Windows XP SP2 Toolbar disappears upon opening FXS

[kangaroo444]

Hi,
For some time now I have had the problem of losing the windows task/toolbar at the bottom of screen when loading FX Server.
No matter what I've tried, I can not get the bar back unless I reboot.
The problem happens more often when PC has been running for some time and has had other programs running before loading FXS.  Also if there has been a need to exit the server and restart it.  Very seldom does it occur if the room is loaded immediately on rebooting  pc.
Usual programs running are Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, WinMX 3.54 beta 4, Metis Chatbot 2.08
Does anyone else have this happen? Is there a command that can bring back the task bar?
Thanks
Kangaroo444 (Steve)

[bughunter]

sounds like a lack of memory how much ram do you have ?..............
single biggest performance upgrade you can do for a pc is have more ram, this allows you to run more applications with the less likely hood of applications freezing etc.............

[sIrMoOn]

What you're seeing is a freeze or crash of the program that manages your taskbar - this is a common Windows problem when you leave your computer on for a very long time.  Adding RAM or running fewer programs may allow you to go longer, but Windows will pretty much always do this eventually if you leave it running long enough.

To get the taskbar back:

1) close any open folder windows
2) press ctrl + shift + esc to open task manager
3) go to "processes" tab, if you find any "explorer.exe" in the listing select it and "end task"
4) click file, new task, type "explorer" and hit ok.

There is one major problem with this.  WinMX, FXServer, RoboMX, Metis, and BideBotMX will lose their system tray icons.  I haven't tested the new WCS so I don't know if it will or not, and other programs may be affected as well.  Basically this is because some programs don't make their system tray icon the way they're supposed to.  This mainly affects MX-related programs (most programs get it right).  There are two possible ways not to lose these programs:

1) don't minimize these programs to the system tray
2) use a program like "PSTrayFactory" which can detect when programs make their system tray icons and ensure they get added properly