I was having a problem with my gadgets not working or even having the option to use the gadgets. I was also having a problem with my sound cutting out completely. While fixing my sound problem, I got rid of the sound driver (I believe it was the 6.1.7000 driver that Windows Update updated the driver to) and after I installed the correct driver from my motherboard manufacturer, my gadgets started to work again.
With the driver for the sound being wrong, it also made my gadgets on my desktop not work. I changed the driver and the gadgets worked. If you are having a problem with the sound, you may also have the gadget problem. Just a thought.