Gadgets Disappear after Windows Update

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  1. Posts : 183
    Windows 10 Anniversary, Linux & still Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #11

    Ok, I uninstalled all updates for that day, even Adobe Flash...uninstalled the gadgets and reinstalled them and they still don't work....I guess a good old reformat will do the trick!...lol
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 53,363
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #12

    Might try to run the System File Checker

    SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

    Or do a Repair Install

    Repair Install

    Before considering a format. A Guy
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 183
    Windows 10 Anniversary, Linux & still Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #13

    Yeah, Thanks! But I just formatted Sunday....Tried everything but what you just posted, so I'm not sure if that would have worked or not...Thank you for the help!...So far, with updates, it's working...so I don't know what the issue was...
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 53,363
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #14

    Well, that is the ultimate fix. Suggest looking into a 2nd hard drive, and an imaging program like Acronis True Image, or the free Macrium Reflect. Having complete images is the ultimate insurance against such a problem, or a nasty infection. Glad you are back to normal though :)

    A Guy
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 183
    Windows 10 Anniversary, Linux & still Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #15

    Yeah, I suppose you're right. I have 4 internal HDD's all for storage, and I also have Acronis....I just never liked to use it..But I probably should....
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Pro x64 / Ubuntu 10.10 64bit
       #16

    Some gadgets no longer working


    Mmh I have the exact same issue:
    Other gadgets are still working, but "All CPU meter" and "Outlook Appointments" gadgets are broken since this morning. To my knowledge I didn't get any updates yesterday, so i have absolutely no idea what might have gone wrong.
    Tried all the above except reinstall (not an option for me) and they still won't work
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 183
    Windows 10 Anniversary, Linux & still Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #17

    I uninstalled Flash player too...someone mentioned to wait for an updated All CPU Meter and others...I didn't want to...it was easier for me to just re-install...If you find out what caused it, please let me know....The only thing I can think of, is a corrupt update or a conflict with the updates and gadgets....but for now, everything is perfect again..
    Last edited by Brink; 12 Nov 2016 at 23:42. Reason: removed broken image
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 29
    Windows® 7 (64-bit)
       #18

    This thread is marked "Solved" but it is anything but, as I hardly consider the OP having reformatted his drive and reinstalled Windows entirely just to get a couple of gadgets working again "solved". Problem gone, yes . . . solved, no. Too bad too, as I am having a related problem to this and it most definitely is due to the most recent set of Windows updates.

    After doing the update my problem is that, while all my gadgets do work …


    • none of the "settings" buttons on the gadgets work, which is to say, the little icon that looks like a wrench which is off to the (right) side and near the top of each gadget; clicking that button does absolutely nothing—the button appears to depress and come back up normally, but nothing happens—and this on every single gadget I have open, all 6 of them; and …


    • when I right-click the Desktop and choose "Gadgets", once again, absolutely nothing happens


    As this happened right after doing a Windows Update today, and because I created a restore point out of habit right before doing said update, I chose to backtrack to just before the update, which succeeded, and then I checked the gadget behavior, and, surprise surprise, everything was back to normal.

    I then installed the same two updates again, and then checked the gadget behavior again, and (you guessed it) the exact same gadget problems appeared again. So I have no doubt at all it is related to these two specific Windows updates.

    The two updates are :


    • Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - November 2016 (KB890830), ironically enough
    • November, 2016 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3197868)


    None of the suggestions I read here and elsewhere (they are so far essentially the same) changed anything, including :


    • turning off the Gadget Platform in "Turn Windows features on or off", rebooting, turning the Gadget Platform on again, and rebooting again . . . didn't change a thing


    • Registry suggestions : ensuring there is no "funny" key under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones above the 0 Key, or adding a double-word key called AllowElevatedProcess with the value 1 under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sidebar\Settings . . . again, to no effect


    I do, however, know one thing that is absolutely guaranteed to fix this problem, and that's uninstalling those two Windows updates by going back to that pre-update restore point I created, again, and I will have to do exactly that if I can't find another, better solution . . . but I haven't yet given up looking for the ideal solution to this, and if I do find it, I will update this post with it.




    ∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗
      UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE
    ∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗



    This did it :

    ① Killing the sidebar process, to begin with
    ② Re-registering four (4) Windows (general) DLLs
    ③ Re-registering two (2) Windows Sidebar-specific DLLs
    ④ Deleting one (1) registry key
    ⑤ Rebooting


    Here are the specifics of the five steps above, in command line format. They can be executed individually and consecutively in an elevated command shell, or grouped together in a .BAT or .CMD file :


    taskkill /im sidebar.exe /f

    regsvr32 msxml3.dll
    regsvr32 scrrun.dll
    regsvr32 jscript.dll
    regsvr32 atl.dll


    regsvr32 "%programfiles%\windows sidebar\sbdrop.dll"
    regsvr32 "%programfiles%\windows sidebar\wlsrvc.dll"


    reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones" /f

    shutdown /f /r /t 0


    After the restart in step ⑤, problem(s) fixed! Individual gadget setting "buttons" work again (all of them), and right-click-Gadgets from the Desktop also works. And no need to uninstall today's Windows updates.  

    Last edited by GuccizBud; 15 Nov 2016 at 21:21.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 183
    Windows 10 Anniversary, Linux & still Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #19

    GuccizBud said:
    This thread is marked "Solved" but it is anything but, as I hardly consider the OP having reformatted his drive and reinstalled Windows entirely just to get a couple of gadgets working again "solved". Problem gone, yes . . . solved, no. Too bad too, as I am having a related problem to this and it most definitely is due to the most recent set of Windows updates.

    After doing the update my problem is that, while all my gadgets do work …


    • none of the "settings" buttons on the gadgets work, which is to say, the little icon that looks like a wrench which is off to the (right) side and near the top of each gadget; clicking that button does absolutely nothing—the button appears to depress and come back up normally, but nothing happens—and this on every single gadget I have open, all 6 of them; and …


    • when I right-click the Desktop and choose "Gadgets", once again, absolutely nothing happens


    As this happened right after doing a Windows Update today, and because I created a restore point out of habit right before doing said update, I chose to backtrack to just before the update, which succeeded, and then I checked the gadget behavior, and, surprise surprise, everything was back to normal.

    I then installed the same two updates again, and then checked the gadget behavior again, and (you guessed it) the exact same gadget problems appeared again. So I have no doubt at all it is related to these two specific Windows updates.

    The two updates are :


    • Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - November 2016 (KB890830), ironically enough
    • November, 2016 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3197868)


    None of the suggestions I read here and elsewhere (they are so far essentially the same) changed anything, including :


    • turning off the Gadget Platform in "Turn Windows features on or off", rebooting, turning the Gadget Platform on again, and rebooting again . . . didn't change a thing


    • Registry suggestions : ensuring there is no "funny" key under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones above the 0 Key, or adding a double-word key called AllowElevatedProcess with the value 1 under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sidebar\Settings . . . again, to no effect


    • registering some .dll s again, can't remember which exactly and too lazy to look it up again, but is related to this and was suggested to someone else by Microsoft . . . yet again, no change


    I do, however, know one thing that is absolutely guaranteed to fix this problem, and that's uninstalling those two Windows updates by going back to that pre-update restore point I created, again, and I will have to do exactly that if I can't find another, better solution . . . but I haven't yet given up looking for the ideal solution to this, and if I do find it, I will update this post with it.




    ∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗
      UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE
    ∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗



    This did it :

    ① Killing the sidebar process, to begin with
    ② Re-registering four (4) Windows (general) DLLs
    ③ Re-registering two (2) Windows Sidebar-specific DLLs
    ④ Deleting one (1) registry key
    ⑤ Rebooting


    Here are the specifics of the five steps above, in command line format. They can be executed individually and consecutively in an elevated command shell, or grouped together in a .BAT or .CMD file :


    taskkill /im sidebar.exe /f

    regsvr32 msxml3.dll
    regsvr32 scrrun.dll
    regsvr32 jscript.dll
    regsvr32 atl.dll


    regsvr32 "%programfiles%\windows sidebar\sbdrop.dll"
    regsvr32 "%programfiles%\windows sidebar\wlsrvc.dll"


    reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones" /f

    shutdown /f /r /t 0


    After the restart in step ⑤, problem(s) fixed! Individual gadget setting "buttons" work again (all of them), and right-click-Gadgets from the Desktop also works. And no need to uninstall today's Windows updates.  



    Hi, Thanks for your help! I have actually moved on...Different OS now-Linux and Windows 10....lol....I still have Windows 7 on an older PC just to use as a Tech Support Simulator (instead of virtual box) for friends and Family. Most Gadgets are no longer supported due to security issues...But I still thank you typing your same issues and even better, fix!
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 29
    Windows® 7 (64-bit)
       #20

    Homeuser66 said:
    Hi, Thanks for your help! I have actually moved on...Different OS now-Linux and Windows 10....lol....
    Sure hope so, as your original post is over 5 years old, haha. I tend to post to threads relevant to an issue I'm having even if the original post is old, because people still end up visiting it via their Google search results (as I did) when it's their turn to have the problem (I say "when" not "if" because this is Windows after all )

    I've actually stayed away from Windows 10 on purpose, partly because I have so much history with Windows 7 and everything that entails in terms of familiarity, tricks, hacks, etc, partly because I'd rather wait for it to have been out a little longer, and partly just out of inertia. But I know I'll be switching at some point before Microsoft stops supporting 7. Like the day before. 
      My Computer


 
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