10 Fixes For Windows Taskbar Showing in Fullscreen

Since Windows 1.0, the taskbar has been an inseparable part of the operating system. By default, your taskbar runs across the bottom of the screen. In addition to hosting most of the functions you need on hand while using your PC, it also hosts the Windows menu as well as the system clock, volume controls, and networking options. Additionally, it shows what applications are currently running.

Whenever you are watching a YouTube video on full screen, playing a game, browsing a website, or opening a document in fullscreen, the taskbar should disappear. As a result, users are provided with a much more immersive experience.

Nevertheless, users have reported several instances where the taskbar does not hide while in fullscreen mode. Being able to see it while you’re trying to focus can be annoying and distracting.

As it overlays on top of videos, while playing games, or other documents you’re trying to view in fullscreen, it can often obscure important elements as well.

Despite this, Taskbar not disappearing/hiding automatically in fullscreen programs is a very well-known problem that plagues Windows 7, 8, and 10. Chrome and Firefox aren’t the only ones affected, since playing full-screen videos and playing games also cause the problem.

The taskbar can become a bit annoying with a constantly blinking number of icons, which can detract from the overall experience.

My “Taskbar not hiding in full-screen mode”, How can i Fix it ?

Most commonly, you will need to restart Windows Explorer using the Task Manager. It can also be prevented from hiding automatically if you have locked your Taskbar into a place of it or if you have pending updates. The issue has been reported to be resolved for some users by turning off the visual effects (animations).

The taskbar may not disappear when you watch a video in full-screen mode in a web browser. Chrome has the ability to stop hardware acceleration or override scaling when viewing high-resolution items.

We recommend restarting your computer or unpinning all shortcuts from the Taskbar before we begin.

Solutions For Windows Taskbar Showing in Fullscreen

1. Restart Windows explorer / File Explorer process in Task Manager
2. Changing the placement of the taskbar
3. Disabling Locked Taskbar
4. Enable “Automatically hide the Taskbar” feature
5. Turning Visual Effects off
6. Updating Windows
7. Use a Third-Party app
8. Overriding high DPI scaling behavior in Chrome
9. Disable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome
10. Run the System File Checker tool

1. Restart Windows Explorer / File Explorer process in Task Manager

As an extension to Windows Explorer or File Explorer, the taskbar serves to enhance these features. Sometimes, when you update Windows, the Windows Explorer or file explorer might freeze, stall, or cause other problems. Consequently, even when you play games, watch YouTube videos, or browse the Internet on full screen, your taskbar does not hide.

You can resolve this issue by restarting Windows Explorer in the task manager.

• Open Windows Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Escape. The Task Manager can also be accessed by right-clicking on the Taskbar.
• Switch to the Processes tab.

• In the pop-up window, you should see a list of your currently active processes. As a general rule, there should be many processes running at the same time. Once you have located and selected the Windows Explorer process, click on it.
• Next, right-click on the Windows Explorer process and select Restart from the context menu. For the next few seconds, elements may disappear and then reappear on your screen; this is normal so don’t panic or turn off your system in a hurry.

In this procedure, you are going to be able to hide the taskbar when it is shown in full-screen. The restart of Windows Explorer is not harmful to your computer. Moreover, it can fix a number of issues with your taskbar on any version of Windows.

2. Changing the placement of the taskbar

The Windows operating system is without a doubt one of the most complex for computers, and sometimes settings can get confused.

It’s recommended to review your settings if your taskbar is acting strangely.

If you want your taskbar to appear somewhere else on your screen, you can make visual changes.

• On the Taskbar, right click and click “Taskbar Settings”.
• Once Taskbar settings are opened, Change the location of the taskbar on the screen by changing the option “Taskbar location on screen” from left to right, top to bottom.

3. Disabling Locked Taskbar

Another new feature recently added to Windows is the ability to lock the taskbar. Windows lets you lock the taskbar into place so that it won’t disappear or move even if you enable fullscreen. When the taskbar is locked, it will still be visible even if you switch to full-screen. The one thing we can do here is change the Taskbar settings to see if that makes a difference.

• Right-click on your taskbar and select Taskbar settings.

• Now, toggle the option of “Lock the taskbar” and set it to Off.

• After making the changes, close the window. Then restart your computer and afterwards check if the issue has been resolved.

4. Enable “Automatically hide the Taskbar” feature

Alternatively, you can temporarily fix the issue by enabling auto-hide taskbar. Unless you move your mouse pointer to the side of the screen where the Taskbar is located, the Taskbar will always be hidden if auto-hide is enabled. However, disabling the auto-hide feature will not resolve the issue since it remains a persistent issue.

• Right-click on your taskbar and select Taskbar settings.

• Now, toggle the option of “Automatically hide taskbar in desktop mode” and set it to On.
• Now, toggle the option of “Automatically hide taskbar in tablet mode” and set it to On.

• Restart your computer and check if the issue has been resolved.

5. Turning Visual Effects off

Windows includes a number of visual effects that make using the OS more enjoyable. Visual effects, however, can also clash with other elements such as the Taskbar and cause problems.

If the problem persists, we can disable your computer’s visual effects to see if the problem is fixed. There’s always an option to turn them on again if they don’t turn off.

• Select the settings icon from the Start menu to bring up the Settings app. Alternatively, you can open the app by pressing down the Windows key + i key on your keyboard.

• On the list of tiles, select the System tile.
  

• Utilize the left-side menu to navigate to the About tab. When you scroll down, you’ll see it as the last button. Click the Advanced system settings link under Related settings in the right-side pane.

• You should see a new pop-up window. Click on the Settings button again in the Performance section, as shown below. 

• You should see another pop-up with the Visual Effects tab open. Here, selecting the Adjust for best performance preset and clicking Apply will do the trick.

• Restart your computer once you’ve completed the process. Restarting your computer solves many issues in your system as well, so it is considered one of the best methods and a very easy quick fix to follow. Your system should check for updates soon after you apply your changes, and adjust itself accordingly.

6. Updating Windows

A problem with your current Windows build may cause the Taskbar to not disappear automatically in some cases, and if that’s the case, Microsoft has likely released a fix for the issue in a Windows update. It is all a matter of updating your computer to the latest version of Windows. 

• Open Settings from the start menu or by pressing Windows key + I.

• Click on Update & Security.

• Updates will be notified to you on the right panel if they are available. By clicking on the Check for updates button, you can manually check for new updates.

• If you find any new updates, install it. Then restart your computer and afterwards check if the problem with the taskbar has been resolved.

7. Use a Third-Party App

You can also use the Reimage Repair Tool if neither of these methods works for you. It will restore corrupted or missing files and increase performance.

• Get the Reimage Repair Tool. Launch the application after installing it and begin scanning your device for issues.
• Most system problems will be identified and fixed automatically by the tool. You may find that this could provide you with the solution you need.
•  In addition, you can try using Restoro Repair to replace corrupted and missing files from the repositories. When a system corruption is the cause of the issue, this usually resolves it.

8. Overriding High DPI Scaling Behavior in Chrome

If the Taskbar does not disappear automatically when you play full-screen videos in Google Chrome, you can enable the override high DPI scaling behavior feature.

• Go to your desktop and right-click Google Chrome’s shortcut icon and select Properties from the context menu.

• Alternatively, you can right-click on Chrome on your taskbar and right-click again. From the options that appear, select Properties.

• In the Properties window, select the Compatibility tab and then click on the Change high DPI settings button.

• The next window will allow you to override the scaling behavior.

• Click on OK. This will save the changes you have made. Now exit and close the window.
• Restart the computer and check if the problem still persists.

9. Disable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome

In Chrome, another trick to also solve fullscreen problems is by disabling hardware acceleration as it usually occurs and is experienced by Chrome browser users. In essence, the feature redirects some tasks from the processor to the GPU, such as page loading and rendering. Disabling the feature can be very instrumental to fix the issues with the Taskbar.

• Open Google Chrome
• To do this, click on the three vertical dots located at the top right of the screen
• From the drop-down menu, click Settings.

• Click “Advanced” at the bottom of the page
• The System section will be found after you scroll down

• Here you have to disable the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option and turn it off.

• Relaunch chrome after turning it off.

10. Run the System File Checker tool

Running the System File Checker tool has been reported to fix the taskbar in full-screen. When you are using Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7, using the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool first before running the System File Checker is recommended.

• The Run dialog box will open when you hold down Windows+R.
• You can launch Command prompt with administrative privileges by typing CMD and holding Shift+Ctrl+Enter 
• Alternatively, you can launch Command Prompt with administrative privileges from the start menu.
•  To run DISM.exe, enter /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth into the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

• When the execution is completed, type in sfc /scannow, hit Enter, and wait for the process to be finished.

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