Windows taskbar is an essential tool on modern PCs that lets you access different apps directly from its interface. When the taskbar goes missing while accessing it through a remote desktop, this might affect your work progress. This article is an attempt to fix this bug and gain back the missing taskbar on your remote desktop in Windows 10.
The taskbar may also not appear when you have opted for the auto-hide feature on it. You may confirm the same by taking the mouse cursor to the bottom of the display screen. Doing so will bring back the taskbar into view. In case the system tray is still missing, you may apply the five solutions discussed below.
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What may result in Missing Taskbar on Windows 10?
There are several reasons that may result in the taskbar missing on your Windows 10 PC. The most probable causes are corruption within the system processes, outdated display adapters, or corruption within the system components. Apart from these, if you have recently installed some driver updates, this may also result in similar codes.
Resetting Windows Explorer, Deleting unnecessarily stored cache, and fixing Windows components might work to resolve this problem on Windows 10. The common list of solutions that we are going to discuss are as follows –
- Restart Windows Explorer
- Clear cache of different processes
- Repair the Power Shell components
- Update Graphics driver
- Rollback Display driver
Ways to Restore Missing Taskbar on Remote Desktop
If the taskbar icon is missing on your remote desktop in Windows, consider applying the below fixes –
1] Restart Windows Explorer
Any internal conflicts with system processes on File Explorer might cause the taskbar to go missing on your Remote desktop. So, we suggest restarting Windows Explorer and checking again if the problem resolves this way.
- Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys altogether.
- This hotkey will launch the Task Manager.
- Go to the Processes tab and search for Windows Explorer.
- When found, right-click on it, and select the Restart button.
- Wait for Windows Explorer to restart and when it does, you will see the taskbar appearing at the bottom of your display screen.
If the taskbar is still not visible on your remote desktop, try the below set of solutions.
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2] Clear Different Processes Cache on Windows
There are numerous processes running on your Windows 10 PC. If anyone of these processes become corrupt somehow, this may result in the taskbar not appearing on the remote desktop. You may try killing all the processes running on your PC using the taskkill command on CMD.
All you require is to launch Command Prompt as administrator and run the below set of commands on it. We have also come up with an easy method in which you need not require running all these codes separately. For this, you need to create a batch file containing the below codes via Notepad.
- Press Win + S, and search for Notepad on it.
- Click on the top result, and when it launches, copy/paste the below codes on it –
@echo off
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
taskkill /f /im shellexperiencehost.exe
timeout /t 3 /NOBREAK > nul
del%localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\TempState\* /q
timeout /t 2 /NOBREAK > nul
start explorer
@echo on
- Go to the File menu and hit Save as.
- Browse to the folder where you would like to save this file.
- Make sure to change its file name to CacheClearTWC.bat and select All Files under Save as type.
- After you successfully create this file, right-click on it, and select Run as administrator.
This batch file will kill all the processes mentioned on it. A few seconds later, restart your PC and from the next login, check if the taskbar starts appearing on the bottom part of your Display Screen.
3] Repair Windows Components via PowerShell
The taskbar may also disappear in cases where Windows components have corrupted somehow. If that’s the case, you must repair the corrupted ones using PowerShell (Admin). Here’s the right procedure to perform this task –
- Right-click on the Windows icon and select Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- If the UAC window prompts, tap Yes to authorize this access.
- Type the following command line near the blinking cursor, and hit Enter –
Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}
- Wait for the PowerShell to run this command, and as soon as this runs successfully, restart your Windows 10 PC.
Sign back into your device and check if the taskbar is now appearing on your remote desktop screen.
4] Update Graphics driver
If you haven’t updated your graphics driver for a long time, this might also cause the taskbar to disappear. One may get back the taskbar by updating all device drivers on his/her computer, especially the Display adapter. For this, you may follow these easy steps –
- Press Win + X, and select Device Manager from the Power menu.
- When the Device Manager opens up, go to the Display Adapters, and click once on it.
- This section will expand and display the drivers present inside it.
- Right-click on the graphics card, and hit Update driver.
- Choose “Search automatically for drivers” on the subsequent screen.
- This tool will check for pending driver updates for the installed Graphics, and upgrade the chosen adapter.
- In case, it doesn’t find any updated version for the installed graphics, this will suggest searching for the same over the Windows update.
- Click “Search for updated drivers on Windows Update”, and you will be redirected to the Windows Update page.
- Click Check for updates and wait again for the system to find pending driver updates for the installed graphics.
- When this search completes by providing you an optional updates link, click on that.
- Tick all the checkboxes, and hit “Download and install“.
After you install the available patches for your graphics driver, make sure to restart your PC again. From the next login, check if you get back the missing taskbar on your remote desktop.
5. Rollback Display driver
Sometimes installing newer updates may also result in different bugs or error codes on your Windows 10 PC. If you do remember any recent updates to your graphics driver, make sure to roll back your display adapter. Follow the below instructions on how to perform this task –
- Press Win & R hotkey altogether to open the Run dialog.
- In the text box, type
devmgmt.mscand hit OK. - Doing so will launch the Task manager on your Windows PC.
- Locate and expand the Display adapters section.
- Afterward, right-click on the available driver inside and choose Properties.
- Go to the Driver tab next and click on the Roll Back Driver option.
- Click OK to confirm this action of yours and restart your PC.
Note: The Roll Back driver option will grey out after a period of 10 days from the date of its update. In such cases, what you may try is uninstalling the driver and then reinstalling it.
How do I uninstall a driver from Device Manager?
To uninstall a driver from Device Manager on Windows 10, follow these steps –
- Press Win + X, and select Device Manager from here.
- Click “>” left of Display Adapters, right-click on the driver inside, and choose the option – Uninstall device.
- Tick the box – “Attempt to remove the driver for this device”, and hit Uninstall again.
- Wait for the driver to uninstall successfully, locate and click the scan button – “Scan for hardware change”.
- Clicking on this icon will check for the recent changes on your computer and restore the missing drivers.
Restart your PC, and check if the taskbar comes back on your Windows 10 Remote desktop. I hope you find this article easy to read and useful to follow. Let’s know in the below comment section if you face difficulty reading any section on this post.
