Blank / empty taskbar after KB5012592 - no start menu, time, app icons, etc.

Question

My taskbar got wiped out after updating to KB5012592. No start menu, icons, or anything except the ^ button for the system tray. I restored the system to the prior state (OS Build 22000.593), and tried the update again from the standalone .msu installer with the same result.

I see that a similar issue occurred with an update back in October 2021, but none of those fixes from back then seem to work this time.

Other than staying on build 22000.593 for a while, any suggestions on what I can do to fix this?

Before restart during windows update, happy taskbar:

After restart, sad empty taskbar:

Answer 1

Hello AdamWilbert,

Good day! I'm John Dev a Windows user like you and I'll be happy to assist you today. I know this has been difficult for you, Rest assured, I'm going to do my best to help you.

Please try the following methods below.

**Restart Windows Explorer

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

Select the Processes tab.

Scroll down and look for Windows Explorer

Right click then select Restart.

**Please try to run SFC and DISM to check for any system errors and corrupted files.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/402652...

After that, restart your computer

Note: You can open command prompt by doing this,

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager then click File

Select "Run new task" then type: cmd

Make sure to put a check mark on the "Create this task with administrative privileges" box

Continue with the commands within the link above.

**Repair all Windows apps via PowerShell

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager then click File

Select "Run new task" then type: powershell

Make sure to put a check mark on the "Create this task with administrative privileges" box

Copy and paste the command below one at a time then press Enter. Please ignore the red errors and let the process complete.

Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}

Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_. InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Restart your computer

Kindly let me know if this helps or if you have any further concerns.

Kind regards,

John DeV

Independent Advisor

Answer 2

Thanks for the assist, John! After following your steps, I now have a fully functioning taskbar again.

Specifically, it seems like it was the last step, Repair all Windows apps via PowerShell, that did the trick. SFC and DISM did not find any issues, and restarting Explorer.exe returned the same empty taskbar.

I appreciate your help.