  Vista...... It's always something!
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The Case of the Missing TaskbarIt was a day much like any other (April '96). She sat down in front of her computer, a Gateway 2000 with plenty of Pentium Power loaded with Windows 95, just quivering in anticipation of the paces she would put it through this day. Whatever she wanted, it was there to deliver. With nimble fingers, she moved the mouse to the bottom of the screen. Nothing happened. Expecting to see her familiar taskbar snap to attention whenever her mouse cursor brushed the bottom of the screen, she was curious at first why it didn’t. There just wasn’t anything there at all! Everything else looked normal. Her My computer icon was where it always was, and the Recycle Bin was right where she left it, brimming with discarded files and begging to be emptied. With a slow deliberate motion, she swung the mouse to the bottom of the screen once more. Nothing. A cold chill passed through her body. What was she going to do?? Without the taskbar, there was no Start button to click on. That meant no access to any of her Windows program groups. She did what any sane, rational human would do under these frightening circumstances. She called her favorite computer guru and all-around good person. When I answered the phone, I asked the usual questions. Where was the butler when all this was happening, were there any other suspicious persons visiting at the time, and How in the world can you lose a TASKBAR??? Heavens! There's only so much a guru and all around nice person can do! What I really meant was that I didn't have a clue.
I tried to duplicate her problem on my computer desktop , but came up with a big fat zero. When you want to lose a taskbar, it can hang around like a bad painting over a cheap motel sofa. I was stumped. Then I saw it. While slowly moving my mouse in an up and down motion (in the taskbar area), I noticed the cursor occasionally changing to a double-ended arrow. The double-ended arrow usually means you can hold down your left mouse button and make the object of it's attention larger or smaller. I had just never noticed it regarding the taskbar. I was on to something! I asked her to move her mouse slowly to the bottom of her screen and check for this change in her arrow. She did... It did. As soon as she saw the double-ended arrow, she clamped down on the left mouse button and held on for dear life! Slowly moving her mouse up, she saw her taskbar reappear. I wish I could have been there when it happened. It was truly a magic moment. It just goes to show you...It's always something! Special thanks to Peggy Seessel for being my inspiration for this little thriller. You just can't beat a real-life Experience. Of course, the names have been changed to protect the innocent. XP and Vista Notes:The taskbar is just as easy to lose and find again in XP and Vista. Try right clicking any empty area of your taskbar and see what your choices are. My favorite is Lock the Taskbar (want to guess why?). Begin your education (and freedom to customize) by clicking the word Properties. Have FUN!
Got questions?
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While we spoke, I remembered how we set up her taskbar during our last session together. I had clicked on her Start button, then moved up to Settings and clicked on Taskbar. I had checked her autohide option so her taskbar would discreetly disappear when it wasn't needed. Moving the mouse to the bottom of the screen should be all she had to do for it to appear.