Windows 11 KB5034765 reportedly breaks taskbar, causing it to disappear

Earlier this month, Microsoft released cumulative updates for all supported Windows versions. Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 got KB5034765 with security fixes and other quality-of-life improvements. However, for some users, KB5034765 introduced nothing but problems, particularly with the taskbar.

According to various reports on Reddit and Microsoft's Feedback Hub, KB5034765 breaks Windows 11 by leaving blank space where its taskbar usually resides. As a result, affected customers cannot launch pinned apps, switch between running applications, access the Quick Setting menu, check the notification area, and more. In Windows, the taskbar is a cornerstone of the user interface, so losing access to it is a big problem.

Microsoft has not acknowledged the problem yet. Therefore, affected users need to figure out the problem and fix their computers without specific guides or workarounds from the Windows maker. Fortunately, it seems that you do not need deep knowledge of Windows to mend your system. Uninstalling KB5034765 helped some users resolve the problem. Here is how to do that.

1. Naturally, if your system is affected, you cannot right-click the Start menu to open the Settings app. Therefore, press Win + I to launch it without the Start menu.
2. Go to the Windows Update section and click Update history.
3. Press Uninstall updates.
4. Find KB5034765 and click Uninstall.
5. Windows will ask you to confirm the action, so click Uninstall again.
6. Restart your computer.

There is no information on what exactly triggers the problem and if the KB5034765 is the culprit. You can try uninstalling it as a quick and easy fix. As a reminder, Windows is a very diverse ecosystem with thousands of hardware configurations and even more software configurations. Therefore, multiple factors may affect your experience and cause a random bug or two. Taskbar malfunction sounds like a serious one, so hopefully, Microsoft will address it soon.

Is your system doing okay after installing the latest cumulative updates?

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