QUESTION: I opened my computer today and both my volume and network icons are missing off of my taskbar. When I click the "properties" option on my taskbar the options to place volume and network icons on the taskbar are greyed out. I'm on Windows Vista.
Do you have an explanation for this?
ANSWER: If you didn't do anything to cause it the last time you were on your PC, then I have no explanation because it's one of those things that shouldn't happen but does, i.e., a bug. But you can try the below with my usual caveat...proceed at your own risk. I accept no responsibility for the outcome since I'm not doing it myself.
Right click on taskbar, select Properties and click the tab Notification Area. Under System Icons, make sure the Volume and Network boxes are checked. If they are grayed out, then I would restore using (Note...if they are not grayed out, you can run through this anyway and see if it makes a difference. Sometimes, especially with Vista, things will appear to be set correctly, but aren't):
Click Start > Run > and type gpedit.msc. The Local Group Policy Editor window will appear.
[If you don't have Run on the Start menu, Click Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories and then click Run.]
Double click User Configuration, double click Administrative Templates, click on Start Menu And Taskbar.
Scroll down on the right pane and find Remove the networking icon. Double click on this item, and it should show Disabled. Select Disabled and click OK.
Scroll down almost towards the bottom of the list and find Remove the volume control icon. Double click on this item, and it should show Disabled. Select Disabled and click OK.
Close the Local Group Policy Editor
Log off and then log back into Vista.
Right click on taskbar, select Properties and click the tab Notification Area. Under System Icons, make sure the Volume and Network boxes are checked. Apply and exit by pressing OK.
Showing posts with label notification area. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notification area. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Clock Tooltip Doesn't Pop Up
Question: When the mouse cursor passes over the clock on the taskbar a little window is supposed to pop up with the date & time. Sometimes this does not happen. If I double click on the clock and then close the date & time properties window then it works again, but some time later, it again will not pop up the date/time window. The other items on the taskbar pop up a small window with information; only the clock pop-up doesn't work. Any ideas what causes this erratic operation ?
Answer: These little pop-up messages are called Tooltips. There are a few things that can cause the problem you're asking about where the Tooltip doesn't show up, or doesn't appear to show up.
1. It can be an incompatibility with your anti-virus software, such as Norton. I'm not an expert on PC technical problems, but I suspect it sees the tooltip as an unwanted pop-up window. I don't have this problem, but if I turn my pop-off blocker on in Internet Explorer, I get the same problem the first few times I move my mouse over the Clock. After the tooltip finally shows up the first time, I don't have the problem again.
2. There's a known Microsoft bug (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912650)
that causes tooltips to sometimes hide behind the Taskbar. Depending on how wide your Taskbar is, you might see the top of the tooltip or perhaps not, if it's completely hidden underneath. There's no Microsoft fix for this bug, but other companies offer some software
to fix it.
Tooltipfixer
Tool Tip Manager
Answer: These little pop-up messages are called Tooltips. There are a few things that can cause the problem you're asking about where the Tooltip doesn't show up, or doesn't appear to show up.
1. It can be an incompatibility with your anti-virus software, such as Norton. I'm not an expert on PC technical problems, but I suspect it sees the tooltip as an unwanted pop-up window. I don't have this problem, but if I turn my pop-off blocker on in Internet Explorer, I get the same problem the first few times I move my mouse over the Clock. After the tooltip finally shows up the first time, I don't have the problem again.
2. There's a known Microsoft bug (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912650)
that causes tooltips to sometimes hide behind the Taskbar. Depending on how wide your Taskbar is, you might see the top of the tooltip or perhaps not, if it's completely hidden underneath. There's no Microsoft fix for this bug, but other companies offer some software
to fix it.
Tooltipfixer
Tool Tip Manager
The Elder Greek on Windows XP mentions a free shareware solution for this.
Please note I cannot vouch for the reliability or safety of any mentioned software, nor can I know the compatibility with your PC. Always use caution when installing third party software.
If you just want to be able to see the date and time all the time, widen your Taskbar to a double height by dragging it upward. The time, day and date should stay on display.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Showing the Date on the Taskbar
Question: Can I show the date along with the time on the Taskbar?
Answer: The date will show up if your Taskbar is two lines (double) in height. Drag the top horizontal edge of the Taskbar up to do that. On PCs that also show the day of the week, you might have to resize your Taskbar to a three-line height.
With Vista you can click on the Sidebar icon to make it show up on your desktop and customize it so that the calendar and clock show on it.
Answer: The date will show up if your Taskbar is two lines (double) in height. Drag the top horizontal edge of the Taskbar up to do that. On PCs that also show the day of the week, you might have to resize your Taskbar to a three-line height.
With Vista you can click on the Sidebar icon to make it show up on your desktop and customize it so that the calendar and clock show on it.
Clock tells the wrong time
Question: My clock doesn’t tell the right time.
Answer: Double-click on the time on the System Tray (single click with Vista) and select “Adjust Date/Time.” If you’re connected to the Internet, you can have your clock synchronize with the Internet. Or you can adjust the time yourself. If you do that, make sure you click on the time zone tab and select the correct time zone and click the Daylight Savings checkbox if applicable. If your PC was purchased prior to the new Daylight Savings Time set in March 2007, you may want to turn that feature off.
Answer: Double-click on the time on the System Tray (single click with Vista) and select “Adjust Date/Time.” If you’re connected to the Internet, you can have your clock synchronize with the Internet. Or you can adjust the time yourself. If you do that, make sure you click on the time zone tab and select the correct time zone and click the Daylight Savings checkbox if applicable. If your PC was purchased prior to the new Daylight Savings Time set in March 2007, you may want to turn that feature off.
Hiding items on the System Tray / Notification Area
Question: There are a bunch of items on my System Tray that I don’t care about. How can I hide them?
Answer: Right-click on the Taskbar and click on Properties. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties menu should open with the Taskbar menu showing on top. There will be an option called “Hide Inactive Icons.” Check that box. You can also hide the clock if you want. An arrow will show up at the beginning of the tray in case you want to take a look at the hidden icons. You will get an annoying message at least a couple of times in the future that says “Some of your icons are hidden. Click here to view them.” Click on the X to close the message and hope that it eventually goes away for good.
Note: That area is called the System Tray in XP but it's called the Notification Area in Vista
Answer: Right-click on the Taskbar and click on Properties. The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties menu should open with the Taskbar menu showing on top. There will be an option called “Hide Inactive Icons.” Check that box. You can also hide the clock if you want. An arrow will show up at the beginning of the tray in case you want to take a look at the hidden icons. You will get an annoying message at least a couple of times in the future that says “Some of your icons are hidden. Click here to view them.” Click on the X to close the message and hope that it eventually goes away for good.
Note: That area is called the System Tray in XP but it's called the Notification Area in Vista
Cascading windows with the Taskbar
Question: I want to cascade all my open windows but I can’t find an empty place on the Taskbar to click on unless I close windows first and I don’t want to do that.
Answer: You can either drag the Taskbar upwards to make it wider until an empty area shows up and click there, or you can right-click on the Clock, if it’s showing on your System Tray /Notification Area of the Taskbar. The clock is the only Taskbar item you can right-click on that will give you the same menu as clicking on an empty area of the Taskbar.
Answer: You can either drag the Taskbar upwards to make it wider until an empty area shows up and click there, or you can right-click on the Clock, if it’s showing on your System Tray /Notification Area of the Taskbar. The clock is the only Taskbar item you can right-click on that will give you the same menu as clicking on an empty area of the Taskbar.
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