TLDR for google: Win 11 “update” 5066131 causes a blank taskbar with no icons. The only fix is uninstalling 5066131. None of the other recommendations work.
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Background:
My trusty old Win 7 computer, made in 2009, was seriously aging and had acquired some annoying malware that AVG couldn’t catch and remove. Most programs remained resident after running them, so I got in the habit of using Task Manager several times per day to kick out the unwanted residents. I was also tired of fighting with browsers and websites that wouldn’t run at all or constantly warned that Win 7 was verboten.
I bought a new Win 11 machine at the end of 2023. Both machines are Lenovo ThinkCentre. At that time I installed my regular tools. Some of them didn’t work. (Now they do work after a bit of modification.) A new courseware project had already started, and I didn’t want to screw around with a new system that might not be usable.
Yesterday, after the courseware was decisively finished, and after this year’s weird skin thing (personal malware!) was understood if not fixed, I finally switched to using the new machine.
The process of transferring files bumped into version problems. None of the cable methods worked in 2023, and none worked this year, even though both machines are connected in parallel to the same fiberoptic Ethernet port. I always back up current activity on USB, Dropbox, or CD. A few non-work things weren’t up to date, so I added them to Dropbox then made the switch and copied everything from USB or Dropbox. The old machine is still plugged in and functional in case I need to pick up some older graphics stuff.
The process required several reboots. One of those reboots lasted a LONG time while Windows forcibly installed two new bug collections I had “missed” during the two years. The new bug collections include some horrible new AI “features” which I turned off immediately.
One bug collection was more serious. The taskbar was blank with no icons. The mouse triggered Start in the left corner, but I couldn’t see Start or any of the other icons including time. This meant I had to use Task Manager to turn off programs again!
This bug is well known, and most of the recommended fixes failed as expected. The only thing that worked was rolling back the bug collection called KB 5066131. (Start – settings – updates – choose 5066131 – uninstall.)
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