After this recent Windows 11 update in February 2023 the taskbar has been consistently unstable for me
Prior to this update I had disabled the search bar and widgets on my taskbar, however after this update the search bar was forcibly re enabled on my taskbar. I disabled it again and ever since I've had issues
Here are the scenarios where this issue occurs:
- I use a laptop with a secondary monitor (via HDMI) and when I log into Windows 11 (without the secondary monitor connected) the taskbar appears normally
- If I log into Windows and connect the second monitor then the taskbar appears normally on both screens
- However if I connect the HDMI cable for the second monitor while the computer is locked or in sleep mode and log into windows the taskbar disappears on my laptop screen and only appears on the secondary monitor
- If I change the search bar options (from any option to any other option) or kill and restart Windows Explorer then the taskbar re appears on the laptop screen
- If I unplug the HDMI cable (while the computer is locked or unlocked which I do daily traveling to and from work) then the taskbar on the laptop will disappear again (until I change the search bar settings or restart Explorer)
- If I plug the HDMI cable back in (while the computer is unlocked) the taskbar re appears on the laptop (and on the secondary monitor)
- If I leave the laptop connected to the secondary monitor (turning off the monitor) and log out (ie: to go to sleep) then the next day when I turn on the monitor and log in into the computer the taskbar disappears from the laptop screen (despite showing prior to closing the laptop the previous night)
I figured this would potentially get fixed in a future Windows 11 update but so far this issue has continued to occur for over a month. I have tried various combinations of search bar settings and widget settings but this issue persists. I would prefer to avoid completely resetting my Windows 11 install if possible. Is anyone else experiencing this? Or does anyone have any suggestions for how to fix it?
This issue happens so frequently I just wrote a little batch script and put it on my desktop so I can easily restart Explorer throughout the day :\
