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Windows Notification Area(System Tray) Is Disabled On Taskbar & Hidden

Sometimes due to reasons like malware infections you may find issues with showing System Notification Area (System Tray) on the taskbar because it is disabled on your computer. You may also see issues with Turn off notification area cleanup along with disappeared system tray. Major reasons for the disappearance of this on your Windows computer are either enabling the feature Hide the notification area on Local Group Policy Editor or disable its display from the registry. If you face issues with viewing this area on your computer, follow the steps provided below.
  1. Make sure it is not hidden from Group Policy

  2. Make sure it is not hidden from Windows Registry

Enable System Tray (Notification Area) From Group Policy Editor
  1. Type gpedit.msc on the Search box and click to open
    Use gpedit,msc to disable system tray on Windows 8

  2. Click User Configuration and open Administrative Templates

  3. Click Start Menu and Taskbar

  4. Double click on Hide the notification area on the right side of the window.
    I cannot see system tray on taskbar

  5. Hide System Tray on Your Computer

    To hide the notification area on your PC, select the radio button Enabled and click Apply.
    Make system tray invisible

  6. Unlock hidden Notification Area

    To unlock the hidden Notification Area and make it visible on the taskbar, select the radio button Disabled or Not Configured. Do not forget to click Apply.

If your computer is facing issues with hidden taskbar and if you want to make it visible, you can always do it from group policy edit. We can make Notification Area invisible on taskbar from  Registry edit also. If it is disabled on your PC from the registry, you must follow the instructions provided below to perform it.

Registry Tip to Hide & Unlock System Tray on Taskbar
  1. Open Registry Editor
    Type regedit on the Search bar and click on it. Sometimes you may face issues with opening Registry Editor and failed to unlock disabled Notification Area on your PC. If you face this issue, click the link below and follow the instructions there.
    I Cannot Open Windows Registry Editor

  2. Click Yes to Open Registry Editor on your computer
    Start Registry Editor to Disable Windows Notification Area

  3. Go to the location HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    How to make system tray invisible using registry editor

  4. How to Hide Notification Area in Registry Edit

    Right click on the right side of the registry window and create a new DWORD(32 bit)value and name it as NoTrayItemsDisplay. Set the value 1 to hide Notification Area on your Windows computer.
    Registry trick to hide System Tray on Windows 8 and Windows 7

    Double click on NoTrayItemsDisplay and set the value 1 to hide.
    Set system tray invisible

  5. How to Display hidden System Tray

    To show hidden system tray on the taskbar, you must set the value 0 to NoTrayItemsDisplay.

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