How to Restart or Reset Taskbar in Windows 10 & 11

By Timothy Tibbetts

If you are having issues with your Taskbar, including freezing, disappearing, or errors, it's possible to restart or reset it.

How to Restart or Reset Taskbar in Windows 10 - Windows Key

If your Taskbar has disappeared, try pressing the Windows key. Sometimes, when Explorer crashes or freezes, the taskbar disappears and will reappear when you press the Windows key.

How to Restart or Reset Taskbar in Windows 10 - End Windows Explorer

Open Task Manager. Click on the Processes tab.

Scroll down, find, and click on Windows Explorer. Click on Restart in the lower-right corner. Your Taskbar will often disappear, so press the Windows key.

How to Restart or Reset Taskbar in Windows 10 - Batch File

Open Notepad and copy and paste the following code. Save the text document as a .bat file. For example, restartexplorer.bat.

REG DELETE HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams\Desktop /F 
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe 
taskkill /f /im shellexperiencehost.exe
del %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\TempState\* /q
start explorer.exe

Right-click on the batch file you created and click Run as Administrator.

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