How to Fix Icons Not Showing in Taskbar in Windows 11 / 10

Despite the fact that Microsoft released their best upgrade of Windows 10, it still has flaws that they are working on in order to release the latest build with the best version of Windows.

Many Windows users are reporting that after system startup, the icons on their taskbar on their Windows 11 system are missing or do not appear.

There might be a variety of causes for this, some of which are described below.

  • Windows not updated properly
  • Corrupted data files
  • Damaged IconCache database file
  • Some issues with the Windows Explorer service, etc.

Have you also been facing this type of issue on your Windows 11 system? Then, here are a few solutions explained below in this post that will certainly assist you in fixing them.

Fix 1 – Delete the IconCache.db file

IconCache.db is a file present in the Local folder of the windows, which actually holds the trace of icons that are used by the windows for faster retrieval when needed. If this file gets corrupted or damaged for some unknown reason, then this type of issue is bound to occur.

So it is best to delete this file from the system. To do so, follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Open the Run command box on your system by pressing and holding the Windows and R keys together.

Step 2: Type %localappdata% in the textbox of the Run command box and press Enter key.

 

Run Localappdata Min

 



Step 3: This opens the Local folder on your windows system.

Step 4: Then, navigate to View > Show > Hidden items to make sure hidden items are shown in the folder.

 

Show Hidden Items File Explorer

 

Step 5: After this, scroll down the folder and you will find the IconCache.db file at the bottom of the folder.

Step 6: Click on the IconCache.db file and press and hold the SHIFT + DELETE keys together.

 

Iconcache Db Select 11zon

 

Step 7: Next, tap on Yes on the confirmation dialog box to permanently delete the file from the system.

 

Confirm Delete Iconcache Db File 11zon

 

Step 8: Now restart the system and after the system boots up, check if the issue still persists.

 

Fix 2 – Restart the Windows Explorer

Windows explorer is a tool which allows users to organize and use their folders, files and other connections to the system very efficiently. But same time if there is any problem with the windows file explorer, it causes the problem as mentioned above.

So let us see if this issue can be resolved by restarting the windows file explorer with the steps given below.

Step 1: Go to Task Manager on your system by launching it by pressing and holding CTRL, SHIFT and ESC keys together.

Step 2: In the Processes tab, it shows all the apps that are running currently and also in the background.

Step 3: Look for the Windows Explorer from the list.

Step 4: Right-click on it and select Restart from the context menu as shown below.

 

Restart Windows Explorer Task Manager 11zon



 

Step 5: This will restart the Windows Explorer on your system.

 

Fix 3 – Change the Taskbar settings in Personalization

Sometimes, unknowingly users change the settings on the personalization page. This also causes the changes in the taskbar that are changed icons, icons missing, and so on.

Step 1: To go to the Personalization page, go to Desktop by pressing and holding the Windows and D keys together.

Step 2: Then, right-click on the empty space on the Desktop and select Personalize from the context menu as shown below.

 

Desktop Right Click Personalize Min

 

Step 3: On the Personalization page, scroll down and select the Taskbar option.

 

Personalization Taskbar Min

 

Step 4: Under the Taskbar items, you can check the items that you want to display on the taskbar(Eg. Chat, Search, etc.)

 

Turn On Search Chat Etc Icons On Taskbar 11zon

 

Step 5: Next, click the Other system tray icons to expand it.

Step 6: Make sure the Hidden icon menu toggle button is turned On.

Step 7: Also, click on all the icons that you want to display on the taskbar corner to turn it On as shown in the below image.

 

Taskbar Other System Tray Icons 11zon

 

Step 8: Once you are done, close the Personalization page.

Fix 4 – Delete the IRIS Service

Try deleting the IRIS Service on your system, which sometimes causes problems if it gets faulty. So let’s delete the Iris service with the help of the command prompt app on the system as shown below.

Step 1: Open the Command Prompt app as an admin on the system using the Run box (Press Windows + R keys).

Step 2: Type cmd in the Run box and hit CTRL, SHIFT and ENTER keys together.

Step 3: Accept the User Access Control prompt to proceed.

 

7 Run Cmd Optimized

 

Step 4: Type or copy-paste the below command and press Enter key to execute it.

reg delete HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\IrisService /f && shutdown -r -t 0

 

Delete Iris Service 11zon

 

Step 5: This will execute the command and deletes the iris service and restarts the system once automatically.

Step 6: After the system loads up, the taskbar should show the icons on it.

Fix 5 – Uninstall Recent Windows Updates

These problems tend to occur if any of the recent windows updates installed on the system go wrong. So let us uninstall those updates installed recently and see if this helps.

Step 1: Press the Windows and R keys together to open the Run box.

Step 2: Type appwiz.cpl in the Run box and press Enter key to open the Programs and Features window.

 

Cmd Appwiz Min

 

Step 3: In the Programs and Features window, click the View installed updates on the left side as shown below.

 

View Installed Updates 11zon

 

Step 4: This will open the Uninstall updates page.

Step 5: Now you can uninstall the updates installed recently one after the other by clicking on Uninstall as shown in the below screenshot.

 

Uninstall Updates Recently 11zon



 

Step 6: After the uninstallation is done, close all the windows and restart the system once.

Step 7: Now check if the problem got solved.

Fix 6 – Delete All the Pinned Apps in Taskbar

 

Step 1: Open the Notepad app on the system by pressing the Windows key and typing notepad and then, tapping on the Enter key.

Step 2: Copy and paste the below commands into the notepad.

DEL /F /S /Q /A "%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\*"

REG DELETE HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

start explorer.exe

 

Commands In Notepad 11zon

 

Step 3: After this, save the file by pressing CTRL + S keys together on the keyboard.

Step 4: In the Save as window, select Desktop on the left panel as shown below.

Step 5: Next, Enter an appropriate file name and select All Files as Save as type.

Step 6: Finally, click Save.

 

Save As Clearpinnedapps.bat 11zon

 

Step 7: Now, go to Desktop and right-click on the newly created file and click Run as administrator.

 

Run As Admin Clearpinnedapps Bat File 11zon

 

Step 8: This will clear all the pinned apps from the taskbar.