SOLVED: Fix Unclickable Taskbar in Windows 10 & 11

If you cannot click anything on the taskbar, follow these steps to quickly fix the unclickable taskbar in Windows 11 and 10.

It’s not often, but there will be situations where the taskbar behaves oddly and becomes unusable. In fact, I recently got hit by a strange issue where no matter where I click, the taskbar is unresponsive. I cannot click the start button, cannot open apps from the taskbar, cannot click on the quick access toolbar, etc. Put simply, the taskbar is completely unclickable and unresponsive. While this issue is pretty frustrating, it is fairly simple to fix.

If you too are dealing with the unclickable taskbar problem in Windows 11 or Windows 10, follow the below fixes to quickly fix it. Let’s get started.

Before You Begin

• Administrator rights are required to follow the below fixes.
• The steps are tested to work on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Things you can do to fix unclickable taskbar:

1. Restart Explorer from Task Manager
2. Re-register Taskbar with PowerShell Command
3. Use DISM Restore Health Tool with Command Prompt
4. Scan for Virus & Malware Infection in Windows 11 & 10
5. Run Windows Troubleshooter
6. Reset Windows 11 or Windows 10

1. Restart Explorer from Task Manager

Restarting the Windows Explorer process will also reset/refresh the taskbar and make it clickable. You can restart explorer directly from the task manager. Here’s how.

1. Press “Control + Shift + Escape” keys together to open the Task Manager.
2. Once the Task Manager has been opened, go to the “Processes” tab.
3. Find the “Windows Explorer” process and select it.
4. Click the “Restart task” or “Restart” button.
   
5. Close the Task Manager.

As soon as you click the restart button, the taskbar refreshes and appears again. Once it appears, you should be able to click on the taskbar. If not, proceed to the second method.

2. Re-register Taskbar with PowerShell Command

Sometimes, the modern apps in Windows 11 & 10 can cause incompatibility issues with the taskbar and make it unclickable. In those cases, re-registering those modern apps will often fix the problem. Here’s how.

1. Open File Explorer with “Win + E” keyboard shortcut.
2. Go to the “C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0” folder.
3. Right-click on “PowerShell.exe” and select “Run as administrators“.
4. After opening the PowerShell window, execute the below command.
   Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
5. Once the command is executed, close the PowerShell window.
6. Restart your system.

After restarting, the Windows taskbar should be reset completely and it will be clickable again.

Note: Some apps might not re-register as they are in use. It’s normal.

3. Use DISM Restore Health Tool with Command Prompt

Windows has a DISM tool that lets you restore Windows health. With a specific DISM command, we can scan and fix any issues within Windows. Here are the steps you should follow to fix the unclickable taskbar.

Good to know: How to restore Windows using DISM

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. Select “Terminal (Admin)” or “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.
3. In the command-line window, execute the below command. dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
4. The command will take some time to scan and restore the system health, if it finds any issues.
5. Once it is done, close the terminal window.
6. Restart your system.

After you restart, the DISM tool is done and the unclickable taskbar should be clickable again.

4. Scan for Virus & Malware Infection in Windows 10 & 11

Sometimes, if your PC is infected with a virus or malware, it can behave oddly and block you from clicking on the taskbar so that you cannot access any taskbar actions. To make sure it’s not the case, it is important that you scan your system thoroughly.

To scan Windows, you can use the Windows Defender, a built-in antivirus, or a third-party antivirus software such as Bitdefender. Additionally, you can also use Malwarebytes to scan for malware infections.

While scanning the system, perform a full in-depth scan on all drives. If the antivirus software finds any infections, follow the recommended suggestions. Also, to make sure the infection isn’t hiding from your antivirus software, run an offline scan using Windows Defender.

5. Run Windows Troubleshooter

Windows has a built-in troubleshooter to quickly find and solve the most common problems. As I said before, some modern apps can lock the taskbar and make it unclickable. So, running the app troubleshooter often fixes the problem. Here’s how to run it.

On Windows 11:

1. Open Settings with “Windows key + I” shortcut.
2. Search for “Fix Windows Store” in the top left search bar.
3. Select “Find and fix problems with Microsoft Store apps“.
4. Follow the on-screen troubleshooting instructions.
5. Once done, restart your Windows 11 system.

On Windows 10:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing “Win + I” shortcut.
2. Go to the “Update & Security“.
3. Select “Troubleshoot” on the left panel.
4. On the right panel, click on the “Additional troubleshooters” link.
5. Click on “Windows Store Apps” and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button.
6. Follow the accompanying troubleshooting wizard.
7. Once done, restart Windows 10.

If the troubleshooter finds any issues, it will show you the problems and try to fix them automatically. After that, the taskbar should work normally.

6. Reset Windows 11 or Windows 10

When all else fails, you have no other choice but to reset your system to it’s default factory settings (instructions for Windows 10). Once reset, your system will be new again. The good thing is, the resetting process is pretty simple and straightforward, just follow the linked guides and it will be done in a few minutes.

That is all. It is that simple to fix the unclickable or unresponsive taskbar in Windows 11 and Windows 10. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.