Taskbar Problem

Question

I installed the new update to Windows,
and when my laptop came back on, the Windows Action Centre and Time were gone from my taskbar.
I tried restarting my laptop, and then i went into the taskbar settings,
and neither the Windows Action Centre or the Time were under the menu to add to the taskbar.

Answer 1

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

1

Restart the Windows Explorer process -

Open the Task Manager and locate the Windows Explorer process.

Right-click on it and select Restart.

This will refresh your taskbar.

2

Run the System File Checker Utility Scan.

Open the Command Prompt (Administrator) Window.

Run these commands one by one and click Enter for each command.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

sfc /scannow

Once completed, restart your computer.

3

Re-register Shell components.

Open PowerShell as administrator.

Run the command below and click Enter.

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

Once completed, restart your computer.

Let me know if you still need more help.

Answer 2

The update you installed likely changed taskbar behavior and system tray policies so that the clock and Action Center (notifications) no longer appear.

Use these checks and fixes:

1. Verify taskbar notification policies
   • On managed or domain-joined devices, Group Policy can remove the clock, notifications, and Action Center from the taskbar.
   • Ask the administrator to check these policies:
     • User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Remove Clock from the system notification area
     • User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Remove Notifications and Action Center
   • Both policies must be Not configured or Disabled for the clock and Action Center to show.
2. Check Quick Settings and notification icon behavior
   • A policy can remove Quick Settings (network/volume area) and change how the notification bell icon appears:
     • User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Remove Quick Settings should be Not configured or Disabled.
     • User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Show notification bell icon can be Enabled to always show the bell in the tray.
3. Check date and time format policy
   • If the time/date format was changed by policy, confirm:
     • User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Turn off abbreviated time and date format is set as desired. A restart is required after changing this.
4. Restart after any policy changes
   • Some taskbar and system tray settings (Quick Settings, notification bell, time/date format) require a full restart before icons reappear.

If the device is not domain‑managed and these policies are not enabled, contact support with details of the Windows build and update just installed so they can check for a configuration update or hotfix that affects taskbar, system tray, and notifications.

---

References:

• Taskbar policy settings (windows-11)
• September 26, 2023—Windows configuration update