Quick fix for disappearing system tray icons

For whatever reason, the last time I booted my Vista laptop the network icon was missing from its usual spot next to the clock in the system tray.

I right-clicked the Start button, chose Properties, and clicked the Notification Area tab to recheck this option under "System icons," but it was grayed out.

I found the solution on Colin Cochrane's blog. Here are the steps in a nutshell:

Back up the Registry by creating a restore point.
Press the Windows key, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Navigate to and select HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify.
Delete both IconStreams and PastIconStream in the right pane.
Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and select Start Task Manager.
Select the Processes tab, choose explorer.exe, and click End Process.
Choose the Applications tab, click New Task, enter explorer.exe in the text box, and press Enter.

Your icons should reappear.

Return missing icons to Vista's system tray by editing the Registry, stopping explorer.exe, and restarting the process via Task Manager.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Another option for taskbar problems is the free Taskbar Repair Tool Plus, which I found on Kelly Theriot's Kelly's Korner.

Tomorrow: the best OpenOffice.org templates and clipart.

[amandachuck]

You have got to be kidding me. What a hassle. While I've never, ever lost an icon on the Mac OS X dock, if it were to happen, the way to fix it is to drag it over. Simple. The way to fix a missing menu bar icon (happens once in a while) is to open that control panel and choose "show in menu bar." None of this registry editing garbage. Wow.

[fortyonejb]

And you do realize that neither of those are the same as the system tray which is what the author was talking about? Unlike mac and its philosophy of "shove everything we want you to see on the dock", MS looks at what you never touch in the system tray and feels that if you don't ever use it, why show it? I've had things disappear out of the system tray but, why take up screen space for something you never interact with anyway?

[ti99_forever]

Gee, "quick fix"?!?!
Isn't that a little overboard? A restart would be faster, safer even. Basically, restarting explorer.exe IS a restart. Must admit, didn't know you could end it and continue on! But a restore point, edit the registry, restart explorer.exe? You got to be kidding! Is this sarcasm? I usually detect this, I'm a master...

Answer me this? How come, when I minimize an application, often the icons on the desktop take the "default icon" form and are then slowly refreshed by Windows? This happens mostly in XP, but I think I've seen it on Vista as well.

[ti99_forever]

Umm - he is talking about icons that ARE used that disappear for no reason. Usually, the ENTIRE system tray disappears.
Windows hides some (you can find these by clicking the ">>" to the left of the tray (or is it "<<").

Also, there is/was a Wizard to clean up icons not used - placing them in an "unused icons" folder on the desktop. There may be something similar for the system tray.

[murbo]

And you do realize that you can fully customize "the dock" right? if you don't want something you can drag it out, or if you do want something in there you can just drag it in.
Unlike the start menu in windows, where you have to spend at least half an hour to organize even if you have just a few programs installed.

But i gotta give it to you, I am surprised that you didn't hit us, mac users, with that one button mouse insult which was outdated like a decade ago.

Oh and by the way, "menu bar" in mac is the equivalent of system tray in windows.

[MaLvaDo39]

But hey, Windows 7 will get a dock too... just like Apple has had since 2001.

[pjhenry1216]

Out of curiosity, does Vista not give you the capability to just save the entire registry to a reg file? I know I could back up the registry in XP without creating an entire restore point. Plus, you could actually just back up the portion of the registry you're editing.

[sachanta1]

All you need to do is to right click on task bar --> Properties --> notification area in vista.

It is surprising to hear so many superior mac users complain about inferior and outdated windows. Why cant you force yourself to stop reading articles on windows and go play in utopia?

[amandachuck]

I use both. I'm only commenting on this guy's "quick fix" not on the entire Windows platform. I think, for a new computer (not upgraded), Vista works quite well as an OS. I've set up 3 computers with it for my sister's business.

But this registry editing crap is silliness. All because Windows "outthinks" you or worse, there's a bug that removes icons by mistake.

[hf2008a]

What is this hostility against mac users? I use both mac and pc; unfortunately, the applications I use for my work are split between the two systems. It just happens that I have found (along with many of my colleagues) that the OSX environment is much more user-friendly. Just because PCs are cheaper, it does not mean that Mac users are elitists! I actually find macs rip-offs, but they are essential for my work and at least, they are a joy to work with.

[murbo]

"superior mac users complain about inferior and outdated windows. Why cant you force yourself to stop reading articles on windows and go play in utopia?"
LMAO that was the lamest thing i have heard today

FYI i need both OS's for my job, and find it useful to read articles about both... like that is any of your business.

[fredfoobar]

sachanta1 wrote:
>> All you need to do is to right click on task bar --> Properties --> notification area in vista.

sachanta1, you need to learn some reading comprehension. Dennis clearly stated that he tried that but the option was grayed out.

A sensible (and stable) operating system does not change settings like that without the user doing something to cause it. Guess what? Windows does change a lot of settings without the user doing anything. That sounds very insensible to me. Practically every other modern OS (including GNU/Linux and MacOS X) does not do this. That might explain why adoption rates of Vista are as low as they are (because it has a lot of the same issues as XP) and why people are even switching to more sensible operating systems.

For the record, Vista will never be allowed in my home. My wife still hangs onto XP on one of our computers, but as it gets older and more obsolete by the day (it's already 7 years old!), all my computers will eventually use better, stabler, and more sensible operating systems like Linux and FreeBSD. The best part is that they're free as in free speech and as in free beer--the latter being a natural by-product of the former. (My wife wants to get a Mac someday, so I may have one non-Free OS in my home).

[dash13pa]

This exact problem occurred for me on Vista Home Premium when I upgraded to Norton 360 Version 2. The Norton 360 icon disappeared from the notification after the upgrade. No other icons were affected. The fix worked perfectly. Brilliant! Thank you.

[Art_Aaron]

Great! troubleshooting steps.
Thank alotttttttttttttttttttttttttt.

[vernonrj]

Wow... you guys have obviously never had this problem. Let me point a few things out.

"I right-clicked the Start button, chose Properties, and clicked the Notification Area tab to recheck this option under "System icons," but it was grayed out."

This part should probably tip you all off that this is not a regular problem you're dealing with. Also, some have commented on the fact that some icons can be hidden from the customize menu (but that's not the problem). I found this article to be very helpful since I experience this problem every once in a while. Sure, rebooting usually fixes it, but it is a hassle to do so. Better to get rid of the problem completely.

Next, to those that wondered, there is an option to export the entire registry into a .reg file. Also, there are entire forums dedicated to people touting their oh, so superior operating system. Do you want to know what I think? There are flaws in all operating systems. They're so complex, it's impossible not to have hiccups every once in awhile. The nice thing is when people figure out how to solve these problems, and share their knowledge with others. Go argue on those forums, not here.

Finally, I have a question. What causes the disappearing icons in the first place? If it's certain applications, which ones?