Desktop gadgets disappeared

[viper4266]

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 win7 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?

 

[Brink]

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

 

[viper4266]

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.

 

[Tews]

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

 

[viper4266]

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!

 

[viper4266]

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?

 

[baarod]

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

 

[viper4266]

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.

 

[BillFromTampa]

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!