
> I still have the problem in my new admin user as the old.
>
>
> --
> timtak

Kelly wrote:
> Where is your original post?
>

You can use the reference message ID on the USENET posting,
to find the thread. Google advanced search allows searching on
message ID, and sometimes, it even works. This is a search for

3BD436C6-BABD-4602-937D-82D9519985AE@microsoft.com

http://groups.google.ca/group/micros...8019fcf42b4f59

Paul

My "original" post is quoted in blue, in full by Kelly.

I thought the question was not where (since Kelly was quoting it immediately below his question) but "where did it go to", i.e., the port was, "why did you remove it"? Hence my response.

My question remains that my taskbar is unresponsive. I click it and nothing happens. I have to use Alt+Tab to change between programs.

Tim

As mentioned above, creating a new (admin) user did not cure the problem.

It also created a new one.

Until I created the second admin user, I had only one user and there was no select user screen. When I booted up just now, was away from my computer and after a few minutes came to the user selection screen and found that the lack of click-responsiveness also applies to the select user screen, not only the taskbar. Perhaps it applies to all OS areas of the screen. (I seem to be able to click on anything in any non OS, program window area).

It took me some time to select one of the two users. I had better delete the new user otherwise I may not be to enter windows XP.

Tim