Using the full-screen mode on your PC while gaming is the most fun way to play most, if not all, of your games. It doesn’t just maximize the graphics of the game but is also supposed to minimize distractions, letting you enjoy the game you’re playing to the fullest. However, doing so becomes very difficult when you can continuously see the taskbar overlaying on your screen.
While the problem may be a common and a pretty irritating one, thankfully, there’s more than one way using which you can easily remove the taskbar that keeps appearing on your screen You can auto-hide the taskbar via the settings on your device, use the shortcut key, or restart Windows Explorer and your issue will be resolved.
Since there’s more than one way of fixing this problem, let us walk you through the solutions in detail so that you can use either of these methods the next time this issue arises.
Solution#1: Auto-Hide the Taskbar
To auto-hide the taskbar on your PC or tablet, do the following:
- Right-click the taskbar. You will now see different options appearing on your screen.
- Click the option of ‘taskbar settings’ present at the bottom.
- Once you’ve clicked the taskbar settings option, you will be redirected to a new window.
- In the new window, you’ll see two options, one for auto-hiding the taskbar in desktop mode and the other for auto-hiding the taskbar in tablet mode. Select the one that applies to you.
Solution#2: Use the Shortcut
If the above-mentioned dissolution does not work for you, try using a shortcut.
Simply press the F11 key on your keyboard and that should do the trick.
Remember that this hack of using the shortcut works on all laptops although on some laptops you may have to press both the Fn and F11 key at the same time to remove the taskbar from your screen while you’re gaming.
Solution#3: Restart Windows Explorer
If the issue of the taskbar appearance on your screen is still bothering you, you should try restarting the Windows Explorer on your desktop or laptop. Here’s how you can do it:
- Press the CTRL, SHIFT, and ESC buttons on your keyboard. This will open the Task Manager on your screen.
- In the task manager, you will see the option of ‘Windows Explorer. Select the one that is currently under process.
- Once you left-click the option, you will see different options, including a ‘restart’ button. Click that button to restart your explorer and you’re good to go!
There is also another method of restarting Windows, called the Command Method.
In case the above-mentioned method doesn’t work for you or the explorer takes too long to restart, here’s what you can do:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows icon and R. This will open the ‘run box
- With the textbox now open, type in ‘cmd’ and then taskkill /im explorer.exe /f”.
- Type ‘explorer’ once more and then type ‘exit’.
Doing this will kill the Windows Explorer and restart it for you. While this method is a little more time-consuming than others, it has the tendency of solving the issue.
Why Is My Taskbar Still Not Hiding?
Usually, the taskbar issue can easily be resolved via one of the methods described above. However, in some cases, the taskbar refuses to go away. There could be various different reasons for that such as:
- The application running on your computer has an urgent notice for you that needs your attention. Once you’ve settled the notification, the taskbar will stop showing on your screen.
- There may be an app running in the background that needs to be closed. Once you close the app, the taskbar will go away on its own.
- You’re receiving new notifications These could be emails, chats, or notifications related to any other app. Tend to the notifications to close the taskbar. To stop these notifications from disturbing you again, simply take away the app’s permission to show you desktop notifications.
How Common is the Taskbar Popup Issue?
Contrary to what you may be thinking at this point, let us assure you that the overlay of the taskbar is a problem with Windows and not a fault in your computer.
This glitch first started appearing in Windows 7 and sadly enough is a part of Windows 11 as well.
Can I Make my Taskbar Transparent?
If taskbar removal during gaming is something that is just not working for you, you might want to customize your taskbar to make it transparent. Making your taskbar transparent isn’t just going to help you enjoy full-screen gaming better but your taskbar will end up looking pretty cool too.
Here’s how you can do it:
- Go to settings and open up the personalization tab.
- After the personalization window is open, switch to the tab labeled ‘colors’ using the panel on the left side of your screen.
- Scroll down this tab till you come across ‘transparency effects’.
- Click on the transparency switch so it is turned ‘on’. In case the switch was already on, turn it off and then on again. This will ensure that the change is toggled.
With that, we hope your issue of the taskbar reappearing on your screen while you’re trying to enjoy full-screen gaming is resolved. Although we have figured out different solutions to tackle this problem on our own, we hope that Microsoft will look into the matter as well.
Considering that it has been a recurring issue ever since the launch of Windows 7, it would make the life of computer gamers easier and would be a step that will be highly appreciated by the PC/Laptop gaming community.