Windows XP taskbar freezes-unresponsive

Hi,
I too just had a similar problem (go to this post :
Taskbar & startup menu not working & read my problem) & spent all day
yesterday working on it. Some of the suggestions at least helped me at least
to get into my Msconfig. I too didn't have any action on the Taskbar, all I
had was the busy signal when I would move my mouse over it. I had tried
different Restore points & Goback & nothing worked, I must have rebooted my
computer about 50 times with all the trials.
Anyway, I tried booting into Safe Mode & it worked, so I figured it had to
be something that loads up normally. I finally just played with the config
files by first trying Diagnostic mode/startup & then using Selective startup
by unselecting & then selecting items in the Services tab & also Startup tab
& finally managed to turn off the right item that was messing up my taskbar.
Since then it's works fine again.
I still have to uninstall whatever it was somehow that was messing it up but
at least it works. I hope this makes sense.
Dukesfan

"Russ" wrote:

> Hi
>
> I am having a problem with the taskbar in Windows. Every now and again it
> does not respond to input ie clicking on the start button, right clicking
> etc. The OS is not frozen, clicking on the desktop works OK.
>
> Eventually the taskbar begins responding again and all the previous attempts
> to access the taskbar occur at the same time ie start menu
> opens/closes/opens/closes etc.
>
> I have had the task manager open when this has occured and the system does
> not show any activity (CPU usage 0-1%).
>
> Any help would be appreciated.

> Hi
>
> I am having a problem with the taskbar in Windows. Every now and
again it
> does not respond to input ie clicking on the start button, right
clicking
> etc. The OS is not frozen, clicking on the desktop works OK.
>
> Eventually the taskbar begins responding again and all the previous
attempts
> to access the taskbar occur at the same time ie start menu
> opens/closes/opens/closes etc.


--
mndlal

I am having this too. I can move the mouse to other programs on my task
bar but the clicks are unresponsive. When this happens, I can also not
move the task bar.

I get get around the unresponsive taskbar by
1) Using ALT + Tab to move between programs.
2) Using Ctrl + ALT + Delete to start up the Task Manager, after which
the task bar becomes responsive again.

But then after a while the task manager becomes unresponsive again.

I have checked for viruses but apparently there are none in my system
(according to more than one program) but perhaps it is a hidden virus.

I have used the task manager & services console to turn off as many
services as I could. I have not located the service/program that is
causing the problem. I am glad that I have been able to delete some
unwanted services, but at the same time I do not want to delete too
many.

In Vista apparently there is something called GDI object leak
(Graphical display objects are not mapped properly by the system, and so
clicking them does not work, and microsoft has published a fix for it).
There have been some updates to windows lately so there is an outside
chance that it is a Windows problem.

Any help greatefully recieved.

Should I do a highjack this and send it somewhere?


--
timtak

I suspect
1) A Windows update since there were a lot of updates recently. But
then, you'd think it would be all over the net. I suspect some OS
malfunction because just starting up the manager cures the problem
temporarily. It perhaps could be that a virus turns itself off to remain
hidden when the task manager is on.
2) My SD MS CF etc card reader which is a bit dogdy lately. It is a
cheapo card reader. I have problems with the same piece of equipment
before, since replaced with one by the same manufacturer. At the moment
it is refusing to recognise CF cards at times.
3) A virus of course but the virus software I have tried says not.

This is driving me around the bend.

I keep my task bar at the top of the screen (since I used a Mac before
Windows had a taskbar). But alas the problem remains when I move the
taskbar back to its default position.



Some keywords to make this thread more searchable. "taskbar does not
work" "taskbar not working" "taskbar malfunction" "task bar can't be
clicked" "can't click taskbar"


--
timtak

More symptoms

1) The problem is intermittant. Sometimes I can come to the task bar
after a while and it will work. I am not sure why. Virus activity?

2) I have one piece of software that assumes that the taskbar is at the
bottom and does not work properly, having its top area obscured by the
taskbar. I should try unistalling that software but I don't think it is
the problem.

3) INTERESTINGLY, *sometimes* when I go to the top right (remember my
task bar is at the top) of unresponsive taskbar to where the system
clock is displayed, I get a tooltip, one of those little explicative
yellow popup boxes, that corresponds to the explanation that should
occur I were pointing at a program-top-bar, top right hand corner
button, i.e. it says "close" or "return to original size" (by the way I
am using a non-English language windows, so my back translation may not
be exact).
This suggests, that the problem is some sort of mapping. The OS
thinks that there is the top bar of a program (that fad from dark blue
to light blue thing at the top of program windows) where my task bar
should be.
Hence it could be a registry corruption issue, possibly due to (2)
above. Somewhere along the line I have moved my task bar off the top of
my screen?


--
timtak

I am trying AVG Free as well. It has already scanned the registry,
processes and system directory and found nothing.
I am doubting a virus, since even pressing Alt+Tab to change between
programs temporarily fixes the issue. I am thinking it is some sort of
mapping problem. I think that the OS sometimes thinks that the taskbar
is offset somewhere.

This advice looked good.
'http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/566349-cant-click-desktop-taskbar.html'
(http://tinyurl.com/yam6jdp)
It recommends creating a new Admin user account and using that instead.


The new user account did not SEEM to have the problem (it is
intermittent so it is difficult to say)

But before I could copy my old user profile
'Microsoft Corporation' (http://tinyurl.com/gq9fb)
wholesale to see if the bug comes with the copy, the taskbar became
unresponsive again.

Somehow the new account seems to be faster. Maybe I will stick with it.


--
timtak