Icons in the Taskbar disappear after awaking the PC from Sleep

I have this same issue, but mine happens also when switching Virtual Desktops. The icons will just randomly disappear. Dragging them around on the bar gets them to reappear for a time.

I tried your steps to fix and that did not resolve the issue.

Hello AsishBishoi，

 

Thank you for your careful response, your close cooperation with me on this issue is appreciated.

Based on what we've seen so far, if the problem persists after you've tried a clean boot, it's less likely that the problem is a third-party app interfering.

That you have different accounts on your three devices and that the problem occurs in more than just the computers managed by the organization, with Windows systems used in the devices that were acquired in different ways.

Combined with the results of your tests, which indicate that the commonly used solutions for restarting desktop processes and for taskbar problems are not applicable in your case.

Combined with the above analysis, maybe we can try to look for possible causes from the system version.

You can share with me the latest kB version installed in your device and I will test and retrieve if there are similar reports and feedback based on your version. Check the Windows Update KB version installed on your system:

• Windows search box search "Settings" - Open Settings - Windows Update - Uninstall upadtes - Check the KB number of the update version you have installed.
• You can try uninstalling the latest non-security updates on your system if that helps, if all three devices have the same update version KB number, that may be why you are experiencing this situation.
• After uninstallation in the Start menu - Settings - Windows Update - select the amount of time you want to pause (up to 35 days)

Tip: If your updated version of KB is a security update, it cannot be uninstalled. You can contact your administrator to do this for you if you don't have the corresponding permissions in your organization's managed devices.

I will continue to monitor the progress of this issue, if it is convenient, please share with me the progress of this issue, I hope you can successfully solve the problem, if there exists an update or discovery, please feel free to leave me a message. Thanks.

 

Best Regards ,

Morning | Microsoft Technical Support Community 

Here is the KB version

• 2024-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5035853)

I did perform multiple clean installs on my PC, and I do this once every 6-8 months, for smooth functioning. I had also tried an in-place upgrade to see if the issues go away.

When the issues could not be resolved by me, I posted it in this community here

Hello AsishBishoi，

 

Welcome to the Microsoft Community！

 

In order to better understand your issue, I would like to invite you to share more details of your problem with me:

• I noticed that you are experiencing this on multiple computers, are these computers logged in using the same account? Or are they different accounts.
• Can I ask if these devices are enterprise/organization managed? If so, are you an administrator?

Often the icon in the taskbar disappears due to a system setup issue or an anomaly in the process associated with the icon, however in your case the issue is occurring on different computers, so I would consider that the issue may be account related, if the account used to log in on all these devices is the same one, you can try to create a new Microsoft account and log in to it. You can try creating a new Microsoft account and logging into the system to test if the problem is specific to a particular account, How to create a new Microsoft account - Microsoft Support

In addition, here are some common steps to fix the disappearing icons in the taskbar, you can refer to these solutions:

1. You can try to test if there is a third-party app conflict on one device, and if that's the case, uninstall the particular program on all other devices.

A clean boot can starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It can be used to determine whether a background service or program is It can be used to determine whether a background service or program is interfering or causing a problem.

These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step.

2. Find Windows Explorer and restart it: Right-click on the Start menu---open "Task Manager"---right-click on "Explorer"---click on "Restart! Click on "Restart".
3. Try to turn off Fast Startup

If there is some kind of system malfunction or software conflict, fast startup may cause problems during startup. Sometimes, disabling Fast Startup can help solve these problems.

Search for and open "Power and Sleep Settings" in the Windows search bar --- Other Power Settings --- Select the function of the power button (if the Fast Startup option in the Shutdown Settings is grayed out, click "Change settings that are currently unavailable") --- Uncheck "Change settings that are currently unavailable"). (If the Quick Start option in the shutdown settings is grayed out, please click "Change currently unavailable settings" first) ---Uncheck "Enable Quick Start" --- Save the changes.

3. Icon cache file is corrupted

• Windows Taskbar uses an icon cache file when caching program icons. If this file is corrupted, it may result in blank icons. To resolve this issue, try clearing the icon cache.
• Since the icon cache file is a hidden file, we need to change the setting to "Show all files" in Explorer. Open a random folder, click the "View" menu, and then check "Hidden items".
• Go to the C:\Users\user name\appdata\local directory, delete the IconCache.db file directly, and restart your computer.
• IconCache.db file is essentially an icon attribute file, after deleting it, the system will automatically rebuild one, and the problems caused by it will be automatically fixed by the system.

Sometimes the IconCache.db file may be occupied by other software, or the above steps can not be performed successfully, then you can try another removal method:

• Open the Start menu, find Windows Administrative Tools --- Disk Cleanup --- C Disk --- Check "Thumbnails" ---- OK. The icon cache file can be deleted smoothly.

Hope this helps, if the problem still exists, please feel free to share the above information with me.thanks.

Looking forward for you to share the progress of this issue with me!

 

Best Regards ,

Morning | Microsoft Technical Support Community 

• I noticed that you are experiencing this on multiple computers, are these computers logged in using the same account? Or are they different accounts.
• Can I ask if these devices are enterprise/organization managed? If so, are you an administrator?

All the computers that I have , are different accounts (1 Laptop with OEM, 1 Laptop with Retail, and 1 PC with Retail Windows)

Also, one PC is organisation managed, and I am not the administrator.

Also, I tried following the steps, but that did not solve the issue

Hello AsishBishoi，

Welcome to the Microsoft Community！

In order to better understand your issue, I would like to invite you to share more details of your problem with me:

• I noticed that you are experiencing this on multiple computers, are these computers logged in using the same account? Or are they different accounts.
• Can I ask if these devices are enterprise/organization managed? If so, are you an administrator?

Often the icon in the taskbar disappears due to a system setup issue or an anomaly in the process associated with the icon, however in your case the issue is occurring on different computers, so I would consider that the issue may be account related, if the account used to log in on all these devices is the same one, you can try to create a new Microsoft account and log in to it. You can try creating a new Microsoft account and logging into the system to test if the problem is specific to a particular account, How to create a new Microsoft account - Microsoft Support

In addition, here are some common steps to fix the disappearing icons in the taskbar, you can refer to these solutions:

1. You can try to test if there is a third-party app conflict on one device, and if that's the case, uninstall the particular program on all other devices.

A clean boot can starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It can be used to determine whether a background service or program is It can be used to determine whether a background service or program is interfering or causing a problem.

These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step.

2. Find Windows Explorer and restart it: Right-click on the Start menu---open "Task Manager"---right-click on "Explorer"---click on "Restart! Click on "Restart".
3. Try to turn off Fast Startup

If there is some kind of system malfunction or software conflict, fast startup may cause problems during startup. Sometimes, disabling Fast Startup can help solve these problems.

Search for and open "Power and Sleep Settings" in the Windows search bar --- Other Power Settings --- Select the function of the power button (if the Fast Startup option in the Shutdown Settings is grayed out, click "Change settings that are currently unavailable") --- Uncheck "Change settings that are currently unavailable"). (If the Quick Start option in the shutdown settings is grayed out, please click "Change currently unavailable settings" first) ---Uncheck "Enable Quick Start" --- Save the changes.

3. Icon cache file is corrupted

• Windows Taskbar uses an icon cache file when caching program icons. If this file is corrupted, it may result in blank icons. To resolve this issue, try clearing the icon cache.
• Since the icon cache file is a hidden file, we need to change the setting to "Show all files" in Explorer. Open a random folder, click the "View" menu, and then check "Hidden items".
• Go to the C:\Users\user name\appdata\local directory, delete the IconCache.db file directly, and restart your computer.
• IconCache.db file is essentially an icon attribute file, after deleting it, the system will automatically rebuild one, and the problems caused by it will be automatically fixed by the system.

Sometimes the IconCache.db file may be occupied by other software, or the above steps can not be performed successfully, then you can try another removal method:

• Open the Start menu, find Windows Administrative Tools --- Disk Cleanup --- C Disk --- Check "Thumbnails" ---- OK. The icon cache file can be deleted smoothly.

Hope this helps, if the problem still exists, please feel free to share the above information with me.thanks.

Looking forward for you to share the progress of this issue with me!

Best Regards ,

Morning | Microsoft Technical Support Community

Hello AsishBishoi，

Thank you for your careful response, your close cooperation with me on this issue is appreciated.

Based on what we've seen so far, if the problem persists after you've tried a clean boot, it's less likely that the problem is a third-party app interfering.

That you have different accounts on your three devices and that the problem occurs in more than just the computers managed by the organization, with Windows systems used in the devices that were acquired in different ways.

Combined with the results of your tests, which indicate that the commonly used solutions for restarting desktop processes and for taskbar problems are not applicable in your case.

Combined with the above analysis, maybe we can try to look for possible causes from the system version.

You can share with me the latest kB version installed in your device and I will test and retrieve if there are similar reports and feedback based on your version. Check the Windows Update KB version installed on your system:

• Windows search box search "Settings" - Open Settings - Windows Update - Uninstall upadtes - Check the KB number of the update version you have installed.
• You can try uninstalling the latest non-security updates on your system if that helps, if all three devices have the same update version KB number, that may be why you are experiencing this situation.
• After uninstallation in the Start menu - Settings - Windows Update - select the amount of time you want to pause (up to 35 days)

Tip: If your updated version of KB is a security update, it cannot be uninstalled. You can contact your administrator to do this for you if you don't have the corresponding permissions in your organization's managed devices.

I will continue to monitor the progress of this issue, if it is convenient, please share with me the progress of this issue, I hope you can successfully solve the problem, if there exists an update or discovery, please feel free to leave me a message. Thanks.

Best Regards ,

Morning | Microsoft Technical Support Community