System Tray Icons come & go - not your usual problem

A

Aceto

New Member
hey guys i have searched the net for hours and tried a number of fixes for my problem.
it has now driven me insane and i am just about to format my computer. i thought id try one last thing to post on the forum and see if any one can help.

basically my system tray icons visability come and go. NO its not the problem where in properties the box is greyed out etc...

my clock, volume and network icons never dissapear, its everything else. one day half the icons will be there, the next day some of them, the next day none of them, the thing is they are still running because if i hold my mouse over where they usually are it will tell me whats running.
i have uploaded a pic to show you this (my mouse is hovering over AVG, it is running but cant see the icon)

systemtray.jpg


my question is HOW DO I GET THEM BACK TO SEE THEM??? shoot some answers at me and ill tell you if ive already tried it.

note: i noticed this started happening after i got rid of the antivir virus i caught of tvshack, i had to delete some things from the registry but not sure if this would have contributed or it was just a conisidence. i dont understand why some days they will all be there and the other days none will be there, thats whats got me confused its not consistent.
 

My Computer

System One

I could be way off, but if you care to give it a go....
Right click on an open space of the taskbar > Properties > Notification Area > Customize > under Behavior, see if you icons are set at Hide when inactive. If so, click it, click the pointer and select Show > OK
 

My Computer

System One

  • Other Info
    WLM 2011 IE9 beta

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Did this occur recently? Do you know when this problem began? If not too long ago (I wouldn't go back more than a couple of weeks and at the very most a month) try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began (and give it a little leeway if you can just in case you're a bit off on the exact time it started). Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates.

(NOTE: If this goes back before the changes you made to remove the virus, those will be undone and you may need to deal with the virus once again. But this time, post the name of the virus here or if you detect it again just post back and let our experts help you remove it instead of modifying the registry on your own - we have one particular expert who is a specialist in this sort of thing and I'm certain she can find a safe way to deal with it without causing any problems.)


I hope this helps.


Good luck!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] Dell AIO Printer A940 Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem 6TO4 Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
Lorien said:
Did this occur recently? Do you know when this problem began? If not too long ago (I wouldn't go back more than a couple of weeks and at the very most a month) try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began (and give it a little leeway if you can just in case you're a bit off on the exact time it started). Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates.

(NOTE: If this goes back before the changes you made to remove the virus, those will be undone and you may need to deal with the virus once again. But this time, post the name of the virus here or if you detect it again just post back and let our experts help you remove it instead of modifying the registry on your own - we have one particular expert who is a specialist in this sort of thing and I'm certain she can find a safe way to deal with it without causing any problems.)


I hope this helps.


Good luck!
Click to expand...

already tried a system restore from as far back as i could go and still no good. i removed the virus safely but cant remember if that was why my icons started to go missing, its a possibility. is there a type of registry search and fix i can download? apart from the obvious like ccleaner which ive also tried and no luck.
 

My Computer

System One

Aceto,

You might see if running a sfc /scannow command may help. If not, then see if uninstalling and reinstalling the affected programs in the notification area may help.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Aceto said:
already tried a system restore from as far back as i could go and still no good. i removed the virus safely but cant remember if that was why my icons started to go missing, its a possibility. is there a type of registry search and fix i can download? apart from the obvious like ccleaner which ive also tried and no luck.
Click to expand...

First, try Brink's excellent suggestions - they might very well work. As far as uninstalling those programs goes, I recommend you use Revo Revo Uninstaller Freeware - free software download and software review - uninstall and clean-up utility from SnapFiles in Advanced Mode to make sure you completely remove the programs (normal uninstalls almost always leave remnants behind and we want to be able to start as clean as possible). Be careful with Revo, however, to ONLY delete entries that relate to the program you are uninstalling and nothing else - if you're not careful you can delete much more than you want and cause serious harm. If in any doubt, leave it - but if it's clearly related check it to delete it. Actually, it's pretty good at selecting what needs to be removed but it's always best to double-check as no program is infallible.

As far as registry fixes, unfortunately even if you gave us the names and versions of the programs with the blank icons, I wouldn't know what to do in the registry to make them re-appear (especially since it seems to be somewhat random). That makes me think there's an issue with the notification area itself and not just the individual program icons - but hopefully the SFC will tell us if that's the case (but though it checks most system files, it doesn't check every single one and I don't know if those that affect the notification area are included or not).

When you've completed the SFC, please attach the results .txt file to your next reply. To do that proceed as follows:

  1. Click Start Type cmd in the Start Search box, right-click cmd in the Programs list, and then click Run as administrator.
    If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
  2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER: findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log >sfcdetails.txt
  3. Copy sfcdetails.txt to the desktop.
  4. Please attach it to your next reply - you need to use the go advanced button to get to the screen and click on the Manage Attachments button to add the file.
Please send us the SFC results before you start uninstalling programs (though you can download and install Revo in the meantime as I consider it an invaluable tool that will come in handy even if we don't need to use it here).

I hope this helps.

Good luck!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] Dell AIO Printer A940 Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem 6TO4 Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
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