Vista - Recovering Windows Vista Sidebar

Dear Forum,

I really like the windows Sidebar in Vista Premium, but something has happened and I can't see or get it to load right now.

Any guidance on how to recover from this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Sincere thanks,
meche94

I guess this should help
Vista X64 Sidebar

I have unsuccessfully attempted two methods to restore Windows Sidebar... the one given from the forum and the following from HP Chat Support:

"
You need to perform the belows steps in safemode of windows, So I suggest you to perform the steps offline after compleating our chat session, I will also send you a copy of this chat transcript to your email for your further reference.

Yes ma'am

Here are the steps:

1. Press and hold the notebook PC power button until the notebook shuts down.

2. Press the notebook PC power button to restart the computer.

3. When you see the Compaq logo before the operating system loads onto your PC, repeatedly press F8 to enter the Advanced Boot Options.

4. Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select Safe Mode and then press Enter .
Windows files will load.

5. After the Windows files have finished loading, log into Windows and then click Start .

6. Type C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar in the Search field and then press Enter .

7. Right-click the Settings file and then select Delete . Click Yes to confirm deletion.

8. Restart your notebook.

9. Windows Vista will load the original gadgets that came installed on the notebook."

You probably have but just encase; Have you tried Windows Start Button > All Programs > Accessories > click on 'Windows Sidebar'. If that loads then right click on Windows Sidebar icon on the task bar. Select 'Properties' and make sure the 'Start Sidebar when Windows starts' box is checked.

Hi Meche94,

Since you already tried the other methods, try the method suggested by JaxMacFl to see if it will help.

How to Turn Windows Sidebar On or Off in Vista

Shawn

JaxMacFL and Brink,

Thanks guys, but unfortunately, neither of your suggestions worked; Brink, I actually went to a thread I believe you posted on how to modify the system registry to get Windows Sidebar functional again, but to no avail.

Any additional guidance to resolve this is greatly appreciated; I've since discovered that Protected Mode is off when in IE 7 and I've made several attempts to turn it on with no success either.

meche94
North Carolina

It appears that you have no rights or privileges, maybe ?

No, this is actually my computer... I bought it in January '07. Do I need to make this changes logged in under Safe Mode?

Meche94,

Since you already tried:

How to Enable or Disable Windows Sidebar in Vista
and
How to Turn Windows Sidebar On or Off in Vista

Was there a gadget that you installed right before this happened?

If there was, you might try uninstalling it (deleting it) as a test.
1. Open C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets and C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Shared Gadgets.
NOTE: If you have 64 bit Vista, then look in the C:\Program Files (x86) folders to.
2. Find the folder for the suspected bad gadget, then right click on it and click Delete.
3. Confirm the prompts to delete.

The default ones that come with Vista are: Calendar, Clock, Contacts, CPU, Currency, Notes, PicturePuzzle, RSSFeeds, SlideShow, Stocks, and Weather. These should be fine.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Shawn,

Thank you for continuing to help me with this; as you suggested I went to afforementioned Gadget files location. There were two files I downloaded which did not install so I removed them from the Gadgets folder. There weren't any files at all in the Shared Gadgets folder.

Regards,
Henri