Restart Windows Taskbar ((exclusive))

Or a one-liner in Command Prompt or PowerShell:

When the taskbar acts up, you don't need to restart your entire computer. You just need to restart the process that controls it: .

— it’s faster, non-destructive, and preserves open apps (except for File Explorer windows).

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe start explorer.exe

If the interface is so frozen that you cannot interact with menus, you can use a command line to force the process to stop and start again.

If you run this from an open Command Prompt window, that window will stay open (since it’s separate from explorer.exe ). The taskbar will vanish and return after 1–2 seconds.

Your screen may flicker or turn black for a second; this is normal . 💻 Alternative: Use Command Prompt