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Community Newsletter: Q&A: 3/24/06 Give me back my Windows system tray icons
- 3/23/06 4:43 PM
Even Better Than Advertised
by WayneT69 - 3/25/06 9:18 AM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
Thank you. Not only did you clear up the lost icon problems, it fixed several other things that were bugging me to the point of being almost ready to reformat and start over. My display would fade after every boot and would require manual correction- this would also occur after playing Links 2003 and several other games. It no longer happens. Glitches (memory-related) in other programs also cleared up. I've been very actively involved with PC's since 1984, so I am not a novice; but things like this really test my sanity. Thanks again. Wayne Turner WayneT69@EarthLink.net
better solution?
by bammike - 3/26/06 4:27 AM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
First of all, I would disable the Windows firewall and get on of the better free ones like Zonealarm. The Windows firewall has been identified as a problem since Windows XP was released. Then I would remove all of the McAfee applications you have on your computer and install AVG from www.grisoft.com. There is a free version, and it was rated #1 by PC Magazine. I would almost bet it will pick up something your McAfee has missed.
Mike
We all need a little more patience
by estricko - 3/26/06 10:04 AM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
Hi, I thought that I was the only one with this particular problem on my Dell Inspion 5150 Laptop which has an Intel Pentium 4 Processor running at 3.1Ghz. It has 512Mb memory and I am using a PMCIA BT Network 1060 8011g Wireless Network connector.
I had precisely the same problem and I find it's a bit demoralising when my wireless network signal icon disappears completely out of my system tray. I too had to type my network password to log on to my wireless network.
The more I looked at my laptop the more I wondered about what Windows XP Professional does when loading up whilst it is waiting for the password or if you type it in too quick. There was definately a difference every time I powered on and logged onto my laptop. Initially, I thought that something was not working properly on either my laptop or with my BT Wireless Network. Then, on one occasion I was cooking a meal for my wife whilst she was at work. I had just switched on my laptop prior to starting our preparing our meal. I was going to go through my laptop with a fine toothcombe to try and find out why it was losing these icons from within my system tray.
I have Service Pack 2 and all of the updates. BT's Anti-virus by 'CA'. I was amazed to find that I could still see my main computer back through the wireless network via the patch cable going through from the BT Voyager 2100 Router and back to the CAT5 Ethernet connection.
On my main P.C. which has an Intel Pentium 4 processor running at 3.2Ghz and 1Gb Memory, I have disabled the need to logon with my network password. however, this never, ever has a problem with the system tray icons disappearing. I wondered if that was why there appeared to be a difference with the way they were loading up compared to one another.
Anyway, I noticed it was nearly time for my wife Sheila to arrive home from school, and so having powered on the laptop, I returned to the kitchen. The caserole had been cooking nicely but I wanted to check it before she got home and put in the dumplins to cook for the last 20 minutes.
I returned to my laptop after I had put the dumplins into the caserole and popped the caserole back into the oven. I typed in my password and logged on, then decided to lay the table in readiness for our meal.
Then, when I had a moment, as my wife had not returned at the time I was used to seeing her, I decided to check my emails as I had been searching for a new IT Contract. To my amazement, all of the icons were sitting in my system tray and I had a good strong signal.
I knew then that it just be something to do with the way Windows XP Professional loads up. When I usually switch on my laptop, because it fires up so quickly, I log onto it practically straight away and get down to using it. I always notice the green light at the front doing something but usually I can't wait. It must have loaded up by now - methinks! Everything has to be done at once. What's the point on having a fast computer if you can't use it straight away?
It was like St. Paul when he was known as Saul and he saw the 'Light' on the road to Damascus. That's it, I had left my laptop to load up on its own for some time after I had logged on as well as giving it more time from the moment that I turned it on before I actually logged on. So, I learned my lesson a few weeks ago ... the same lesson that you have learned. We need a little more patience. If we got into a Formulae One Racing Car when it was cold and tried to drive it away at full throttle it would just stall or we might even blow the engine up or cause it to seize. I bet the guys operating the cars computer checking systems have to boot up in a certain sequence or they too will not have the cars checking systems running correctly?
I used to be a Computer Operator in 1968 - 1974 working on IBM Mainframes Computers. I remember working at Pfizer Ltd of Sandwich at the time on their IBM 360 F30 which had about 64Kb of RAM running a DOS with massive great disk packs. We had to check that the Mains Power was on, check that the Cycles were within the safety zone and then follow a strict Power On and Boot Up Sequence. If one thing was misplaced in the order of Powering On and Booting Up then the Computer had to be switched off and we had to start the procedure all over again. The Peripheral Devices - like the Disk Drives and Tape Decks powered up automaticically but only in Standy Mode. We couldn't start them up before the Main CPU had gone through its complete Boot Up Sequence. Once the IBM Typewriter Keyboard kicked in that it was ready for us to load the program we would hit enter on the keyboard. The 80 collumn EBCDIC Job Control Punch Cards would then start to be read in and the Disk Pack light would flicker and the tapes would then start to move. If there was Data card input within the program and we had placed the Data Cards after the first /* card then the job control cards would execute the program and we had lift off. Cards were written to tape and then the latest Customer Index Tape was read until it got up to the point of adding in new customers. Then the cards would either be written directly after the data on the tape or onto a scratch discpack and sorted into the correct order. Then the new customer Index tape would have the new customers added to it. Everything had to be in order. It was as though it was Einstein's Theory of Relativity that was kicking in. The Universe has an order about it just as we have to have an order into doing things in this very much a Go-Faster World of ours.
The computers are getting so fast but we don't have the patience of the forethought to let them get on and work at the pace that they are designed to be capable at working at.
Well, there we go ... Patience My Good Man, Patience.
JUST A FINAL THOUGHT .. AFTER PFIZER'S 360 WE WENT ON TO HAVING A 370/135 DOS/VS. THAT ROO WAS DIFFERENT - WE ACTUALLY COULD SPOOL ALL OF OUR PRINTING BUT WE HAD TO REMEMBER TO PUT THE RIGHT PAPER IN THE LINE PRINTER AT THE RIGHT TIME. MAN'S FIRST MISTAKE. THEN I WORKED FOR VOLKSWAGEN G.B. ON AN IBM 370/148 RUNNING IBM OS WITH CICS (SCREENS/VDUS'S). WELL, WHEN COMPUTERS TAKE OVER WITHIN AN OS ENVIRONMENT, THEY TAKE OVER MAN'S MISTAKES AND **** IT ALL UP 100 TIMES WORSE. IF THEY CALL UP A TAPE - THEY WANT THE RIGHT TAPE. IF IT'S BEEN WRONGLY WRITTEN TO WHEN THE NEXT SHIFT OR THE ONE AFTER THAT COMES ON DUTY YOU CAN GURANTEE THAT IT'S THE NIGHT SHIFT THAT SEE A LOAD OF GARBAGE BEING PRINTED OUT AT 4AM IN THE MORNING WHICH WAS PROBABLY CREATED AT 7AM THE PREVIOUS DAY.
NEEDLESS TO SAY - WE NEARLY ALL ENDED UP HAVING NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS ... PERHAPS THAT'S WHY IT THERE CAME THE DAWNING OF THE P.C. RUNNING .... NOT OS BUT DOS. LET MAN DECIDE WHAT DISK TO WRITE TO AND WHAT PROGRAM TO RUN AND WHEN. IF WE MAKE A MISTAKE WE HAVE NO REASON TO KICK THE POOR OLD COMPUTER INTO TOUCH !
IT'S BETTER THAN FORMATTING THE DRIVE AND STARTING AGAIN...... OH! I HOPE THAT NO-ONES MOVED THE KEYS ABOUT ON MY KEYBOARD COS I'M NOT A TYPIST AND I NEED TO LOOK JUST WHAT KEYS I PUT MY FINGERS ON. HONESTLY ... IT'S NOT MY SMELLING !
From: Roger Sacks (Ramsgate). P.S. I'm still looking for a Job so if anyone wants a Network Manager of a Network Support Engineer - then I hope that I'm your man.
Well it's ROGER & OUT ......
systray icons
by ezhunter - 3/27/06 4:03 PM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
I too lost most of my systray icons immediately after installing sp2. I tryed many obvious fixes that did not work. I know it sounds weird but turning off automatic updates which is turned on by default was the cure for my problem. I did not use auto updates anyway before downloading sp2. All icons returned and everything has stayed since turning it off. Other than this I have no problem with sp2.
tray icons
by mackinaw - 3/27/06 6:22 PM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
I've had a similar problem with windows XP except when my icons are removed from the system tray, they show up on the desktop. Mine have always been either Internet Explorer or Outlook Express. I drag them back and delete them off of my desktop, but they sporadically move back up to the desktop. Any suggestions?
Sys Tray Programs Hiding
by dwojichowski - 3/28/06 10:15 AM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
Can you help?
I run windows xp
I have tried your fix, but I am still having a problem with one of the programs icon always disappearing from the sys tray. I have to ctrl alt del to end processesthen go to start up and click on it there to show up again in sys tray. It stills disappears after in idle for a while when I come back to the computer.
Thank you.
Kevin
Congrats Barry and Thank You
by wags - 3/28/06 3:58 PM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
I came looking for the same problem and your answer fixed it for me. thanks bunches
wags
This might help...
by wbodden - 3/28/06 6:34 PM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
I recall having "all" of my tray icons "unpinned", IMMEDIATELY after completing an anti-virus scan & "Deletion". Having said that, a hostage-virus, if you will, may've been present.(odd, i know)
Connection to uPNP and SSDP is known
by sretep66 - 3/29/06 10:52 PM In reply to: Barry W's winning answer by Marc Bennett
This question, randomly disappearing icons, is well known and among the top 10 FAQ's at Kelly's Korner (kellys-korner-xp.com). Apparenly the problem occurs with BOTH sp1 and sp2. Blaming it on sp2 is inaccurate.
Michael T's observation about Windows comming up too fast for it's own good is my observation, as well. Like Michael, I started waiting for my machine to settle before loging-in. It makes a world of difference, but is not a cure for all evils.
I have observed that logging out and back in resolves the disappearing icon problem, but is a pain.
Here is a quote from the Top 10 FAQ page at Kelly's corner:
=================================================
Question: Why don't my Notification Area icons show or why do they disappear?
Chevron is missing: For some users, setting the very first icon to Always Hide, restores the arrow/chevron. Note: It does time time for it to become effective.
Icons are missing or disappear, reappear:
This happens for most Auto-Logon users. Methods/workarounds: Log off and Log back on, password protect your account or disable SSDP and uPNP Services.
Disable SSDP and uPNP Services (Line 156)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Or if you are running XP SP1 uninstall UPnP from Add/Remove Windows Components.
Michael T's winning answer
by Marc Bennett - 3/23/06 5:24 PM
In reply to: 3/24/06 Give me back my Windows system tray icons by Marc Bennett
Answer:
I, too, have this problem with my "Frankenstein monster" running XP Home SP2 and all the updates. My solution was rather simple, I pause during bootup. Let me explain. I am a stand-alone computer user at home, and my computer is set to ask for a password when logging in. I just leave it alone (at the password prompt) for a few minutes and the majority of the time, not all the time but I guesstimate ~90% of the time my Systray icons reappear.
The way it normally happens is that there tends to be a "conflict of interest" between what Windows needs, memory-wise, to install itself and what other background programs needs. A lot of times there is a clash when both are trying to access the same startup memory locations. In such a case, Windows will always take priority and the backgrounds do not get all the memory room they need to completely startup. Thus, although they are still functional and running, certain smaller less critical things may get bumped in the process. Much like what might happen to a reservation at your favorite airline.
When I pause at the Password prompt, Windows continues to load (as evident by the continued harddrive light activity) but the other background programs will not try to startup until after I get past the Password prompt, giving Windows more than enough time to release the startup memory locations for other activity.
Submitted by: Michael T.
i think this is THE logical answer!
by venverloo - 3/24/06 1:45 AM In reply to: Michael T's winning answer by Marc Bennett
hello,
i DON'T have the same problems,'cause i'm still running 98SE and i don't have disappearing icons.but after reading the question the same answer got in my head...why? voodoo? 
well,most of the problems i had are solved by logical thinking and spending a LOT of time... i really have no idea about tech. stuff IN the pc and windows,but because i have a relationship with my pc i just know her better now my problem was that some programs won't start-up when starting up the pc and that i could't get online unless i wait for a while OR after a reboot.my logical thinking said to me that i must give windows the time to get awake! so,since i do that the problems are over.but i have no idea about the tech.stuff behind why this works and how to change it.maybe you can change some stuff in XP,so some programs will start-up with a little delay so XP gets the time to fully start-up,i don't know.but what Michael wrote seems logical to me!
and oh,sorry about my english,but i am dutch
r2 Studios Startup Delayer
by kfleig - 3/24/06 2:49 AM In reply to: Michael T's winning answer by Marc Bennett
http://www.r2.com.au/software.php?page=2&show=startdelay
When I first upgraded to Windows XP I had a problem that some tray icons were missing. Using this free program fixed it.
Re: r2 Studios Startup Delayer
by hotjoeker - 3/25/06 8:31 AM In reply to: r2 Studios Startup Delayer by kfleigI agree with Michael, as I had observed it also that if I wait for a few minutes before I log-in, all the icons on my system tray are there. But with r2 Studios Startup Delayer, I think I would not wait anymore because this software would do it for me. Is my thinking here correct? Would it not delay my start-up longer than it should?
Right answer
by Maliskia - 3/24/06 5:00 AM In reply to: Michael T's winning answer by Marc Bennett
Hello,
I've got the same problem if I start my notebook and immediately fill in my password. Some programs always show there icon, but everything is also slower. Especially the icon of my battery doesn't show up...rather annoying.
My notebook is just a year and this is happening sice half a year. So I checked my startup programs and almost eliminated them all, but nothing helps. I think that it has something to do with my intel pro wireless icon, because I have wifi for just a year.
How do I know I'm waiting long enough? When the login screen shows up, the led of the processor is continually on. When that is over, I know I can login rather quickly without losing my system trays.
Greetz,
Stefan
Windows Startup
by mjcoppola - 3/24/06 6:35 AM In reply to: Right answer by MaliskiaI've had this problem with systray icons disappearing and appearing at will, and it prompts me to realize that I've been wanting to eliminate a lot of the stuff which has built up that runs automatically at startup. Any suggestions as to what is the best way to do this? I have nothing in my start-up folder but I know there has to be lots running because my hard drive light flickers on almost steadily for about an hour after starting up! I know one of them is a spyware detector and I want to change that, but how can I reliably see what is running @ startup and how can I stop them?
Thanks;
Mike.
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