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Win10 Taskbar icons become unresponsive after disconnecting a second monitor
After disconnecting the second monitor, the taskbar icons do not respond to clicks. A preview tooltip still appears when you hover the mouse over an icon, but clicking it has no effect.
Restarting File Explorer or reconnecting the monitor temporarily resolves the issue, but it reoccurs the next time the monitor is disconnected.
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Because pointer hover still produces a preview, Windows is detecting the taskbar, but click handling becomes unreliable after the display topology changes. Restarting Explorer or reconnecting the monitor resets that state, which makes a graphics, dock, or Explorer interaction more likely than a permanently broken taskbar setting. First use Windows+P to choose the intended display mode before unplugging, then try Windows+Ctrl+Shift+B when the failure occurs to reset the graphics driver. Update Windows and install graphics and docking-station drivers from the PC maker; if the problem began after a driver update, test the previous driver using Device Manager’s Roll Back option. Also test the second monitor directly rather than through a dock or adapter, and try a different cable or output. If it happens only with one monitor path, the hardware path is implicated. If it persists with no external display, test a clean boot to identify an interfering shell utility
