Gadgets not Displaying Correctly in Windows 7 - Fix

How to Fix Gadgets not Displaying Correctly in Windows 7​

   Information

If you have gadgets that are displaying on your Windows 7 desktop improperly as black, white, blank, or just messed up, then this will show you how to fix them.

You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial.

   Note

If you have a 3rd party firewall program installed, then also check to make sure that the gadgets are allowed in the firewall and are not being blocked in that program's exception settings.

EXAMPLE: Gadgets not displaying correctly

OPTION ONE

Automatically Using a BAT File Download

NOTE: This does the same thing as in OPTION TWO below, but automatically. 1. Click on the Download button below to download the file below. Reset_Gadgets.bat


Download


2. Click on Save (if prompted), and save the .bat file to your desktop.

3. Right click on the downloaded .bat file and click on Run as administrator.

4. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

5. You will see a command prompt flash open and close as the .bat file runs.

6. When finished, restart the computer to apply.

7. Check to see if the gadgets on your desktop are displaying correctly now. If not, then try uninstalling and reinstalling any gadgets that are still not displaying properly, or do a System Restore using a restore point dated before the problem.

OPTION TWO

Manually in an Elevated Command Prompt

NOTE: This does the same thing as in OPTION ONE above, but manually. 1. Open an elevated command prompt (right click - Run as administrator)

2. In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste each command below and press Enter one t a time. After each time your press Enter, you will need to click on OK before doing the next command.

[LIST] 
[*]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
[*]"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe"
[/LIST]

3. Restart the computer to apply.

4. Check to see if the gadgets on your desktop are displaying correctly now. If not, then try uninstalling and reinstalling the still bad gadget, or do a System Restore using a restore point dated before the problem.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Add or Remove Desktop Gadgets in Windows 7
• How to Reinstate the Vista Sidebar on Windows 7
• How to Hide or Show Desktop Gadgets in Windows 7
• How to Enable or Disable Gadgets in Windows 7
• How to Turn Windows 7 Gadgets Feature On or Off
• How to Allow or Prevent User Installed Gadgets in Windows 7
• How to Allow or Prevent Installation of Unsigned Gadgets in Windows 7
• How to Restore the Default Windows 7 Gadgets
• Trick to Moving Gadgets in Windows 7 Closer Together
• How to Customize Existing Windows 7 Gadgets
• How to Create a Gadgets Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Change the "Get more gadgets online" Link in Windows 7
• How to Add or Remove "Gadgets" from Desktop Context Menu in Windows

 

[northbound]

I just registered for the sole purpose of saying thank you, Brink. Worked like magic. I freaked out this morning when I turned on the pc and the gadgets were gone and seemed totally broken. Thank you so much

 

[Pixieloo]

Gadget Fix

This didn't help me. I ran the download and restarted but the clock will not stay on the desktop and the weather icon only shows the city name in a purple color, no little square with a half-sun.

 

[Brink]

Hello Pixieloo, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Do you have any 3rd party AV or firewall program installed that may be blocking the gadgets?

For now, you might also run a sfc /scannow scan to see if it may help.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Pixieloo]

gadget fix

I ran the cfs /scannow and it didn't come up with any errors. I only have Avast running and set it to low. Guess my nice clock is gone for good.

 

[Brink]

As a test, temporarily uninstall Avast and restart the PC to see if your gadgets may work afterwards or not. This will help to see if Avast may be responsible.

 

[edwin222]

Like so many others have said, it worked perfectly. I know this is 2014 and this is an old thread, but it's still works great for Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. Thank you.

 

[stfox38]

A great big THANK YOU

Thank you for making this so easy. I followed umpteen links and tried many cures, but your .bat file fixed the problem with no sweat.

Again. Thank you!

 

[gregrocker]

With gadgets no longer supported, being messed up by IE11 and some simply stop working What now works best is to install version 12 or higher of 8GadgetPack - Gadgets for Windows 8 / 8.1

 

[Manhunter]

THANKS a million! I tried the right-click>View>Show desktop gadgets and it simply would not uncheck. Restarted just to see if that would help. Same problem(s). Ran the .bat file and **PRESTO!** My gadgets reappeared exactly as before, without needing to restart. I prefer the .bat file because of the sometimes strange things Win7 Pro/64 System Restore does (although it's not as horrible as Windows 8 System Restore, which should more accurately be named "System Messup".)

 

[bochi54]

It worked for me!
Gadgets showed up without need to reboot
Thanks a lot!

 

[ronthai]

Time to register to say:

Just a THANKS for this (and many other times SevenForums have helped me).

Still works great on Windows8.1 with 8GadgetPackSet.

Made manual changes to the settings.ini and the restart did implement the changes I made.

Thanks again, Ron

 

[Layback Bear]

Thank Ron for joining our forum.

 

[Brink]

Hello Ron, and welcome to Seven Forums. I'm glad this was able to help.

 

[andjayik]

it did work for me but the next time i restarted my computer they were gone again?

 

[iwann]

gadgets black

No one helped me. After installing Kaspersky Internet Security 2013, my gadgets began to work.

 

[ZAPtheKrap]

I have a problem with my Hal9000 gadget and Earth Clock gadget not animating. What do I need to install to make them work? I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit and I cannot use Flash anymore, of course. Do I need Active X or Adobe AIR or something else to enable them on my desktop?

 

[ZAPtheKrap]

I finally found the solution and for Windows 10!

Desktop Gadgets were discontinued in Windows 10 onwards but you can get around this. Hal9000 and Earth Clock have been my favourite gizmos, and today I finally got them back! Whoop whoop. Firstly, download trhe discontinued Flashplayer here: CleanFlash / installer . GitLab from GitLab. They explain, "Clean Flash Player uses a modified version of this updated Flash Player version, keeping Flash Player clean from adware."

Next, head on over to Reputation-Based Protection fro your Search Menu in Window 10 and switch all of the options off temporarily so that the Windows system doesn't prevent you from loading it.

Then download desktop gadets for Windows 10 from here: How To Install Desktop Gadgets In Windows 10 and install it.

Here are the links to Hal9000 and Earth Clock: Hal 9000 - Windows Desktop Gadget Earth Clock - Windows Desktop Gadget

Return to Reputation-Based Protection and turn everything back on.

Hal9000 and Earth clock require Clean Flash Player to function.