Taskbar not visible in Remote Desktop on Windows 11/10

Some users have been reporting not being able to see the taskbar when connecting to a computer via RDP. The Remote Desktop Connection feature makes the use of RDP (or Remote Desktop Protocol) for the user to access a remote computer. This is different from the taskbar being auto-hidden until the mouse pointer hovers on it. In this case, the taskbar is entirely inaccessible, making the usage of the remote computer very hard.

Taskbar not visible in Remote Desktop

Here are some suggestions you can try to fix the issue. They should be carried on the remote computer.

1. Restart Windows Explorer process.
2. Clear cache for multiple processes.
3. Reinstall the Shell Experience components.
4. Update, Uninstall, or Rollback, the Display driver.

Show local taskbar in the Remote desktop

1] Restart Windows Explorer process

In order to restart the File Explorer, open the Task Manager.

Under the tab of Processes, look for Windows Explorer.

Right-click on it and select Restart.

2] Clear cache for multiple processes

Open Notepad.

Paste the following in the text area:

@echo off

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

taskkill /f /im shellexperiencehost.exe

timeout /t 3 /NOBREAK > nul

del %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\TempState\* /q

timeout /t 2 /NOBREAK > nul

start explorer

@echo on

Hit CTRL + S.

From the Save dialog box, select the save as type as All files and name the file as CacheClearTWC.bat

Navigate to the location where you saved that file using the File Explorer and just run it normally.

It will run a couple of batch scripts, and it should fix your issue.

3] Reinstall the Shell Experience components

Open Windows PowerShell with Administrator rights.

Execute the following command inside the command line:

Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}

Once the execution is completed, it should fix any issues with regard to the Shell experience that you are encountering.

Related: Taskbar has disappeared from the Desktop

4] Update, Uninstall or Rollback the Display driver

A flawed installation might have caused the issue. Else, an outdated and incompatible driver might also trigger the same issue. Lastly, a corrupted or improper installation would do the same.

 

The Display driver is responsible for scaling and arranging components on Windows 10. You can either update the Graphics Driver or rollback or reinstall it. These actions can be performed from the Device Manager under the section of Display adapters.

I hope this guide helped you.