How to Backup Pinned Taskbar Icons on Windows 11 & 10

On Windows, you can pin all your frequently used apps and folders to the taskbar for quick and easy access. In fact, for most, it is one of the first things we do. Once pinned, a single click on the taskbar icon opens the related app or folder. However, after carefully organizing your taskbar, losing these shortcuts due to a system crash or Windows reinstall can be frustrating. Thankfully, you can back up your pinned taskbar icons using the Windows Registry. Once backed up, you can restore the taskbar buttons as and when needed with just a couple of clicks.

While manually re-pinning apps isn’t overly difficult, having a backup saves you time and hassle. In this tutorial, I’ll show you the quick steps to back up all taskbar icons on Windows 11 and Windows 10. Let’s get started.

Steps to Backup Pinned Taskbar Icons on Windows 11/10

1. Press “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog.
2. Enter the following path and click “OK“.
   %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
3. Select all files in the folder and press “Ctrl + C“
4. Paste them in a backup folder of your choice.
5. Press the Start button.
6. Search and open “Registry Editor“.
7. Go to the following folder in the Registry Editor.
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband
8. Right-click the “Taskband” folder.
9. Select the “Export” option.
10. Go to the backup folder in which you saved your taskbar shortcut files.
11. Type “Taskbar reg file” in the “File name” field.
12. Click “Save“.
13. Close the Registry window.
14. Close the File Explorer window.
15. With that, you’ve backed up the taskbar icons on Windows 11 & 10.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, we must create a folder to save the backup files. If you already have one, skip this step. Otherwise, go to a folder where you want to save the backup folder, right-click and select “New” and then “Folder“. Name the folder as “Taskbar Items Backup” or something similar.

Next, open the Run dialog by pressing the “Windows key + R” shortcut. Type the below path in the Run dialog and click the “OK” button.

%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

The above action opens the hidden Taskbar folder which contains all the pinned shortcuts for third-party applications.

Select all of them using “Ctrl + A” and then press “Ctrl + C” to copy. Next, go to the backup folder and press “Ctrl + V” to paste them. This action backs up all the pinned taskbar icons.

Now, you need to back up the registry setting that binds the shortcuts to the taskbar. To do that, open the Start Menu, search for “Registry Editor” and click the “Open” option.

Go to the following folder in the Registry Editor window. You can simply copy the path, paste in the address bar, and press Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband

Now, right-click the “Taskband” folder appearing on the left panel and select the “Export” option.

Go to the backup folder where you saved the taskbar pinned icons, enter a name in the “File name” field, and click the “Save” button.

The above action will export the target registry folder (key) to the backup folder as a .reg file.

That is it. You are done backing up the taskbar icons in Windows 11 and Windows 10. You can use these files to restore taskbar pinned icons when needed.

Steps to Restore Pinned Taskbar Icons From Backup on Windows 11/10

Note: You need administrator rights to restore pinned taskbar icons.

To restore the pinned taskbar icons, make sure you have the backup file ready & accessible and follow the below steps.

1. Open the backup folder.
2. Copy all the taskbar shortcuts, excluding the .reg file, using “Ctrl + C“.
3. Press the “Windows key + R” shortcut.
4. Enter the following path in the Run dialog and click “OK”.
   %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
5. Press “Ctrl + V” to paste the copied taskbar icons in this folder.
6. Go to the backup folder once more.
7. Double-click the .reg file.
8. Click “Yes” in the warning window.
   
9. Click “OK” in the confirmation window.
   
10. Restart your computer.
11. All your pinned taskbar icons are restored on Windows 11/10.

Note: You must have the programs installed in the same location as before for the shortcuts to work. Otherwise, you might have to edit the shortcut to reflect the change or pin the application manually.

Wrapping Up — Backing Up and Restoring Pinned Taskbar Icons on Windows

As you can see, by manually backing up the taskbar icons and the relevant registry key that binds them together, you can easily back up your taskbar icons when needed. Once backed, you can restore them as and then needed with just a couple of clicks. Keep in mind that you must have the applications installed in the same location. Moreover, once restored, the icon placement might be different. In that case, manually re-arrange the icons how you want.

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to help.