Windows
Windows taskbar disappeared and the cursor stayed as a blue spinning circle
The desktop taskbar was missing and the pointer kept showing a blue spinning circle. Restarting the PC cleared the stuck state and resolved the issue.
Killed once by someone from XL.net, on 2026-02-11.
Affects
Versions
- Windows
What you see
- Taskbar missing from the desktop
- Blue spinning circle shown by the cursor
Why it happens
Suspected A stuck process was suspected to have frozen the Windows shell, possibly during a Microsoft Teams meeting.
When it shows up
A Windows desktop loses its taskbar and the cursor stays as a blue spinning circle, suggesting the shell or a foreground process is hung.
You are in this case if:
- The taskbar is absent on the desktop
- The cursor remains a blue spinning circle
- A restart restores the taskbar and normal pointer behavior
1 fix below
The steps that killed it
The steps are behind a quick check
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Someone from XL.net killed this on a Windows computer on 2026-02-11. It is written up from that one repair, so it cites no outside page.