Gadget Problem

Machinax · 19 Sep 2010

Hi all, I'm having a problem with the gadgets. They were working fine until a few days ago, but then they just vanished, and I have no idea what I've done differently. When I try to add the gadgets back (or add new gadgets), they either don't show entirely, or they show up....differently (i.e. the clock face from the clock gadget is all in black, as opposed to the usual white, the weather gadget shows up as a small white box with no weather information, and the CPU usage gadget shows up as an information sign, a little "i" in a blue circle, and no information about my CPU usage). I've tried editing the registry (AllowElevatedProcess), it didn't work. The UAC is in the default setting, so that's probably not it. I don't know, I'm out of ideas. Any help would be awesomely appreciated

I have a Dell Inspirion, 64-bit, 2.30 Ghz RAM and 2 gig memory.

A Guy · 19 Sep 2010

Welcome to Seven Forums Machinax. Turning off the Gadget Platform and turning it back on may fix it. Scroll down to Windows Gadget Platform:

Windows Features - Turn On or Off

If no fix, try this:

Close Windows Sidebar.

Open task manager Ctrl+Shift+Esc

Processes tab> Right click on sidebar.exe and choose End Process

Open an advanced command prompt

Start> Type cmd in search box> Right click on cmd.exe in results above> choose Run as administrator

Type the following and press Enter after each:

regsvr32 msxml3.dll

regsvr32 scrrun.dll

regsvr32 jscript.dll

Restart your PC and see if that has fixed it. A Guy

Machinax · 25 Sep 2010

Thanks for your reply! Sorry it took me a few days to get back to you. The Gadget Platform didn't work. I did the commands in the advanced command prompt window, and will restart now and let you know if it works.

brianzion · 25 Sep 2010

have a look here Microsoft Fix it Center Welcome to Windows Live

brianzion · 25 Sep 2010

Try to Restore the Default Windows 7 Gadgets

1. Open the Control Panel (in Category View), then click on Appearance & Personalization.

2. Click the 'Restore desktop gadgets installed with Windows

3. This will bring up the Desktop Gadgets window with a message stating 'All Windows and administrator installed gadgets have been restored'

4. When finished, just close down the Desktop Gadgets and Control Panel
windows.

If that does not work,

Try this:

Press the WINKEY+R to bring up the Run Dialog Box.

Copy / Paste this line in the Open box.

%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /showGadgets

(Make sure this command is entered exactly as shown, including the spaces and characters)

Press OK.

Does this start the Gadget component?

If this does not work, open Control Panel, select All Control Panel Items.
Click Programs and Features to open.
In the Tasks Pane (left side) click Turn Windows Features On or Off.

This window will take a couple of minutes to open, be patient.

When this window opens, scroll down and make sure that the Windows Gadget Platform has a check mark. If it is not checked, place a check mark in the box and select OK.

brianzion · 25 Sep 2010

also try this
How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7

Machinax · 25 Sep 2010

A Guy said:

If no fix, try this:

Close Windows Sidebar.

Open task manager Ctrl+Shift+Esc

Processes tab> Right click on sidebar.exe and choose End Process

Open an advanced command prompt

Start> Type cmd in search box> Right click on cmd.exe in results above> choose Run as administrator

Type the following and press Enter after each:

regsvr32 msxml3.dll

regsvr32 scrrun.dll

regsvr32 jscript.dll

Restart your PC and see if that has fixed it. A Guy

This method worked - a bit. I got my CPU usage gadget back and working fine, but the weather gadget is still....broken, for lack of a better word. Just the white letter "i" in a blue circle, like an information icon. Other gadgets seem to work fine. It appears to be just the weather gadget that is malfunctioning.

Brianzion, I will give your solutions a try.

brianzion · 25 Sep 2010

tip> i would uninstall the gadgets that dont work and then download them fresh from the source and reinstall :)