Taskbar pinned icons issue after Win10 2026-09 updates

Question

Taskbar pinned icons issue after Win10 2026-09 updates

Steven DING 0

Task bar icons and "News and Interests" button does not show up as attached. Although they are still there, it looks like nothing. When mouse is over them, corresponding button is highlighted. Left click starts or switches the application, but right clicks doesn't work at all. Originally right clicks shows pop up menu including "pin" or "unpin" items.

I have tried below but none works:

restart explorer.exe.
restart Windows.
delete "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"
delete "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"
Add (now I deleted it) undockingdisabled=1 (INT32) in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell\Update\Packages

taskbar

Do you know why?

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Answer 1

Manoel Barros 22,065 Independent Advisor

Hi!

You have already tried several recommended solutions for these tests. Before attempting any other solution, please perform this test:

Try to create a user profile. Maybe your user is corrupted. Create a user to confirm whether the issue is in your current user profile or system. Follow the steps below:

Go to System Settings (CTRL + I) > Select ''Accounts'' > 'Family and other users'' > ''Add another person to this PC'.
On the Accounts screen, choose the option ''I don’t have that person’s login information' > Then select ''Add a user without a Microsoft account''.
Click on the newly created user > Click "Change account type" > Under Account Type, change the option "Default User" to "Administrator" > Click "OK".
Enter the username, and password (optional, leave blank if you do not want to put password) > Click ''Next'.
Press the shortcut CTRL + ALT + DEL (DELETE) > Select ''Exit'' option > On the Login screen, choose the new user created.
See if the problem will occur with this new user.

Steven DING 0 Reputation points

2026-09-19T14:12:58.13+00:00

Hi Manoel,

Thanks for the quick suggestion. I just had a try, and it's working well with the new user.

So do you have any suggestions how to reset this task par for the current user? Any other caches need to be cleared?

Best regards,
Steven
Steven DING 0 Reputation points

2026-09-19T14:58:48.0333333+00:00

One more comment - I also found that Explorer.exe does not responding from time to time: sometimes Alt-Tab doesn't work and Ctrl-Shift-Esc doesn't work, Win-R, etc. And Firefox also did not respond. When I pressed Ctrl-Shift-Esc the mouse blinked once but nothing happened. Once I killed Explorer.exe or it died itself (and new one started), taskmgr window showed up, Firefox was responding again.
Manoel Barros 22,065 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-20T00:48:39.72+00:00
Thanks! That means your user profile is corrupted.

When a user profile is corrupted, it is difficult to repair. If you don't want to spend too much time on it, you can migrate your data to a new user profile.

If you do want to try repairing the profile, you can run the Windows repair commands, provided you haven't done so already.

Type "'Command Prompt'" in the Search Bar > Right-click on the app > Select ''Run as administrator''.

Type the following commands.

ATTENTION: Type the entire command on the first line > Press ENTER > Wait for the command to complete > Run the next command on the list.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth sfc /scannow chkdsk c: /f /x /r # When the message "...Scan the next time the system is restarted? (Y/N)" appears, press the Y (Yes) key.

When finished, shut down the computer properly and turn it on again.
Steven DING 0 Reputation points

2026-09-20T13:08:33.29+00:00
Thank you, Manoel!

Before I saw your suggestions, I have done below:

I checked the Windows Logs/Application, and saw that Explorer, SearchApp was killed multiple times:

[Source: Application Hang]

The program explorer.exe version 10.0.19041.7725 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Security and Maintenance control panel.

Process ID: 2464

Start Time: 01dd48eaed7961b7

Termination Time: 0

Application Path: C:\Windows\explorer.exe

Report Id: 8548d0e8-4f6f-4230-a136-bdffa03a34a7

Faulting package full name:

Faulting package-relative application ID:

Hang type: Unknown

[Source: Application Hang]

The program SearchApp.exe version 10.0.19041.7663 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Security and Maintenance control panel.

Process ID: 30f0

Start Time: 01dd48ea76c4ff72

Termination Time: 4294967295

Application Path: C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchApp.exe

Report Id: 240ef407-e1d9-4f7f-9216-d8cdfaa3729d

Faulting package full name: Microsoft.Windows.Search_1.14.18.19041_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy

Faulting package-relative application ID: CortanaUI

Hang type: Cross-thread

[Source: Search]

The protocol host process 11612 did not respond and is being forcibly terminated {filter host process 11708}.

I also did below commands:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /checkhealth

sfc /scannow

Also, I still thought it was related to 2026-09 updates, and I uninstalled the updates.

Then I saw your suggestion, and ran below commands per your suggestion:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

chkdsk c: /f /x /r

Now icons are still un-shown.

Sometimes after I killed explorer.exe, and restarted the process, several icons is shown. But today explorer.exe got no responding from time to time. Sometimes when I wait for quite a while (minutes), it's responding again. But I can't stand it! :(

Would you please let me know if you have other suggestions? To migrate profile would not be easy for me. :(
Steven DING 0 Reputation points

2026-09-20T15:08:19.51+00:00

After a while, icons are shown up, but Explorer.exe are still unresponsive from time to time. :S
Manoel Barros 22,065 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-21T01:15:16.2766667+00:00

Thanks for details!

The error messages don't provide much information about the cause of the problem. However, since the issue doesn't occur with another user account, I assume it is specific to your user profile.

Do you recall if the problem started after installing a specific program?

As I mentioned, there is no specific fix to repair a corrupted user profile; Microsoft itself recommends creating a new one. However, you can follow the step-by-step guide provided by Microsoft Support, which saves you the trouble of migrating data and other settings.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-signin/fix-a-corrupted-user-profile
Steven DING 0 Reputation points

2026-09-21T10:07:14.9633333+00:00

Update today - I turned on my PC and all icons are shown correctly. Let's see if explorer will hang again.Hi @Manoel Barros , many thanks for the help! I didn't install or change other programs recently - except Windows update and one stock software. Now it seemed good. Although I understand what you mean that another account seems good means Windows is good. However, it seems good now after I rolled back the updates. Let's see for more days.
Manoel Barros 22,065 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-21T23:36:07.66+00:00

Thanks for your feedback! I'm glad it worked out.

Best Regards!