Windows 7 3rd Party Gadgets Will Not Install

[matrixmainframe]

I have installed Windoes 7 and the Windows Sidebar has all the default Gadgets including Calendar, Clock, CPU Meter etc but I cannot install any others.

I have clicked on the "Get more gadgets online" link in the Windows Gadgets window, downloaded several gadgets including 'BlackCalendar.gadget', 'shutdown_v2.gadget' and 'DigitalWorldClock.gadget' but when I double click on them I get the "Do you want to open this file?" dialogue box, I click on OPEN and the Windows Gadget window opens which shows the nine default gadgets but the new gadget does not appear and nothing else happens?!

I have followed some suggested cures from various websites but without success.

Can anyone assist please?

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're encountering an issue with installing additional gadgets on Windows 7. Let's try a few troubleshooting steps to see if we can resolve this problem: 1. Check Gadget Compatibility: - Ensure that the gadgets you are trying to install are compatible with Windows 7. - Some gadgets might be designed for newer versions of Windows and may not work properly on Windows 7. 2. Run Windows Sidebar as Administrator: - Try running the Windows Sidebar application as an administrator before installing the new gadgets. - Right-click on the Windows Sidebar icon and select "Run as administrator." 3. Install Manually: - Instead of double-clicking on the gadget files, try manually installing them by following these steps: 1. Right-click on the gadget file and select "Extract All." 2. Navigate to the extracted folder and look for the ".gadget" file. 3. Right-click on the ".gadget" file and select "Install." 4. Check UAC Settings: - Make sure that the User Account Control (UAC) settings are not preventing the installation of gadgets. - Temporarily disable UAC and try installing the gadgets again to see if it makes a difference. 5. Restart Windows Sidebar: - Sometimes, restarting the Windows Sidebar can help in resolving gadget installation issues. - Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, locate "sidebar.exe," and end the process. Then, restart the Windows Sidebar. 6. Reset Windows Gadget Platform: - Try resetting the Windows Gadget Platform to its default settings. - Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows Features on or off, uncheck Windows Gadget Platform, restart your computer, then re-enable it. 7. Check Windows Update: - Ensure that your Windows 7 system is up to date with the latest updates from Windows Update. - Sometimes, system updates can address compatibility issues with gadgets. Give these steps a try and let me know if you encounter any issues or if this resolves the problem with installing additional gadgets on Windows 7.