Taskbar Icons Disappeared

[David Freed]

On my computer taskbar, I have lost a couple icons that I use frequently, and I can't figure out how to get them back. One was the icon that brings the desktop to the forefront (it minimizes all open programs). The other is the volume control icon. I am not sure how they disappeared. All of the other icons are still there. Can anyone tell me how to get them back?

[Steven DeMars]

put your cursor on the task bar, right click, left click toolbars, check quick launch . . . .

[David Freed]

Quick launch has a checkmark beside it. If I click on it, the checkmark and more icons disappear. When I click it again, the checkmark and icons come back, but not the ones that I mentioned in the original post.

[Steven DeMars]

Someone smarter than me needed . . . :-)

Steve

[Jim McFarland]

To restore volume icon:
Start-->Control Panel-->Sounds and Audio Devices-->Volume tab, select
"Place volume icon in the taskbar" -- then Apply the change

No help on the the show desktop icon -- I use "Windows logo key" and "M" simultaneously to minimize applications.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Don't know if this will be any help. I've just been clicking around in my Vista to find things. But check you Internet Explorer file (mine is in Microsoft folder. That's where my Quick Launch folder is. Don't know if it hangs onto anything you've used in there or not, but worth a look I'd guess.

[Peter Stahl]

Quick launch has a checkmark beside it. If I click on it, the checkmark and more icons disappear. When I click it again, the checkmark and icons come back, but not the ones that I mentioned in the original post.

David, When you unchecked Quick Launch in the Toolbars menu it makes the icons in the Quick Launch disappear and when you check it again they come back in a different order. They won't disappear unless you delete them. Look at the screen shots I did. One is the way they were before Quick Launch was uncheck and the other after it was checked again. The order of the icons changed. Hope this helps.

[Tom Veatch]

...One was the icon that brings the desktop to the forefront (it minimizes all open programs). ...

I've had that happen before, don't know why. Here's how to get the "Show Desktop" icon back:

Open Notepad and create a new file with the following text:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Save the file on your desktop as Show Desktop.scf then drag and drop the icon on the Quick Launch bar or whatever location you want the shortcut to appear. You can then delete the icon from your desktop.

[Jeff Bratt]

These instructions come from Win XP might not apply to Vista...

The Quick Launch area often has more icons inside it that are displayed. You can see the whole folder by right-clicking on the little dotted area between the Quick Launch Bar and the Start Button - then selecting Open Folder. If Show Desktop is in there, then you can rearrange the icons by dragging them around inside the Quick Launch Bar so you can see the ones you want, or make the whole Quick Launch Bar larger by dragging the little dotted area at dragging its right-hand side.

If the Show Desktop icon is really missing, then you can search the drive for a copy of "Show Desktop" - I found one in my drive's C:\I386 folder. You may need to "Display Hidden and System Folders" to see this directory. Then, copy this into the Quick Launch folder that you just opened - and rearrange icons as above.

If Volume Control is also missing, the an icon for it can be found in the Start Menu under All Programs, Accessories, Entertainment. You can then right-click and drag this into the Quick Launch Bar selecting Copy Here, then rearrange icons as as above.

[David Freed]

These instructions come from Win XP might not apply to Vista...

Apparently the instructions don't work for Vista. Vista is a lot different than XP in many ways.


David, When you unchecked Quick Launch in the Toolbars menu it makes the icons in the Quick Launch disappear and when you check it again they come back in a different order. They won't disappear unless you delete them. Look at the screen shots I did. One is the way they were before Quick Launch was uncheck and the other after it was checked again. The order of the icons changed. Hope this helps.

I understand how the checking and unchecking works. I didn't pay attention to what order they were in before, so I don't know if they changed. My icons stay in a line in the tray, not in a vertical line like your screenshots show.


I've had that happen before, don't know why. Here's how to get the "Show Desktop" icon back:

Open Notepad and create a new file with the following text:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Save the file on your desktop as Show Desktop.scf then drag and drop the icon on the Quick Launch bar or whatever location you want the shortcut to appear. You can then delete the icon from your desktop.

That got my show desktop icon back.

Do you think a variation of that command would get my volume controlback?

Thanks to all who responded. There is a whole lot more that I don't know about working with computers than what I do know.