Windows Update shield not showing up in notification Area......

STC · 21 Aug 2015

Some context:

A couple days ago I had experienced this: Svchost almost 100% and Windows Update not pulling updates
I left Windows Update open all night and it finally found the updates and when I woke up I installed them. Took 2 hrs or so to install the updates
Svchost is not acting up anymore

Now the issue is that the Windows Update shield is not showing in the notification bar. I know for sure there are updates available. When I go to install the update I see the lil "downloading and installing" icon in the notification area.

Anyone experience the missing Windows Update shield before? This is a first for me.

NoelDP · 21 Aug 2015

There is no Shield in Windows 7? - and mostly the notifications are hidden, unless there's a reboot pending.
You can change the Notification behaviour by right-clicking on the TaskBar - select Properties.
In the Taskbar page, click on 'Customise...'
Select Windows Update in the listing, and change to 'Show Icon and Notifications'
Click OK out.

STC · 21 Aug 2015

Thx for the reply NoelDP, but I have mine set to "check for updates, but let me choose whether to download them or not". There is a yellow shield notification and it pops up in the notification area when updates are available.

Since the incident this week, I am not seeing the yellow shield.

Callender · 21 Aug 2015

Well I'm currently seeing the same thing and I've seen it before. I'm not worried. A quick look at past notification area icons reveals a few incorrect icons along with a few missing icons.

These are all incorrect and there are more that are not shown in the screenshot:

Windows Update shield not showing up in notification Area......-notification-area-icons.jpg

has Comodo AV icon assigned!

Also if you can make out the icon at the top "Windows Updates" - currently

What I do next is rebuild icon cache then reboot.

Then reset notification area icons then reboot.

Then re-customize notification area icons.

That usually fixes it.

See Brink's scripts here:

Notification Area Icons - Reset

and here:

Icon Cache - Rebuild

Callender · 21 Aug 2015

Note: If running the Notification Area Icons - Reset script it's important not to close the window when you see the message "The operation completed successfully" - wait until you see the reboot prompt.

All fixed for me:

Windows Update shield not showing up in notification Area......-notification-area-icons-2.jpg

STC · 21 Aug 2015

Thanks Callender. I tried rebuild and reset and didn't work Update shield is not showing and it should w/ important updates available.

When I install it, the install icon shows up.

Its not the end of the world, but it is a bit annoying. I guess now i'll have to remember to manually check for updates every few days or so. Not sure what happened as was all working fine last week.
You will be missed yellow updates shield

Callender · 21 Aug 2015

Well I guess you'll need to wait until the next scheduled windows update check (tomorrow) to see if it's working or not.

STC · 21 Aug 2015

Callender said:

Well I guess you'll need to wait until the next scheduled windows update check (tomorrow) to see if it's working or not.

If that was the case shouldn't I see the shield icon show up in my 1st pic as there was an update available?

Callender · 21 Aug 2015

Don't take my word on it but as far as I know it should show up after a scheduled windows update check and not just because there are updates available following a previous windows updates check.

Actually you might have to wait until further updates are available so it could be a while. The other option to test would be to uninstall a recent update - reboot and run a new update check.

Lady Fitzgerald · 21 Aug 2015

I had a similar problem. After hiding the same, blasted Skype update four times in an hour or so, the icon disappeared and I couldn't get the thing back, even after trying to reset it in Customize. I just now looked in Customize again and it was showing the icon disabled. I reenabled the stupid thing and the icon is back now. It was as though MS was punishing me for rejecting their precious Skype.