Troubleshooting the Taskbar Issue: Why It’s Behaving Like a Window

If you’re experiencing frustrating problems with your taskbar on Windows 11, you’re not alone. Many users have reported situations where the taskbar seems to vanish behind other windows, making it difficult to access essential features. I recently faced this exact issue, and I’m here to share my experience, what I’ve tried, and potential solutions that may work for you.

The Problem: Taskbar Disappearing Behind Windows

My taskbar appears to be functioning incorrectly, acting almost like a standard window. When it’s not in focus, it dims and allows other windows to move freely in front of it. While maximizing a window positions it correctly, dragging it around causes it to cover the taskbar again. This frustrating behavior began right after I updated my NVIDIA graphics drivers to version 576.52, and since then, I’ve been looking for solutions to restore normal function.

Initial Troubleshooting Steps

In my quest for a solution, I began by exploring several online forums and support sites, hoping to find a fix. Here are the steps I took:

1. Restarting Windows Explorer: This is a common first step for various UI glitches, but it didn’t resolve my issue.

2. Taskbar Behavior Settings: I checked the taskbar options in the settings to ensure that “Automatically hide the taskbar” was turned off, confirming that it should remain visible.

3. Registry Editor Adjustments: I navigated to the registry path HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3 to adjust the value in the second row, fifth column. I changed it from 03 to 02, but to my dismay, it reverted back to 03 after restarting Explorer.

4. Managing NVIDIA Processes: I attempted to disable unnecessary NVIDIA processes, hoping to prevent interference with my registry settings. However, whenever I terminated a specific nvcontainer process, all related processes would restart automatically.

5. Disabling NVIDIA In-Game Overlay: Following advice from a Windows 10 user who encountered a similar problem, I disabled the NVIDIA in-game overlay feature, but unfortunately, this did not rectify the issue for me.

The Consequence of the Issue

While I might have tolerated the taskbar’s erratic behavior if it weren’t for my gaming sessions, the full-screen games running in the background completely obscure the taskbar. This makes it nearly