Expert: Troy M. MCSE, CNA, MCP, CST, IC3, A+ - 6/21/2006

Question
Dear Troy,
Thanks for your response but I'd already worked out those. I don't use any VOIP software and use HijackThis to seek&destroy any spyware. Microsoft in the KB articles vaguely mention 'a problem with taskbar' and recommend the ITBar key under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\. This is not ISTBar.. but even that doesn't work. The quicklaunch wasn't cramped with the start button and I tried all methods to resize and restore. System resotre wasn't an option since I turn it off (antivirus can't clean if a virus gets into the restore folder).

I found this solution. Its a vbs file available at http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm. Maybe you should review this.

Thanks again.
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Followup To

Question -
Hey Troy,
All of a sudden, my taskbar has started behaving funny. The open programs that I minimize dissapear somewhere between the Start button and the Quick launch icons. If I close the quick launch toolbar, the taskbar disappears like in Auto Hide mode, but only it disappears permanently. I have to use the Windows key and re-enable quick launch to get it back. In taskbar properties, the 'keep on top' is checked, 'auto-hide' is unchecked. I've even tried deleting the ITBar key from the registry as suggested by the Microsoft site but to no avail. Help !!!  

Answer
    Kelly's Korner! That IS a good site, and I saw it many years ago and thought it long gone, hehe. Thanks for the referral - it is definitely going into my bookmarks and I will peruse the site once I have time.

 Be careful in running VBS (Visual Basic Scripts) and other EXE files (Executable [files you run]) on your system, and always look at the file yourself beforehand, to get an idea of what it will do. Some programs can cause problems (even if they aren't harmful). I have run into problems like yours by experimenting and trying out different ‘tweaks’ I have found.

 The files on that site actually perform many of the same functions as you would by ‘unlocking the Taskbar’ or ‘Turning Off Active Desktop’ – it just does it automatically, instead of you having to go change the setting yourself. Here are some lines from a file on the site:

WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoBandCustomize", 0, "REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoMovingBands", 0, "REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoCloseDragDropBands", 0, "REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoSetTaskbar", 0, "REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoToolbarsOnTaskbar", 0, "REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoSaveSettings",0,"REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoToolbarsOnTaskbar", 0, "REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoSetTaskbar",0,"REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "NoActiveDesktop",0,"REG_DWORD"
WshShell.RegWrite p1 & "ClassicShell",0,"REG_DWORD"

What this section will do, is simply ‘reset the settings’ for many functions of the Taskbar. Some of them are good troubleshooting suggestions though, like ‘turning off active desktop’ (to prevent internet communication problems or functions) and switching to ‘classic shell’ (the ‘old’ grey-colored look from past versions of Windows). These settings will turn off certain features and effects in windows in general, and help troubleshooting by letting you know if something ‘special’ or ‘new’ you have downloaded/installed is conflicting with the normal operation of Windows in some way.

    As for ITbar, a search of the entire Microsoft KB site does not reveal anything related to it – here is a search link to show this:

http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?query=%22itbar%22&x=4&y=10&cata

If, at one time, there was information on it, unfortunately it is not available anymore. This can happen, as perhaps the problem was fixed in a recent patch/update or it is not a viable solution anymore.

 I’m glad that you don’t have the Istbar Trojan! If it was a misspelling and you had it, I as hoping you would be able to clean it out and get your system up and running properly again. Sometimes, it can be difficult to fully ‘clean’ a system from a bad virus or Trojan. That was a good point about System Restore and Virii, but with proper, periodic cleaning of your system (keeping your software up to date of course) and multiple backups, you shouldn’t have to worry about a ‘virus in the System Restore’ – just go back to an earlier time or a virus-free backup and you will be fine! :)

 So, did any of the scripts or automated registry adjustments from the site you found help you or completely fix your problem? I have seen your question being asked on a few forums out there, but it seems to all be the same person (is it you? hehe). It is definitely not a common problem, but if we can figure it out together, it will undoubtedly help other people in the future – this is a chance to learn and prevent it happening again!

    If you are planning on battling this anomaly head-on, HijackThis (to report on your system) and Spybot's Search&Destroy are both good programs to assist in cleaning/restoring your system. I would also like to recommend Lavasoft’s AdAware. These three are a good combination, for looking for malicious software and advertising on your system.

 Also, be sure to try a number of different Anti-Virus programs on your computer, if you are going to go head-to-head with this problem, trying to solve it yourself. Many companies offer ‘free’ or ‘trial’ versions of their software. A few even offer website, or online scanning, such as:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/ActiveScan.htm

The reason you want to try a number of programs (if you are going to battle for control of the system once again) is that each Anti-Virus program only knows a certain list of Virii/Trojans – no one program can protect against ALL KNOWN Virus/Trojans – and some programs will ‘know about’ and ‘be able to handle’ certain ones that the others won’t even know about. Too bad they don’t share their virus knowledge between each other, it would help a lot, wouldn’t it? :)   A few good Anti-Virus companies are Symantec/Norton, McAffee, Kaspersky, TrendMicro, AVG, Panda and there are a whole lot more…

 That’s the problem with going head-to-head against a virus or Trojan, since the companies aren’t sharing information with each other, you may NEVER find a program that will clean/fix it, in the end!

 Don’t worry though, because no matter what happens, no matter if you try every single anti-virus scanner, and every single ad-removal program, and every single ‘tweak’ setting out there – you can always format the entire system and start clean! You should be backing up your data that you want to keep on a regular basis (don’t let it sit on the harddrive – put it on Disc!) and all you need to do is boot up off of the WindowsXP CD and tell it to ‘remove partitions’ and create new ones (try to find some websites or get a friend who knows more about computers to help you do this, if you need to). This will be the cleanest your system can be (well, except for BIOS Virii – but we won’t bring that up right now!) and your computer will be fresh and clean and new and ready to do everything you want, once again.

    Good luck, and if the things you found solved your problem (or didn’t), feel free to let me know..

Take care,

~Troy