SOLVED: Fix Unclickable Taskbar in Windows 10

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

It’s not often but there will be situations where the taskbar behaves oddly. 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 turned unclickable. For a couple of hours, the unclickable taskbar really took me on a ride.

If you are also dealing with the unclickable taskbar in Windows 10, follow the below fixes to quickly deal with and solve the problem.

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 10
5. Run Windows 10 Troubleshooter
6. Reset and Reimage Windows 10

1. Restart Explorer from Task Manager

Restarting the Windows explorer will often reset 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 “Process” tab.
3. Here, find the “Windows Explorer” process and select it.
4. Now, click on the “Restart” button.
   
5. Close the Task Manager.

As soon as you click the restart button, the taskbar will disappear for a brief moment and appears again. Once it appears, you should be able to click on the taskbar.

2. Re-register Taskbar with PowerShell Command

Sometimes, the modern apps in Windows 10 can cause incompatibility issues with the taskbar and make it unclickable. In those cases, re-registering the taskbar via PowerShell will fix the problem.

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 Windows 10.

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

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 10. Here are the steps you should follow to fix the unclickable taskbar.

1. First, open the Run window with the “Win + R” shortcut.
2. Type “cmd” in the blank field.
3. Press “Ctrl + Shift + Enter” to open Command Prompt as admin.
4. After opening the Command Prompt window, execute the below command.
   dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
5. The command will take some time to scan and restore system health if it finds and issues.
   
6. Once it is done, close the Command Prompt window.
7. Restart Windows 10.

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

Sometimes a Windows PC that is infected with a virus or malware can behave oddly and block you from clicking on the taskbar and access any taskbar actions. So, if the taskbar is unclickable, is important that you perform a full scan for any possible virus, malware, trojan, or other kinds of infections.

To scan Windows 10, you can use the built-in anti-virus software called Windows Defender. Alternatively, I also recommend using third-party antivirus software like AVG, BitDefender, etc. In addition to the regular antivirus software, use Malwarebytes to scan for malware infections.

While scanning the system, perform a full in-depth scanning on all drives. If you find any infections, remove them according to the suggestions in the antivirus program.

5. Run Windows 10 Troubleshooter

Windows 10 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 should fix the unclickable taskbar problem in Windows 10.

1. Open the Settings app by press “Win + I” keybinding.
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 tries to fix them automatically. Hopefully, the troubleshooter will fix the taskbar issue.

6. Reset or Reimage Windows 10

When all else fails, you can reimage Windows 10. Reimage is just resetting Windows 10 to its factory settings. Keep in mind that reimaging or resetting Windows will remove all the settings and installed programs. Essentially, Windows 10 will be new again.

That is all. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.