Windows 7: Desktop gadgets disappeared

I have searched for an answer to this issue for 2 days. My gadgets have just disappeared. I didn't change anything as far as I knowI have never changed the user account settings (they are on the 3rd setting). I have Windows 7 installed on the computer already I bought 4 months ago. When I try to click on the gadget settings on the desktop dialogue or control panel a dialogue box comes up and says: "Windows desktop gadgets have stopped working, windows is searching for a solution to the problem" and the box stays on for a few seconds and then disappears.

Important note: When I created another user account (guest), and go to that account the gadgets work fine. Only my administrator account do they not work. I have tried putting my registry back to a 2 week point and still nothing on the admin account.

Any ideas?

Hello Viper,

See if turning off Windows Gadget Platform in Windows Features, restart computer, turn it back on, restart computer again may be able to reset it for you.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks Shawn, I just tried that and it didn't work.

Another note...I removed configfree (I have a Toshiba laptop) from the computer since before the radar would pop (then go away quickly) when I tried to execute the gadgets on the desktop. Now the dialogue that said: "Windows desktop gadgets have stopped working, windows is searching for a solution to the problem"
Does not even come up anymore.

Gadgets still work on the guest account though.

try running sfc /scannow, and if that doesnt fix it, you can always run a repair install.. hope this helps...

Well I think it's fixed now...I found the answer here:SIDEBAR.EXE MISSING

This is what I did, I have no clue why it worked though...

Hi JMQ17,

Jeremy M is right...it ought to be reachable from there. If it isn't, you might need to re-register some necessary dll files.

Try this:

1. Click Start
2. Type "CMD" without the quotes
3. Right click cmd.exe and select 'Run as Administrator'
4. In the command prompt the pops up, type the following:

Regsvr32 -u "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\sbdrop.dll"
Regsvr32 -u "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll"
Regsvr32 atl.dll
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\sbdrop.dll"
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll"

5. Reboot the computer.
See if this brings back your sidebar.

I hope this helps!

Okay, this only did a partial fix. All gadgets are showing up now. But the Weather and Currency converter are their respective colors but blank of information. It says: cannot connect to service. On my other laptop they are working fine so I don't think it's a connection issue.

The RSS feed and other third party gadgets are working stellar. Any ideas from here?

They have not refreshed yet. Reboot please

Thanks...but that (rebooting) didn't work either. I am pretty thorough and if I post on the internet for an answer it is usually that it is not here yet and not a simple fix because I have searched for hours and sometimes days for answers.

For anyone else with this problem...

I did the above fix and then I just went to the MS gadget download page and re-downloaded the MSN weather and currency converter and reinstalled them and wala!

I hope this saves someone else from the stupid grief of something like this.

Thanks - my gadgets were vaporized also after I used the taskbar control that minimizes everything and shows the desktop -- the above fix with re-registering the dll's fixed the problem Thanks very much!