Forum Discussion
Windows 11 multi-monitor taskbar issue
I just upgraded from win10 Pro this morning, also installing all updates.
I'm running 3 monitors on an HP Omen - 1=laptop, 2=left, 3=right.
I have taskbar on for all monitors in settings.
If I disable taskbar autohide, then the taskbars show properly on all monitors.
If I enable taskbar autohide, then the "autohidden" taskbars on 2 or 3 do not pop up.
I've read of other taskbar issues - such as blank taskbars, but this is not that.
I had no such issue while running Windows 10 this morning prior to the upgrade to Windows 11.
System info:
HP Omen 17t-an100 CTO
32GB RAM
Windows 11 Pro, ver. 21H2, Build 22000.194
Drive C: Toshiba KXG50ZNV256G (256G - 136G free)
Drive 😧 Toshiba MQ04ABD200 (2TB - 1.8TB free)
Microprocessor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz
Display adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
Monitor 1: HP 17.3" diagonal 4K IPS anti-glare WLED-backlit (3840 x 2160 max)
Monitor 2: HP Z23i IPS Display (Connected via Kensington USB3.0 DisplayLink Video Dock)
Monitor 3: HP Z23i IPS Display (Connected via Kensington USB3.0 DisplayLink Video Dock)
All 3 monitors are set to 1920x1080 resolution.
- I found a workaround solution. Basically if you right click where the taskbar is supposed to be it will appear. Until MS rolls out a patch it's the best solution.
- As both ChrisDC and I said earlier, but maybe it was lost in the verbosity? 😉
- FYI - I have an open, active case with MS Support - I'll keep ya'll updated with any relevant intel...
I'm still working with MS (Level 3 escalation tech) regarding this issue. The last support session was on 12/28/2021, and their most recent notification of "no further updates" was on 12/30/2021.
To date, I have done the following (and more that I'm likely forgetting at the moment) with no success:
- Changed resolutions
- Changed connection methods (direct to my laptop vs. my Kensington USB 3.0 2X Video Dock)
- Removed (including removing driver option) and reinstalled all 3 monitor drivers
- Removed current display adapter software and reinstalled the laptop manufacturer's (HP) NVIDIA GTX 1070 Laptop Display Adapter software (so far, they only support Windows 10)
- Removed current display adapter software and reinstalled NVIDIA's GTX 1070 Laptop Display Adapter software that DOES support Windows 11
- 5 remote support sessions with MS running diagnostics, collecting logs, etc. - for up to 2 hours each
- Changed the various taskbar related options
- Full image backup of my laptop, deleted/recreated/formatted the OS partition and performed a brand spankin' new Windows 11 installation
- Added an additional admin user to determine changes in taskbar behavior under another profile
- Shifted monitor orientation
- Shifted Main Monitor assignment
- Tried all the suggested "workarounds offered in this and one other thread I'm following
(Sigh) Why is it such a problem for them? They have an excellent working reference in Windows 10, so why don't they scrap the Win11 taskbar code and splice in the Win10 taskbar code - at least as a test???
I just upgraded to Windows 11 and this is the first 'bug' I saw. Until I remembered that the automatic taskbar popup was one of the things that irritated me. I think this is a feature. I run 3 monitors of which 2 are running full screen programs. I often need to click near the bottom of the screen. Usually the taskbar comes up and interferes. I need full screen functionality without the taskbar popping up automatically. The RIGHT CLICK at the bottom of the screen method is awesome. Microsoft only needs to provide an option for AUTO POPUP/RIGHT CLICK (also for the main monitor). I didn't know this until I came across this post. Thanks a million!
- You know what would be nice? If it worked AT ALL with the upper monitors. I have monitors stacked vertically. It only works on upper monitor if i click on the desktop and only if i don't have an app window covering it. And then it flickers the desktop, making wallpaper black and then recovers few seconds later with the taskbar.
Maybe that's just an aritfact of monitors being connected to different graphics cards, but still.
Can I PLEASE just have it as it was before? Microsoft, stop messing with my desktop. Who asked for this???
I am fed up and already went Manjaro on the laptop that I use for work too.
- #metoo
Ryzen / Rx480 / 4 monitors... all but the main monitor taskbar don't pop up - Additional info:
Re: Taskbars don't show on external monitors when "autohide" is enabled.
Preliminary: The taskbars were working flawlessly and simultaneously on all 3 monitors (left, laptop, right) with Windows 10. The only thing that changed was that I upgraded to Windows 11 - no other application or driver updates other than what is automatically included in the Win11 upgrade.
Taskbar behavior is set to: "automatically hide the taskbar", and "Show my taskbar on all displays". The taskbar functions properly only on the "Main Display" whether it's the laptop display or one of the external monitors. When I set the taskbar options to include all displays, the taskbar on the external displays pops up briefly (< 1 second) then disappears and won't automatically reappear when I move the cursor to the external monitor taskbar area. HOWEVER, even though the taskbar on the external monitors doesn't automatically popup when I move my cursor to the bottom of the screen, I can left or right click at the bottom of the screen then the hidden taskbar will show and remain - fully functional - even though I move the cursor away, and hides again when I click anywhere else.
If I disable "Automatically hide the taskbar", then the taskbar shows properly on all displays. When I switch back to "automatically hide the taskbar" then the taskbars won't reappear on the external monitors as expected.
Simply put - the taskbars are there, but the ones that aren't on the Main Display won't automatically unhide when moving the cursor to the bottom of the screen.
I opened a case via support chat with MS, but after jumping through hoops for a couple hours, I was referred to level 2 support. Either I could wait on chat for the next available tech with no indication of a wait time, or they could schedule a callback 10 days from now!
The general steps I took with MS:
Ran SFC /scannow (0 errors).​
Ran DISM with various switches (0 errors).​
Downloaded the Win11 ISO and ran an in-place reinstall while retaining my user data.​
Re-ran all the Win11 updates.​
... and nothing changed.Teligence1970 - SAME!
I'm experiencing the same exact issue with the Windows 11 Taskbar not auto-hiding. After unpinning some apps from the taskbar, it seems to work intermittently, but still buggy (my 2nd monitor usually unhides on hover as it should now, but my 3rd display doesn't most of the time). Please let me know what you find out.... Thanks!
- OK, now it's getting weird: I kept the settings on for 1. "Automatically hide the taskbar" and 2. "Show my taskbar on all displays".
What's weird is that sometimes (not all the time) when my laptop comes out of sleep mode, all 3 taskbars show on each monitor as through "Automatically hide the taskbar" was disabled. In this state, I go into taskbar behavior and it still shows "Automatically hide the taskbar" enabled. The taskbars continue to show "unhidden" until I disable "Automatically hide the taskbar" and re-enable it, or until I restart. This particular instability has only been happening for the past few days.
- LaReyes314
Microsoft
Teligence1970 I fixed it on my system by toggling main monitors.
1: right click on any screen and select display settings.
2: I have 3 but usually keep my laptop closed and use dual, but just opened my laptop to make sure I would be toggling between different resolutions.
3: Once all displays showed up I toggled the Make this my main display around all three monitors.
4: Then toggled between Extend these displays and duplicate these displays, until the problem went away.
Hope this helps!
- This seems to finally be fixed in the update KB5008353:
Updates an issue that affects the auto-hide feature of the taskbar. The taskbar might not reliably appear when you hover over the primary or secondary display.
I haven't had any autohide issues since installing.Teligence1970 Glad that if finally fixed your autohide issue, ours is similar but not fixed. We have a shared office computer with two monitors and some not very tech savvy employees so we keep the task bar unhidden on both monitors. We leave it on 24/7 for updates and for people to log in anytime, after about 2 days with no reboots the taskbar on the main screen is unclickable. The second screen's taskbar still works fine and can open pinned apps. I'll have to try the unpinning and repinning of an app to see if that will refresh the task bar, but what we have done so far is just reboot late at night minimize the interruption. If anyone has seen a fix for this issue I'd be happy to learn it. Tried to tell them not to upgrade to 11 yet but do they listen to the IT guy ... nope just clicked a box that came up.
- This is a very unusual solution, but it somehow repairs the taskbar thickness issue. I had to do a couple times until it worked...
- Update: After applying the update KB5008353: back in March, I haven't had a problem since!
Similar thread from July: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/report-an-issue/auto-hide-taskbar-not-functioning-properly-on-the-second-monitor/m-p/2584350
Reddit:- Thanks for the links, but they're Just more of the same.
The deficit taskbar issues have been going on for 4 months now!
While not a critical function (although some may argue that statement) it is what many would classify an essential function, or at least a beneficial one.
Just to recap, I continue to experience the following multi-monitor taskbar related issues:
Persistent:
1. Autohide only seems to work the most (not completely) reliably on the monitor designated as the "main" monitor. The taskbar(s) does(do) not automatically unhide on other than the main monitor when the cursor is moved to the respective area(s). The various "fixes" mentioned in this thread and others are only temporary fixes at best. These user-discovered fixes are beneficial to some, but not to others.
Intermittent:
2. The taskbar notification area icons intermittently disappear. Changing a (non-specific) taskbar configuration seems to cause it to re-display - until it disappears again.
3. The taskbar "pinned" app icons occasionally disappear, then reappear with various, undefined actions (such as taskbar configuration changes, system restarts, etc.
Shame on Microsoft for choosing to release a new Windows version without stabilizing a key feature that almost EVERY multi-monitor user is becoming increasingly reactionary that include eyebrow-raising verbal expletives ...- Good summary. I get the same and the r-click at the bottom of the 2nd monitor appears the best workaround for me.
Mine is a Surface Book 3 connected to external dock; the large external display is primary and works fine, while the Book's display acts and second monitor and has the taskbar issue.
Since the laptop is new as well as Win 11 I'm not sure which of these is causing another issue: When using Zoom (with multi-monitor option) if someone else is screen sharing the SB3 fan goes wild and CPU is really high. I didn't have this on my previous, much lower powered Dell with Win 10.
- Hooray! Yes, it's fixed.
The latest patch also seems to have fixed it for me!
As some of you may know, I have been actively working with MS Level 3 Tech Support regarding this issue. I can't help but find it interesting that a solution was implemented only a couple weeks after I pointed them toward a potential - albeit, interim - solution...
We landed on the moon 53 years ago and I cannot get my second monitor to display a task bar. Wonderful Teligence1970
jk my last update fixed it thank you microsoft lolNutBuster9
Whoa ... Not so fast, as it turns out. There's still a problem:
While the autohide works on all 3 of my monitors after a startup/restart, when my PC goes to sleep and I wake it up, all 3 taskbars are not hidden, and the autohide option is unselected in the taskbar behavior settings. Also, there is a popup notification titled "Taskbar" that says "A toolbar is already hidden on this side of your screen. You can only have one auto-hide taskbar per side."
When I go back to taskbar behavior settings and re-enable auto hide, or, if I restart, the 3 taskbars then hide like they're supposed to - until my PC goes to sleep again.So, for me at least, the autohide function works on all 3 of my monitors ONLY if I don't wake up my computer from sleep.
- No taskbar can display on second display
Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 21H2
Installed on ‎9/‎3/‎2022
OS build 22000.918
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22000.918.0
Last night I had taskbar displayed on both monitors. This morning the second monitor no longer can display the taskbar. I have set it to all displays under personalization and Extend these displays set under System/Display.
It is broken. I can check the registry setting at Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\MMTaskBarEnabled = 1 and it just does not have any effect changing it to zero, reboot. Set it back to 1, reboot. The taskbar is just not displaying.1. Have you tried restoring from a slightly older restore point?
2. Also, 9/6 is (an infamous) "Patch Tuesday", so if recovery from a restore point doesn't work, try manually uninstalling anything installed since the last time it worked.
3. Another thing to try is starting up in a "clean" mode. Open msconfig and temporarily disable any services or apps that automatically start, then reboot and check operation. If that resolves it, then while it's a pain in the A$$, enable one no-MS service/app at a time until you identify the culprit.
- If your Taskbar behavior has "Automatically hide the taskbar" enabled, try disabling it and see if the taskbar shows full time on all monitors.
- I am having a similar issue. Each time a monitor is plugged in I get an error "can only hide taskbar on one screen". I've tried various solutions and nothing seems to work.
- Windows Multi-monitor support is absolute garbage compared to 10. Applications go to random monitors, turning off a monitor sends applications to turned off monitors. Coming out of sleep, applications will be on monitors that are off. Literally no problems in Windows 10, Windows 11 has been a nightmare.
If this company wasn't a monopoly I'd be out of here in a heartbeat. Why can't the government break up companies like this???Gosh, that's quite a rant. I don't have any of those problems. The original problem which is the subject of this thread has been fixed. Applications don't go to 'random' monitors maybe you just don't understand. It's also not a monopoly - why not try an Apple or a Chromebook if you don't like Microsoft?
Apparently, you are a "newbie" to tech.
1. I am a computer expert. I have Senior tech level experience with Windows, Linux, Apple and Chrome OS, throughout the years. In my diverse professional experience, Windows is the all-around superior OS - both in support and capability. Anything else is just, well, less. So, I UNDERSTAND a hell of a lot more than you do!
2. I'm just reporting my experience in relevant detail so others can respond if they've run into an issue, or to acknowledge that they have the same issue as I did in the early release stages of the (then) new OS. The more people that have a singular issue, the higher it is raised on the priority to resolve. My reporting is intended to help not only me, but others, too. You see, I'm actually contributing to the resolution effort instead of following your feeble attempt to deflect out of ignorance.
3. Also, check out the date of the post to which you responded - about 1.5 years ago, so you are responding to old information. "A day late and a dollar short" comes to mind...
