Unlock or lock the taskbar in Windows 7: enable or prevent moving / resizing Once you have moved the taskbar (or resized the taskbar), you can lock it to preserve your settings, and prevent the taskbar from being moved or resized by accident. Likewise, you will be able to easily unlock the taskbar when you do want to move it or resize it. Windows 7 Forums is the largest help and support community, providing friendly help and advice for Microsoft Windows 7 Computers such as Dell, HP, Acer, Asus or a custom build. My computer has decided to lock all the icons on the desktop e.g. They can not be moved.
Once you have moved the taskbar (or resized the taskbar), you can lock it to preserve your settings, and prevent the taskbar from being moved or resized by accident. Likewise, you will be able to easily unlock the taskbar when you do want to move it or resize it. Unlike previous versions of Windows, a locked or unlocked taskbar in Windows 7 has exactly the same appearance, which means that you can no longer rely on the visibility or absence of 'grabber' handles to determine whether the taskbar is currently locked or unlocked. This tutorial explains how to do both and check on the current state.
Lock the taskbar in Windows 7
After having moved or resized the taskbar, follow these steps to lock it:
- Right-click on an empty are of the taskbar: this can be either between the Start button and the first taskbar button or pinned program, or between the last taskbar button and the notification area:
(Depending on your taskbar settings, you may have plenty of empty space on your taskbar, for example if you are using the default Windows 7 setting to 'Always combine, hide labels', as opposed to making your taskbar buttons appear like older versions of Windows.) - So, after having right-clicked on the taskbar, Windows 7 will show a context menu, containing a 'Lock the taskbar' item, with one of two possibilities:
- If this item is checked, your taskbar is currently already locked, and cannot be moved or resized.
- If there is no checkmark displayed next to 'Lock the taskbar', you know that your taskbar is currently unlocked, can freely be moved around and resized.
- Somewhat counter-intuitively then, click on the same 'Lock the taskbar' menu item to unlock or lock the taskbar, depending on your needs. A locked taskbar will remain in that state until you or someone else manually decides to unlock it - in other words, your favorite taskbar position and size are protected from accidental changes if it is and remains locked.
This is how you lock or unlock the taskbar in Windows 7 - and remember, nothing visually lets you know whether it is locked or not: just give it a right click to confirm its current status.
On a final note, the locked/unlocked status of the taskbar is a 'per user' settings. Windows users can each have their own settings, without impact on other user profiles on the same machine.
up ↑A weird thing happened last day on my Windows system. Suddenly all of the icons placed on my computer desktop were disappeared. No suspicious app was installed that could change the visibility of icons. I didn’t right-click on the desktop to hide the icons accidentally. So, what exactly happened?
Let’s Find Out!
Why My Desktop Icons Are Not Showing?
Majority of users are considering it as a bug, but it’s not. This can happen to anyone while modifying some settings unknowingly. Not many people know but Windows 10 comes with two built-in modes for user’s facilitation: Desktop & Tablet.
So, there might be a probability that you have activated the Tablet Mode which is leading to Desktop Icons Missing Error. To check whether you have accidentally enabled the Tablet Mode or not: Go to the Start menu > Settings > System > Choose Tablet Mode from the left panel & make sure that the respective mode is toggled off.
How To Unlock Desktop Icons
If this isn’t the case, you can try some other fixes as well to make Desktop Icons appear again!
How To Fix Desktop Icons Not Showing Issue?
Desktop Icons not showing is quite a common error in Windows 10, 8, 7 PC try some tricks & hacks to fix the issue:
METHOD 1- Run eplorer.exe
This is a temporary patch rather than a solution. Restarting Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) can help you refresh your desktop & get back your icons quickly. However, this is not a permanent fix, but you can always give it a try:
Lock Win 10 Desktop Icons
- On your desktop (no icons screen) > press CTRL + ALT + Delete key altogether to launch Task Manager.
- In Task Manager Windows, go to the Processes tab & locate Explorer.exe from the list & click on End process.
- Next, go to the File menu and click on new task (Run) option > In the next box, type explorer.exe & hit Enter.
Your Desktop icons should now pop-up back. If it doesn’t help, then it might be some random software behaving badly on your system.
METHOD 2- Maybe You’re Running A Dubious Software
Think about all the recently downloaded software, maybe a Photo Editor, Antivirus Program or any other software that might have created this absurd issue. If you locate any of the suspicious applications running on your system, uninstall it immediately & observe if this fixes the problem.
You can even try running a PC Virus Scan using a reliable utility, just to check if there’s a malware causing the issue.
METHOD 3- Update Device Drivers
You must already be familiar with the thing that every device on your system has a software driver behind it. When they aren’t optimal, you have to update them. Because a missing, damaged or outdated graphics driver can stop items from appearing properly on your system.
So, make sure every device driver is up-to-date on your PC. Basically, there are two methods to update drivers on Windows: Manually and Automatically.
How To Update Device Drivers Manually?
To update Windows 8, 8.1,10 device drivers, follow the steps below:
- Head towards Search bar and locate Device Manager.
- In Device Manager Window, start selecting each item and right-click to Update them.
- Next click on Browse my Computer for driver software option.
- Click on ‘Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer’ to let your system find the drivers for you.
- If Windows couldn’t detect the best drivers for you, try looking for one on the device manufacturer’s website & follow their instructions to update drivers.
Lock Desktop Icons From Moving Windows 10
Finding and updating device drivers manually can be a complicated & time-consuming task. Moreover, if by any chance the process is done incorrectly, it could lead to various system issues.
If you don’t have that significant computer skills or time, try to update your drivers using a third-party dedicated tool. For the purpose, you can use Advanced Driver Updater, which would get the job done for you in a few clicks!
How To Update Device Drivers Automatically?
To make the task of updating device drivers straightforward & easy, take the help of Advanced Driver Updater. The driver utility works efficiently to scan & fix missed, outdated, damaged & faulty drivers in just a few clicks. Features an intuitive interface, Advanced Driver Updater can be used to automatically find and install the most compatible and latest updates for your system.
How To Use Advanced Driver Updater?
Setting & using the driver updater utility is damn simple, just follow the straightforward steps below:
Lock Icon Location On Desktop
- Install Advanced Driver Updater.
- Once installed, click on Start Scan Now button on the main interface.
- The tool would take just a few moments to list all the faulty drivers on your PC.
- Once all the missing, damaged and incompatible drivers are categorized, click on Update All button to fix them.
All the latest drivers would be installed properly, and you can observe a noticeable performance boost on your system.
This method would surely solve your Desktop Icons not showing issue on Windows 10, 8, 7 PC. If you have already tried Advanced Driver Updater software, kindly share your experience in the comment section below!
You Might Like To Watch The Tutorial: How To Update Outdated Device Drivers
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