If you are running an application full-screen when it crashes, the taskbar is left invisible. To restore the taskbar to its visible state just follow this little procedure:
- Press the Windows ‘Start’ key on your keyboard to bring up the Start Menu
- Press ‘Esc’ (to remove the menu)
- Press the ‘popup menu’ key (the one just to the right of Alt Gr).
- Click ‘Properties’
- Click the Taskbar tab
- Click the ‘Auto-hide the taskbar’ option (to activate it).
- Click Apply.
- Click the ‘Auto-hide the taskbar’ option again (to clear it).
- Click OK. Your taskbar is now restored.
This should work in Windows XP, and previous Windows editions as well (although the words might be slightly different). It also assumes that you don’t have Auto-hide on already. Might seem like a long process, but it’s the easiest way I’ve found of restoring the taskbar after a full-screen app crash (like a game, or media player).