Taskbar Unresponsive, Not Loading, Frozen or Not Working in Windows 11/10

Taskbar Unresponsive, Not Loading, Frozen or Not Working in Windows 11/10

According to users, one way to deal with an unresponsive Taskbar is to restart File Explorer. Your Taskbar and Start Menu are related to File Explorer, and by restarting its process, you’ll also restart your Taskbar.

Once File Explorer restarts, check if the problem is still there. Keep in mind that this might not be a permanent solution, so if the problem reappears, you’ll need to restart Windows Explorer again.
When the Windows 10 taskbar isn't working, it may manifest in one of several ways: Clicking the taskbar has no effect, icons don't show up, or keyboard shortcuts don't work.

Issues addressed in this tutorial:
taskbar unresponsive windows 10
taskbar unresponsive windows 11
unresponsive taskbar
taskbar app not working
taskbar click not working
taskbar functions not working
taskbar unresponsive in windows 10
taskbar not working in windows 10
taskbar not working in windows 11
taskbar keyboard not working
taskbar not working on windows 10
taskbar search not working
taskbar not working windows 10
taskbar not working windows 11

Sometimes, users might face intermittent issues with Windows System UI components. Such issues can give a bad user experience. One such UI element is the Taskbar. If you are also facing any issues where your Windows 11/10 Taskbar is not working properly or freezes, is unresponsive, is unclickable or stops working randomly, then this tutorial can help you troubleshoot & fix the issue.

This tutorial will apply for computers, laptops, desktops, and tablets running the Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems (Home, Professional, Enterprise, Education) from all supported hardware manufactures, like Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo, Huawei and Samsung.

[thanh]

My task manager cannot even be opened when my taskbar froze what do I do I if I cannot even restart explorer... Tried every way, ctrl + alt + del & ctrl + shift + esc, nothing pops up

[johnlamas]

My task bar is frozen how am I supposed to hit the start button

[nickelisblind]

For people who mistakenly pressed "End Task" when right-clicking on Windows Explorer, follow these steps:

1. On the top left corner, click "File" and press "Run new task"
2. Name it "explorer" and press "Ok"

And done. As of now, my own is still loading out (probably because of how slow my laptop is).

[novatheenby]

So... the taskbar isn't working and the solution is to do things that need the taskbar to work? Wtf

[Andragil]

Wow, didn't think this would actually work. Looked too simple. My taskbar was in hidden mode to begin with and only the loading simbol showed on the cursor when i wanted to display it so used the shortcut keys for troubleshooting. Simply restarting the system just couldn't cut it. Strange thing was everything else worked on the desktop just fine. Anyways, thanks a bunch.

[vaylaria]

I had high hopes for this, but ... my problem is "taskbar unresponsive". I'm dumbfounded that you START (at 0:34) by USING THE TASKBAR!!!! 'Nough said.

[katherinesearing]

The First Fix: Restart the Explorer ProcessThis controls the Windows shell, which includes the File Explorer app as well as the taskbar and Start menu. Restarting it can thus clear up any minor hiccups, such as your taskbar not working. To restart this process, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch the Task Manager. Then right click on file explorer restart it.

[gothmaniow]

I honestly dont know why they got rid of support of windows 7. As this win 10 seems to have more issues i wish they just stuck with 7 it was a much better os .... Anyway ..😕

[Officer_duh]

Im here becuase my taskbar is unresponsive, meaning that my windows right click buttons are ALSO unresponsive, any help in this situation?

[Joseph-otws]

I really appreciate your effort very much.. you have helped me.. but I had to access my task manager through the Control Panel. Thank you for the insight.

[AmbiguityCaptive]

win+r to run cmd with combination of ctrl+shift+enter, then enter sfc /scannow

[aj]

i did the scan step but i had this msg: You must be an administrator running a console session in order to
use the sfc utility.
couldn't process the scan as u did

[dovafx]

just got my dream pc a bit ago and you have helped me with everything

[knicksprop]

I've run into an issue recently where I will have an application open and taskbar will not respond. if I select ctrl alt del, this seems to sort of fix the issue, but it continues. IDK if you know of anything specific, no one I have spoken to seems to understand the issue when i explain it.

[Absolute-Zero]

how am I supposed to do that when the taskbar literally isn't showing up?

[vert_klyu]

for those who can't click it, just wait 2-3-4-5 or 10 minutes till it ends loading

[markharrisllb]

In my experience RaspberryOS is the worst for the task bar not loading.

[samatc]

help a lot solved a big issue... i was about to spend a big sum on a new pc thinking it was because of outdated hardware
thanks

[Orangebitingthing]

Of all the goofy things happening to my computer I thought I was going to lose my damn mind!
Thank you for your help.

[YouSsef-ksom]

thank you so much. That was helpful, my taskbar back to work again