utility to restore lost tasktray icons after explorer crash 1

[jimoblak]

I know there is a freeware application out there somewhere that can restore the icons in your tasktray after explorer.exe crashes. Can someone refresh my memory where this might be on the net? I spent a couple hours searching without luck.

- - picklefish - -

 

[bcastner]

Why not try this:

Ztrl-Alt-Del once. Process, highlight explorer, End Process.
Then File, New Task (Run), and type explorer.exe

It should rebuild the tray icons.

 

[bcastner]

that should be Ctrl-Alt-Delete key sequence above, a typo, sorry.

 

[linney]

Sorry I don't have any details of a specific program that you are looking for. A google search may provide it.

If explorer crashes you can usually restore the desktop by just rebooting.

If you have some machine access you could just logoff and logon again.

You could try using System Restore to go back to before any trouble.

You can bring up the Task Manager and end process on Explorer exe, and then launch Explorer exe via File/ New Task, Run in Task Manager.

If you right click on the Start Button and select Properties/ Taskbar and check "Hide inactive icons" then Customize, there are options there to check too.


Perhaps you can supply further details of your problem and what you are trying to achieve.

 

[jimoblak]

Thanks for the attempt at help but its still no help. I am losing task tray icons because explorer.exe has closed and restarted. Some of the icons do not reappear.

I am reluctant to reboot the entire system because rebooting will upset services for remote users.

The task manager lists the application that has lost its tray icon - - but I cannot seem to get it to get it to maximize a window. I tried starting the program from the start menu but it just creates a second instance.

- - picklefish - -

 

[bcastner]

A common cause of disappearing icons is the tray icon for the Network Gateway client. If you have two network icons flashing in your system tray the Gateway Icon can be disabled in My Network Places by right-clicking and disabling the icon from appearing in the tray.

This may or not make the missing icon reappear, but it certainly would help make it not disappear in the future.

 

[wolluf]

Have you got 'hide inactive icons' ticked in Notification Are of Taskbar and Start Menu Properties?

 

[linney]

"The task manager lists the application that has lost its tray icon - - but I cannot seem to get it to get it to maximize a window. I tried starting the program from the start menu but it just creates a second instance."

What happens if you end process on this application then start it up again?

What you are talking about I have seen with some anti virus software, where the notification area icon vanishes but the program remains running (after an Explorer crash). Access to the program is not available because of the missing icons. These are program types that are loaded by your settings at a start up. As I mentioned earlier to reload your settings by logging the user off and back on fixes this problem. I don't know what effect this would have on Remote User Services you are talking about.

Anyway what programs icons are vanishing?

 

[bcastner]

jimoblak,

I became so frustrated with tray icons (now officially designated Notification Area icons by Microsoft) that I began using a third-party program to manage them. From the speaker control icon disappearing and re-appearing, to some applications that depended on the tray icon for mangement and control disappearing, I just quit trying to figure out why the disappeared. From researching the issue it became clear that some mis-behaved icons can affect others, Linney mentione Anti-Virus, I mentioned earlier the uPnP and Bridging Gateway client icon.

I used this modestly priced utility called Tray-X and it has worked perfectly for me. I found it here:

http://www.xdesksoftware.com/