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Fix Disappearing System Tray Icons in Vista
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 1:05 AM on May 2, 2008
When icons start disappearing from Windows Vista's system tray—like the networking, volume control, or time display—and you can't restore them from the standard options menus, the itch to re-install can be strong indeed. The How-To Geek, however, finds the balm for disappearing Vista icons in the registry, where a few key options need to be deleted to restore your system tray to functionality. Hit the link for instructions on how to kill out the options yourself, or download a registry hack that does it for you.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Mel
Posted July 12, 2008 3:29 PM
Please follow these simple steps to restore your volume, power etc. icons that are grayed out for Vista! Simple:
Go to Start Menu
Click on Programs
Click on Accessories
Click on System Tools
Click on Control Panel
Click on Taskbar & Start Menu
Click on Notification Area, your boxes are no longer grayed out, click the ones you want open, I searched for months without finding a solution & a friend gave me this, please post it EVERYWHERE!
alan
Posted October 29, 2008 12:41 PM
Mine are still greyed out
natenovs
Posted 2:07 AM 2/5/08
dude, has this happened to anyone?
there is a task bar menu with options like, hide networking, hide clock, hide volume and hide inactive icons.
ive never seen, nor heard of these just disappearing randomly...
natenovs
juanfgs
Posted 1:52 AM 2/5/08
Dude, and people keep saying that Linux is difficult and unintuitive :S.
juanfgs
The How-To Geek
Posted 2:21 AM 2/5/08
@natenovs: It's never happened to me either, but I keep getting emails from users having that issue, so I ended up writing up the solution so I could stop typing emails :)
The How-To Geek
ngetchell
Posted 2:20 AM 2/5/08
A reboot has always fixed it for me in the past.
ngetchell
Al Iguana
Posted 2:59 AM 2/5/08
I regularly get disappearing network/sound icons. Doesn't affect use whatsoever, and they usually reappear after the next reboot.
I thought it was just my machine though, glad to see it's a "feature" :p
Al Iguana
The How-To Geek
Posted 3:44 AM 2/5/08
@natenovs: I didn't take offense, just figured I'd explain :)
@Al Iguana: If the problem is only temporary there could be other reasons behind it... shell extensions, or just general explorer insanity. One of those registry keys might still help... worth a try.
The How-To Geek
natenovs
Posted 3:21 AM 2/5/08
@The How-To Geek: i wasn't criticizing, i just didn't realize it was a problem.
natenovs
OX4
Posted 5:04 AM 2/5/08
My question is, who would miss those? I spend my time trying to hide that stuff.
OX4
berribrand
Posted 7:10 AM 2/5/08
Huh? You can set it so no icons are hidden and to perma-set icons like networking and volume on the far right.
This is unnecessary in my view.
berribrand
TheRedBurn
Posted 7:09 AM 2/5/08
I was wondering : do other apps icons disappear also, like in XP ?
TheRedBurn
Al Iguana
Posted 8:11 AM 2/5/08
@TheRedBurn: no, it's just the (usually fixed) notification icons. You get four of them in Vista, clock, network, sound and power. Curiously, the clock doesn't vanish, just the other three. And it only happens on occasional boots (say, 1 in 10). If you right-click/properties and click "notification icons", you can usually check them on or off. But on the missing-icon boots, these options are greyed out too.
Like I said, no panic, if you get the odd boot where these icons are missing, just carry on unless you absolutely need to stare at them for some reason. They'll come back next boot.
(been happening since Vista RTM, but hasn't happened with SP1 yet - touch wood)
Al Iguana
The How-To Geek
Posted 12:59 PM 2/5/08
@Al Iguana: I've also heard that SP1 helps with that problem.
The How-To Geek
Shmoo
Posted 1:39 PM 2/5/08
@OX4: I typically have very little use for them on my desktop. However, having direct, baked-in, easy access to these controls on a laptop is fantastic. I used to add these controls on my Thinkpad through Lenovo's little utilities, but since upgrading to Vista, I never bothered to install any of them again. I'd rather Vista takes care of this stuff than have another app running all the time.
@The How-To Geek: SP1 helping is definitely true. I used to experience this problem on a pretty regular basis, but since installing the final version of SP1 the weird bug has finally stopped happening.
I've only seen this happen on my Thinkpad (T43p) and my mom's Thinkpad (T60). On both of our machines the problem could only be fixed by this method (reboot did nothing which totally freaked me out the first time it happened). My desktop has never had this happen, and the article mentions some other issues with Toshiba and Acer laptops. Seems like it might be more an issue with laptops than desktops.
Shmoo
TheRedBurn
Posted 6:35 PM 2/5/08
@Al Iguana: Thanks. This never stops annoying me in XP.
TheRedBurn
Intelman
Posted 12:25 AM 3/5/08
@juanfgs:
It is for the majority of computer users.
Intelman