How to fix Taskbar whiteout?

Try these Windows 11 checks in order:

1. Restart Windows Explorer when the issue happens.
   • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
   • In Processes, find Windows Explorer.
   • Right-click it and select End task.
   • In Task Manager, select File > Run new task.
   • Type explorer.exe and press Enter.
     This refreshes the shell and taskbar.
2. Check taskbar behavior settings.
   • Go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
   • Expand Taskbar behaviors.
   • Turn Automatically hide the taskbar off if it is enabled.
   • Also review Show badges on the taskbar and Show flashing on taskbar apps.
3. If taskbar or pinned icons also appear blank or corrupted, clear the icon cache.
   Warning: this restarts Windows Explorer during the process, so save open work first.
   • Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
   • End Windows Explorer.
   • Select File > Run new task.
   • Type cmd.exe and create the task with administrative privileges.
   • Run:

      CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
      DEL IconCache.db /a
   

   • In Task Manager, select File > Run new task again.
   • Type explorer.exe and press Enter.
4. If the problem continues, re-register ShellExperienceHost.
   Warning: this changes Windows shell app registration, so use an elevated PowerShell window exactly as shown.
   • Open Windows PowerShell as administrator.
   • Run:

      Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like "*ShellExperienceHost*"} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
   

   • Restart Windows.

Since pressing the Windows key temporarily restores the taskbar, the most relevant first step is restarting Windows Explorer, then moving to icon cache cleanup and ShellExperienceHost re-registration if the issue keeps returning.

• Application shortcuts on the desktop, Start menu, and taskbar show blank icons
• Windows 11
• Windows 11