Windows 7 - Gadgets Won't Load at all (tried to fix already)

Hi All,

Been trolling the forums trying to find a solution but so far have not been able to get any of the tweaks and options to work so I thought I would post fresh and see what ideas are thrown at me.

Using:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit on a Kingston SSD VNow+ HDD. All windows updates are installed, i am using Commodo Internet Security along with CCleaner to keep my system happy.

UAC is usually set to its lowest setting, however I have increased it to no avail.

When I right click on desktop and select Gadgets, the control panel for them does not open, i get the busy symbol for about 5 seconds and then nothing after that.

I have gadgets in my "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets" folder, but nothing is working.

Please, throw me some solutions, I will try anything short of having to do another format and reinstall.

THANKS!!!

Welcome to the Seven Forums!

Give us a little history. How long ago did you begin having this problem? Have gadgets ever been working on this particular computer, or has this problem occurred from day one?

P.S. For future reference, "trolling" is the act of posting on a forum for the sole purpose of inciting anger. The practice you are referring to (searching through and reading forums without actually posting anything) is called "lurking", not "trolling."

Thanks, no for some more info.

Yes, gadgets have worked previously, but not for a few months now I think. This is just my games machine, so its only used once or twice a fortnight. I can not pick when they stopped but its something i noticed a while ago.

And yes, I am not a troll, lurker seeking answers .

OS install is approx 8 months old at a guess, not much installed, just games and basic OS requirements.

OK, let's see if we can figure out exactly what's going on. Open up Task Manager, click the "Processes" tab, and scroll down to the processes that start with the letter S (the list should be in alphabetical order, if not just click where it says Image Name to sort it like that). See if the process "sidebar.exe" is listed.

If "sidebar.exe" is not in the list, keep Task Manager open. Right-click the Desktop and click "Gadgets", and tell me if "sidebar.exe" appears in the Task Manager at all.