Vista taskbar icons disappeared

[RambleOn]

I'm running windows vista, and the taskbar has suddenly changed in appearance.

The 'notification area' ie. the bottom right, where the clock and other icons are usually has the volume, network icon (the 2 globes) and others. They are now missing.

When I try to change the properties of the taskbar, the option to add these icons are greyed out.

Any ideas?

The 'notification area' is usually called the System Tray, for future reference.

I don't have Vista (and have hardly ever used it) but know that if something goes wrong on Windows XP, it is usually possible to 'reset' it by forcing it to stop, and then starting it again.

If you can get the Windows Task Manager displayed, using CTRL + SHIFT + ESC (press all the keys together), you should be able to get a list of processes (one of the tabs at the top).

You can sort the names into alphabetic order if you click on "Image Name" (heading above the first column). Find 'Explorer' and then click on 'End Process' button at bottom right.

You should get a warning that data can be lost or the system can be unstable, but don't worry. Click 'Yes' to terminate 'Explorer' and then wait for it to disappear. Around the same time, the taskbar should disappear.

Once it's gone, click on the Applications tab and at the bottom right, click on New Task...

You will get a small window appear. Now just type in Explorer and hit "OK". The taskbar and system tray should appear.