System Tray Icons Not Appearing in WinXP

[moto377]

I am running WinXP Pro SP3 and when I restart, most of my sytem tray icons do not appear although it looks like all the proccesses in Task Manager are running as they should be. Then, if I select "Start" - "Logoff" and log back on, all the icons will then appear. It is odd that that don't appear on system restart, but then all appear if I logoff and logon again...

Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions on a fix?

Thanks!

[Tarnak]

This may help > Systray icons missing > http://winhlp.com/node/16

[noknojon]

This may help > Systray icons missing > http://winhlp.com/node/16

Thanks Tarnak - My XP SP3 always has a "sometimes" volume icon - I have been using the Sound Effect as a substitute in the tray so now I can reuse the right volume icon -

Thanks -

[marktreg]

I had this problem on a customer's computer a while ago. I tried all the suggested fixes and none of them worked. In the end I had to patch shell32.dll as shown here. It worked, but if some third party program or a Windows update happens to alter shell32.dll again, I wouldn't be surprised if the problem comes back.

[alexx]

This is almost too good to be true. I joined the forum today to thank malwarebytes for fixing a nasty infection for me that my antivirus could not get rid of. Now I also find here someone here who knows how to fix my icons not showing problem that I have had for over six months. When I was looking for cures I found the http://winhlp.com/node/16 page and none of the basic cures worked for me. I also saw the http://winhlp.com/node/16#comment-822 page that marktreg said about but the download link for the patched dll file was broken and I did not know how to do the patch myself. Please marktreg could you tell me how to do it?

[marktreg]

Hi alexx,

That download link was only for a specific version of shell32.dll. If you had used that link and you had a different version, you may have ended up with no icons at all. Regarding telling you how to do the fix, I am not confident of talking someone through how to use a Hex Editor if they have never used one before, which I assume you haven't. I think the best thing to do is for you to tell me what shell32.dll version you have. And if I have one here, I will patch it for you and upload it somewhere for you to download. To do this, go to your C:\WINDOWS\system32 folder, right click on shell32.dll, then click on Properties, then click on Version. Then post back with the File version number.

Please remember that this will only work on Windows XP. And, if we try it and you do not get it right, you may have big problems. So it's up to you if you want to try it or not.

[alexx]

marktreg my file version is 6.0.2900.5622. The instructions do not seem too difficult if I have the patched dll. So if you have one the same version I would like to try the cure. Thanks.

[marktreg]

OK, that's handy. That's the same version as I've got on my XP machine. Give me half an hour and I'll see what I can do.

[alexx]

Thanks.

[marktreg]

NOTE: This post is only directed at alexx. Anyone else who uses this patched dll could possibly cause serious harm to their computer. So please don't download it.

OK, I've patched the shell32.dll and I've uploaded it here as a zip file:

(I have removed the download link after reading AdvancedSetup's post below.)

When you've downloaded it, unzip the file and carefully follow the instructions for replacing the dll here.

When you download 'Replacer', please make sure you download the stable version, NOT the pre-release version.

Also, when you are using 'Replacer', please make sure that the writing in the box changes each time after you press Enter. If it doesn't change, type Q to quit and then start again.

EDIT: I forgot to say that, if a Windows File Protection box appears, click that you want to keep the changed system files.

Best of luck.

[alexx]

Thankyou so much marktreg. The cure worked. I have re-started three times and my icons have all loaded every time. The Malwarebytes Antimalware is great and so are the people on this forum. Can I make a donation for your help? I do not see any donate buttons anywhere.

[marktreg]

Glad it worked for you alexx.

I don't personally accept donations. My help is free. But, if you want to help the fight against malware, if you have not already bought it, you could buy a license for the PRO version of Malwarebytes. The PRO version of Malwarebytes will not only remove malware, it also has a realtime protection module to stop you becoming infected in the first place. It's an excellent program and it's well worth the money.

All the best,

~Mark.

[alexx]

Thankyou Mark. I will do that instead. This is a great forum with good people here.

[moto377]

Marktreg, I have version 6.0.2900.5622 too - should I follow the same instructions you gave to alexx?

Thanks!

[marktreg]

moto377, if you have the same shell32.dll version as alexx the instructions should work for you as well. But please remember that if you get it wrong you could end up with a severely broken computer. So whether or not you try it is up to you.

[AdvancedSetup]

Well modifying a SIGNED Microsoft file now makes it no longer signed and could also be detected as Malware by Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware programs. Microsoft updates may or may not replace the file on updates (probably not).

Though this may be working for you and I've not explored the issue myself I will say that in almost every case there is another fix that does not involve editing a binary file from Microsoft.

[exile360]

For anyone else having this issue I may have found the solution, or at least a solution which does not involve manually altering a system file. The 6.0.2900.5622 version of shell32.dll gets installed by KB967715 so if your version has problems, I'd recommend uninstalling that update if it's already installed and then reinstalling it followed by a system reboot to see if it corrects it. If that update is not installed, then I'd recommend visiting Microsoft Update to check for the latest patches and make sure you're up to date as it will likely be offered.