Taskbar sizing problem. No System Restore Point. XP SP3 problem?

Avoriaz

I have a Dell laptop running Windows XP, now with System Pack 3.

I like my taskbar to look like this:



I don't want or need it to be any taller. For years it has stayed like that. For the last few months, possibly related to SP3 being installed, it randomly and occasionally decides to double in size to this:



This is wasting desktop space and is too intrusive. Normally I can unlock the taskbar, left click and hold on the top edge and drag it to make it bigger or smaller or move it to the side or top of the screen.

However it now refuses to let me make it the size that I want as shown in the first picture above.

I can make it bigger, or move it. I can even make it tiny like this.



But I cannot get it to the size I want.

Actually, I can get it to that size but only by unclicking the quick launch toolbar which defeats the whole point of the taskbar. As soon as I click the quick launch toolbar, it jumps to the bigger size.

When this first started happening a while ago I tried everything I could see to resize it but nothing worked. I finally did a system restore to a restore point a few days previously and that fixed it. It has happened again a few times and each time I have had to do a system restore to get it back.

Today it happened again and, when I tried to do a system restore, there were no system restore points available.

What on earth is going on? I am tearing my hair out in frustration.

I am fairly certain that this, and a few other problems that I have had, are down to SP3 so, unless anyone has a better suggestion or warns me off, I am going to remove SP3 and see if that helps.

Any comments and or suggestions would be most welcome. Can I edit the registry to make the taskbar the size that I want? I am fairly competent and I know how to set the taskbar to be hidden etc. I don't think I am missing something obvious that will fix the problem.

I apologise for the long post but it is hard to detail the problem in a paragraph.

MikeWhitehead

Re-size your QuickLaunch. As a (very quick) guess your QuickLaunch is improperly sized.

EDIT: Give this a go:

Open a window (any window, Notepad for example)
This should display that application in your task bar, and to the left of that task will be a "resizer" similar to what you have in your QuickLaunch. Drag this up so it is in line with your QuickLaunch. You can then resize to a single row.

therealdessie

Have you tried locking the taskbar? Otherwise you could add a new toolbar and put the links you want in there, it will open above the taskbar rather than right in it.

Avoriaz

Mike, thank you. That appears to have worked.

I'm sure I tried that before but obviously not properly. Perhaps I was trying it with no applications open.

Anyway I am very grateful.

Do you have any suggestions for the missing restore points? XP is supposed to create them automatically and they have always been there before until today.

I have allowed plenty of space for them. I have just checked and "Turn Off System Restore" isn't checked and the slider is set to 12% which is 9157mb. That is more than enough for lots of restore points.

MikeWhitehead

I'm glad that worked for you.

On the subject of Restore Points I'm sorry, but I don't use the functionality that is provided by Windows.