System Icons Have Disappeared From the Taskbar Notification Area

By | 2008-05-29

If any of the System Icons such as the Speaker, Network, or Power icons are missing from the Taskbar Notification Area (Systray) in Windows Vista or Windows XP, try the following steps to try to bring them back.

  1. Open Regedit by holding down the Windows Key and press the R key. Type regedit in the box and click OK.
  2. Click My Computer on the top left side.
  3. Click Edit > Find.
  4. Type iconstreams and click Find.
  5. If Regedit finds an entry named iconstreams, press the Delete button on your keyboard to delete it.
  6. Press the F3 key on your keyboard to continue searching the registry. If Regedit finds any additional entries, delete those as well.
  7. Repeat steps 2 through 6, only this time instead of searching for iconstreams, search for PastIconStreams instead, and delete any of those entries.
  8. Close the registry editor and restart the computer. See if your System icons have reappeared in the Taskbar Notification Area (Systray).
Author: dwirch

Derek Wirch is a seasoned IT professional with an impressive career dating back to 1986. He brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience that is invaluable to those embarking on their journey in the tech industry.

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