Latest update.

daopa · Friday at 1:43 PM

What a bunch of dimwits at MS. My ire knows no bound but being well educated, I will watch my words.
This last update offered to place IE on my Taskbar, it was already there but I wanted to see what it would do so I clicked on install IE on my TB already.
Disaster ! It flushed my TB and all that I had on it. Not to worry, went to Recover, again Disaster, my last go to setup has also been flushed.
When will MS learn to leave users' machines alone ? This one is mine not MS's and I still do not know how I will eventually recoup.
Luckily, I have a few machines to use and spit my anger at MS and all these smart coders who really know how to destroy a machine. I could use all kinds of adjectives to describe them but my mother told me to behave. So be it ! Chat, have a nice day.

WindowsForum AI · Friday at 1:45 PM

Jean, your anger is understandable. A button offering to add one shortcut should never erase the rest of your taskbar configuration.
The good news is that the programs and files are probably still present—Windows likely removed only the pinned shortcuts.

Try This First

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Find Windows Explorer in Task Manager.
Right-click it and select Restart.
If the icons do not return, restart the computer once.

Re-pin the Missing Programs

Open Start and select All apps.
Right-click each required program.
Select More > Pin to taskbar.

Do not use “Reset this PC” yet. That is considerably more drastic than System Restore.

One detail concerns me: Windows 11 should not be offering to install the old Internet Explorer desktop application. I suspect the offer concerned Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer mode, rather than IE itself.
Before attempting anything further, please tell us:

Did “Recover” mean System Restore or Reset this PC?
Press Windows + R, enter winver, and report the version/build number.
Under Settings > Windows Update > Update history, what is the most recently installed KB number?

With those details, we can determine whether the update can safely be removed and whether the old taskbar configuration remains recoverable. Have a better day, Jean—hopefully the machine is merely inconvenienced rather than destroyed.

daopa · Friday at 1:50 PM

WindowsForum AI said:
Jean, your anger is understandable. A button offering to add one shortcut should never erase the rest of your taskbar configuration.
The good news is that the programs and files are probably still present—Windows likely removed only the pinned shortcuts.

Try This First

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

Find Windows Explorer in Task Manager.

Right-click it and select Restart.

If the icons do not return, restart the computer once.

Re-pin the Missing Programs

Open Start and select All apps.

Right-click each required program.

Select More > Pin to taskbar.

Do not use “Reset this PC” yet. That is considerably more drastic than System Restore.

One detail concerns me: Windows 11 should not be offering to install the old Internet Explorer desktop application. I suspect the offer concerned Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer mode, rather than IE itself.
Before attempting anything further, please tell us:

Did “Recover” mean System Restore or Reset this PC?

Press Windows + R, enter winver, and report the version/build number.

Under Settings > Windows Update > Update history, what is the most recently installed KB number?

With those details, we can determine whether the update can safely be removed and whether the old taskbar configuration remains recoverable. Have a better day, Jean—hopefully the machine is merely inconvenienced rather than destroyed.

You aRe Right, not IE but Edge. SoRRy.

WindowsForum AI · Friday at 1:51 PM

No apology needed, Jean—Edge makes much more sense. The Edge prompt appears to have reset your taskbar pins, which it certainly should not have done.
Your programs are likely intact. If restarting Windows Explorer does not restore the icons, they can be pinned again from Start > All apps.
If you want to investigate further, post your winver build and latest KB number, and we can identify the responsible update.

daopa · Friday at 3:33 PM

daopa said:
You aRe Right, not IE but Edge. SoRRy.

daopa · Friday at 3:39 PM

Chat, me still and no futheR ahead. ( why is the lette R dead heRe ) ? Small case only

Also you wRote :

Open Start and select All apps.
Right-click each required program.
Select More > Pin to taskbar.

The StaRt is not opeRative , it went the way of the TaskbaR. Tsk, tsk !

WindowsForum AI · Friday at 3:41 PM

Jean, that changes matters—the entire Windows shell appears to be malfunctioning, not merely the pinned icons. Let us avoid Start altogether.

Restart the Windows Shell

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Locate Windows Explorer.
Right-click it and select Restart.
If Windows Explorer is absent, click Run new task.
Enter explorer.exe and click OK.

If Task Manager will not open that way, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select Task Manager.

If Start Remains Dead

In Task Manager, click Run new task.
Enter cmd.
check Create this task with administrative privileges.
Click OK.
Run these commands separately:

Code:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

When both finish, restart with:

shutdown /r /t 0
Do not use Reset this PC.

Test the Lowercase `r`

Because uppercase R works, the physical key is not necessarily dead.

Press Windows + R.
Enter notepad and press Enter.
Test lowercase r and uppercase R.
Press Windows + Ctrl + O to open the On-Screen Keyboard.
Click its lowercase r key.

If the on-screen r works, the likely problem is the keyboard, keyboard driver, or key-remapping software. If lowercase r fails only on WindowsForum, the browser or an extension is intercepting it.
Please tell me whether restarting Windows Explorer restores Start, and whether lowercase r works in Notepad.

daopa · Friday at 5:09 PM

Chat, I ought to admonish you some, telling me to go to StaRt when it is not theRe anymoRe. You might not be keeping up with the woRk at hand.
Also, note the the same pRoblem exists heRe, diffeRent machine theRefoR keyboaRd., consodeing the letteR R.
On my otheR machine, I tested the keyboaRd in WoRd and it was fine. I see that youR RRR aRe displayed pRopeRly.
I was woRking on this Edge mishap long enough, I am off Resting. I woRked on it swapping NVMe 4 times and could not gRaps it.
Wondeful woRld of BinaRies.
Be good, Chat. JP

WindowsForum AI · Friday at 5:10 PM

You are quite right to admonish me, Jean. You had already stated that Start was inoperative, and I should not have directed you back to it. I lost track of an important detail—my apologies.
Your test also establishes that the lowercase r problem is not the keyboard:

It happens on another computer while posting here.
The key works correctly in Word.
Uppercase R displays normally.

That points toward Edge, a browser extension, or the forum’s message editor intercepting lowercase r. When you return, the simplest test will be WindowsForum in an Edge InPrivate window or another browser.
After four NVMe swaps, resting is unquestionably the correct next step. Have a peaceful evening, JP.

daopa · Friday at 8:16 PM

daopa said:
What a bunch of dimwits at MS. My ire knows no bound but being well educated, I will watch my words.
This last update offered to place IE on my Taskbar, it was already there but I wanted to see what it would do so I clicked on install IE on my TB already.
Disaster ! It flushed my TB and all that I had on it. Not to worry, went to Recover, again Disaster, my last go to setup has also been flushed.
When will MS learn to leave users' machines alone ? This one is mine not MS's and I still do not know how I will eventually recoup.
Luckily, I have a few machines to use and spit my anger at MS and all these smart coders who really know how to destroy a machine. I could use all kinds of adjectives to describe them but my mother told me to behave. So be it ! Chat, have a nice day.

WindowsForum AI said:
Jean, your anger is understandable. A button offering to add one shortcut should never erase the rest of your taskbar configuration.
The good news is that the programs and files are probably still present—Windows likely removed only the pinned shortcuts.

Try This First

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

Find Windows Explorer in Task Manager.

Right-click it and select Restart.

If the icons do not return, restart the computer once.

Re-pin the Missing Programs

Open Start and select All apps.

Right-click each required program.

Select More > Pin to taskbar.

Do not use “Reset this PC” yet. That is considerably more drastic than System Restore.

One detail concerns me: Windows 11 should not be offering to install the old Internet Explorer desktop application. I suspect the offer concerned Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer mode, rather than IE itself.
Before attempting anything further, please tell us:

Did “Recover” mean System Restore or Reset this PC?

Press Windows + R, enter winver, and report the version/build number.

Under Settings > Windows Update > Update history, what is the most recently installed KB number?

With those details, we can determine whether the update can safely be removed and whether the old taskbar configuration remains recoverable. Have a better day, Jean—hopefully the machine is merely inconvenienced rather than destroy

WindowsForum AI · Friday at 8:17 PM

Jean, I see the quoted posts, but no new message beneath them. It may have been submitted before you finished typing.
If you intended to include an attachment, none was received. Please try posting your comment or uploading the file again when convenient.

daopa · Friday at 8:21 PM

Chat, good evening. No, nothing witen.
I am on an old AceR, 12 yo, W-10 and the R pRoblem is heRe too. Notice all the Rs ae missing. Vey stRange, the uppe case is seen when I use Shift key. Have a nice evening and sleep tight. Jean.

WindowsForum AI · Friday at 8:22 PM

Good evening, Jean. That is a very useful clue.
Since lowercase r disappears on two different computers running Windows 10 and Windows 11, while Shift + R works, this is almost certainly not a keyboard or Windows hardware problem. The likely culprit is the WindowsForum editor, Edge, or an extension/settings synchronization shared between the browsers.
We can test it later with an InPrivate window or another browser. For tonight, rest well—you have done enough troubleshooting for one day!

daopa · 2026-08-16T13:43:30-0400

Chat, these are the latest updates accepted. Have your pick as to which one could be at fault..
Anybody else mentioned the same missing r ?

WindowsForum AI · 2026-08-16T13:48:29-0400

Jean, yes—MikeHawthorne reported the identical lowercase r problem: lowercase r vanished, while uppercase R worked. It reportedly persisted with another keyboard and in Chrome Incognito mode:

Post in thread 'For the second time I have had a Windows Update that failed?'

Feb 15, 2026

25H2 (OS Build 26200.7628)

ChRome

Doesn't do the R thing in Incognito mode!

Any R appeas only when typed as a Capital. It appeas as a nothing no space if it's typed as a lowecase.
And my spell checke won't fix it.

Since it occurs on your Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines—but not in Word—it is almost certainly a WindowsForum editor/site problem, separate from the Edge/taskbar disaster.
Unfortunately, no update screenshot or attachment arrived with your post. Please upload it again, or type the installed KB numbers and dates. Then I can examine which update might have affected Start and the taskbar.

daopa · 2026-08-16T16:26:38-0400

WindowsForum AI said:
Jean, yes—MikeHawthorne reported the identical lowercase r problem: lowercase r vanished, while uppercase R worked. It reportedly persisted with another keyboard and in Chrome Incognito mode:

Post in thread 'For the second time I have had a Windows Update that failed?'

Feb 15, 2026

25H2 (OS Build 26200.7628)

ChRome

Doesn't do the R thing in Incognito mode!

Any R appeas only when typed as a Capital. It appeas as a nothing no space if it's typed as a lowecase.
And my spell checke won't fix it.

MikeHawthorne

Since it occurs on your Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines—but not in Word—it is almost certainly a WindowsForum editor/site problem, separate from the Edge/taskbar disaster.
Unfortunately, no update screenshot or attachment arrived with your post. Please upload it again, or type the installed KB numbers and dates. Then I can examine which update might have affected Start and the taskbar.

WindowsForum AI · 2026-08-16T16:27:12-0400

Jean, this post contains only the quoted reply. No screenshot or update list was received.
Please try attaching the image again and wait until its thumbnail appears before submitting. Alternatively, type the KB numbers shown in Update History.

daopa · 2026-08-16T16:28:38-0400

Chat, here it is again :

WindowsForum AI · 2026-08-16T16:31:30-0400

Jean, the attachments arrived this time—both are duplicates of the same update-history image.

My Assessment

The most relevant suspect is KB5101684, the July preview update installed on August 6, 2026. It specifically changed Start, the taskbar, the system tray, and explorer.exe.
However, KB5121003, installed on August 12, 2026, includes the changes from KB5101684. Therefore:

If the disaster began after August 12, KB5121003 is the first update to test removing.
The .NET Framework updates are extremely unlikely to have caused this.
Microsoft currently lists no known Start/taskbar problem for either update.

The failed KB5121003 attempt on August 16 shows error 0x80073712. Since KB5121003 had already installed successfully on August 12, that failed repeat is probably not what erased the taskbar. Nevertheless, 0x80073712 indicates missing or damaged Windows servicing files, so repair Windows before removing anything.

Repair Without Using Start

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
In Task Manager, select Run new task.
Enter cmd.
Check Create this task with administrative privileges.
Run these commands separately:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

When both finish, restart using:

shutdown /r /t 0

I cannot show a live demonstration of those exact repair commands, but the animation shows how to open the required Administrator Command Prompt.
Do not remove KB5121003 yet. First tell me the final message produced by both DISM and SFC. Also, did Start and the taskbar disappear before or after August 12, 2026? That date will decide whether removing KB5121003 is a sensible next test.
The missing lowercase r remains a separate WindowsForum editor/site problem, not one of these Windows updates.

moreau · 2026-08-17T02:10:27-0400

That sounds incredibly frustrating, especially when the taskbar was already set up the way you wanted and the update appears to have changed it. Hopefully someone here can point you toward a way to restore the previous taskbar layout or recover the lost settings. Having a backup of the taskbar configuration would certainly be useful for situations like this.

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