Solved Gadgets not loading at all at boot

[andreibutilca]

Hey forum, nice to be here,

My problem is rather simple, yet I can't really find anything on the forums that would solve it for me.
Almost everytime (2/3 times) I power on or restart my laptop (Win7 64bit SP1, all updates to date, fresh reinstall after upgraded to an ssd), my Windows gadgets do not load. Not talking about black boxes or graphical corruption of the gadgets, they simply do not load at all. Also, when this happens, right clicking the desktop and then going to Windows gadgets doesn't work anymore. The window does not open, as if something is not loaded or loaded incompletely at startup.

Restarting the laptop when this problem occurs usually fixes the problem, restoring the gadgets. The same does right click - show desktop gadgets - untick - tick back again, but I'd like a more permanent and stable fix, rather then applying cheap workarounds almost everytime.

My personal suspicion is that a particular, recently released, Windows update messed something with the gadgets loading cycles. Also note I have the default gadgets and did not install anything that could interfere with them.

Any help is welcome.

 

[DMHolt57]

Check this... Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution

 

[A Guy]

Try turning the gadget platform off, then back on

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/5023-windows-features-turn-off.html

Scroll down to Windows Gadget Platform and uncheck it. Follow the prompts, restart PC, and go back and check it again. A Guy

 

[andreibutilca]

Hey, thanks for the suggestion.

Already tried this. Indeed, it does fix it for the next time I reboot, but the gadgets will stop loading afterwards... I closed all of the gadgets until I can find a proper fix. Starting to think an update disables the gadgets on purpose now and then.

 

[A Guy]

If it was the fixit, I don't believe they would run at all. You can try the enable Fit it here

Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution

This Hotfix describes what you are experiencing

Gadgets intermittently do not start in Windows 7

A Guy

 

[andreibutilca]

Well, MAYBE Microsoft made the Fixit dynamic, so sometimes, it leaves the gadgets the way they are, sometimes, it runs some kind of script on them, and blocks them from the boot list. Not that tech savvy, so I don't really know if this is the case.

Tried the hotfix you suggested before once, says "This hotfix does not apply to your machine."

Everything I could find on the forums + everything suggested here by you guys actually works, BUT only temporarily, so none of them is the actual solution to the problem, only workarounds. Still searching....

 

[andreibutilca]

Quick note: did not have this issue before upgrading to the ssd. Everything was fine and the gadgets loaded every time. Ever since I did a clean reinstall, something went wrong.

 

[A Guy]

I'd suggest running the System File Checker

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

See if it finds any issues. A Guy

 

[andreibutilca]

Says "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations."

 

[A Guy]

OK, try this. Navigate to

C:\Users\(Your user name)\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar

Copy the Settings.ini to another location so if this doesn't work, you can copy it back. Now delete the .ini file. reboot and see if that helps. A Guy

 

[andreibutilca]

I will try that, but I just had an idea. Is it maybe because I installed the ssd, everything loads so fast, the gadgets sometime can't catch up and are left unloaded?

I just instituted an admin password for this account, so every time the system boots, I will put in a password. Maybe this will give the gadgets enough time to load at all times? Sounds logical/worth a shot?

 

[A Guy]

I have an SSD, and my gadgets never fail to load. I don't think the speed is an issue, but apparently something about your install is. What remains a mystery so far. A Guy

 

[andreibutilca]

Back again.

Installed a Windows admin password for my system to give the boot sequence time to load all my stuff (gadgets included). Worked like a charm for 2 days, all gadgets loaded perfectly fine.

As you might have already guessed, it stopped working again today. I traced everything down to some .NET Framework issues. Does the Framework have anything to do with the way gadgets work/load at boot?

This is a growing issue and I sense some deeper corruption might be involved in my OS. Please help!

 

[andreibutilca]

This is the 4th restart I am giving it, gadgets fail to load, even with the system password armed. Therefore, it had absolutely nothing to do with the boot times of the ssd.

Also, upgraded NET Framework to 4.5. Absolutely no change.

So, so strange.

 

[andreibutilca]

Disabled them entirely + Microsoft suggest they pose security risks.

 

[A Guy]

Gadgets use javascript, don't believe .net has any bearing. You might try creating a new user, and see if the gadgets work there. A Guy

 

[YouAreTheOneNeo]

Hi Guys,

First time posting, and I know this thread is 2 weeks old, but I'm having essentially exactly the same issue.

But first - a few things I've done since I've noticed this problem.

Firstly, I cloned my SSD from a 120GB to a 240GB one to keep my OS and installed programs etc. using Intel's data migration tool - everything after that seemed fine and I didn't notice the gadgets failing to start right away. I've also updated my Avast Antivirus to version 8 - I've read somewhere on a forum that that might have some impact on gadgets.

Anyway, I've tried all of the solutions I can find on the interweb (uninstalling avast gadget, reinstalling gadgets feature, deleting .ini etc.) to no avail, but I have noticed that every time I boot into windows and the gadgets fail to load, Facebook also refuses to load properly in every web browser (and I know that sounds strange, but I've tested it extensively, and found no other reason for Facebook not to work, or any other website that behaves the same way!) - not sure if this is a Java or Flash problem or something, but the issue doesn't present when the gadgets load.

I've had to resort now to opening the task manager when the gadgets fail to load, ending the sidebar process, and then starting it again using the new task (or run) command.

As soon as the gadgets load up properly (often takes a few end task / restart sidebar.exe repetitions) then Facebook begins to work again.

Weird huh? And I have no idea why the gadgets won't load or how it could possibly have any bearing on what I'm doing separately in a web browser!

Anyway, I'm averse to reinstalling Windows on this PC as I've got (literally) hundreds of applications installed, most of which I use regularly for work, and it would be a mahoosive pain to have to reinstall all of them again, as well as downtime I can't really afford at the moment.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and even though it is a minor annoyance I can live with, I like knowing that my computer runs exactly how I want it to all of the time!

Sorry for the essay, and thanks again!

 

[A Guy]

Welcome to Seven Forums YouAreTheOneNeo. Thanks for all the info, and for filling out your system specs.

Since Facebook not working is apparently a clue, tell us about it. When you say Facebook refuses to load properly, specifically what happens? Also, which web browser is the default browser? Is the Facebook problem you will describe the same in each browser, or different in each? Screenshots if necessary.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

Have you run the System File Checker, and did it find any issues?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

If the problem is frequent enough, have you tried a clean start to see if there is a conflict?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ation-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html

Let us know these answers, and we'll go from there. A Guy

 

[andreibutilca]

I have given up gadgets entirely and I would advise you to do the same. The actual utility they bring to the table is not worth all the hassle. Personally, I believe Microsoft messed them up for us through a KB update, and all we can do now is live without them.

Happy computing!

 

[YouAreTheOneNeo]

Hi Guys - Sorry for the delay, I've had an eternally busy couple of weeks.

The Facebook problem is weird, but is the same in each browser (Chrome is the default). Essentially it will appear to load normally, but I am unable to click any links, photos, messages etc. It seems as if the Facebook Homepage loads, but there is absolutely no functionality whatsoever.

This happens until I end / restart sidebar.exe.

I think I am leaning toward just not having gadgets at all, but the Clock and CPU / RAM meters are in useful places.

I've done sfc /scannow and no results, as with clean boot, I haven't tried that yet but I'll give it a go soon.

Thanks,

Neo