My router icon will not display in the taskbar. When I click on Customise it tells me notifications are inactive. I also cannot open the program on my desktop. Despite this, it seems to be connecting. Please help.

. .This all i could find on the internet,not sure if it will help.
this was related to the notification area (f.k.a. System Tray). Specifically, the "Action Center" notifications were causing the taskbar to pop-up every few seconds. I went into the Taskbar properties, and selected 'Customize' within the Notification area. I chose the 'Hide icon and notification' option for the Action Center icon. I'm sure that some of the other icons could cause this issue, as well. You just need to use trial and error to figure out which one is causing the problem. OR, I suppose you could choose to hide all of the icons if you don't care to see any of them in the system tray/notification area.
Steps:
1. Right click the taskbar
2. Select Properties
3. Click the 'Customize' button in the section labeled 'Notification area'
4. Find the suspect program (Action Center, in my case)
5. Click the drop-down next to the icon of the offending program
6. Select the "Hide icon and notifications" option
7. Click 'OK' to close the Notification Customization screen
8. Click 'OK' to close the Taskbar properties menu..
or try this link...
how to stop toolbar popping up Google Search

The task bar is an important part of the Windows experience. Not only does it contain a variety of information including what time it is and how much battery life is left it's the way most Windows users open programs and documents. As such, the task bar disappearing is a stressful thing, but fixing this problem on your own is possible.

Auto-Hide Sometimes you may think your task bar has disappeared, but it's really just been set to "auto-hide." Move your mouse to the bottom of the screen and see if it pops up automatically. Then check all four sides of the screen. If the task bar was simply auto-hiding, disable this feature by right-clicking the task bar, clicking "Properties" and unchecking "Auto-hide the Taskbar." b> Reboot b> If your task bar disappears, and auto-hide isn't the culprit, the first thing you should do is reboot your computer this fixes the problems in most instances. Only one problem: because your task bar disappeared you can't access the "Start" menu in order to shut down the computer. Instead press "Alt," "Ctrl," and "Delete" at the same time and press "Restart" in the window that pops up after doing so. Your computer should restart, and in most cases your task bar should come back when it restarts. b> More Options b> If rebooting doesn't fix cause the task bar to reappear, your computer might have a problem starting explorer.exe, the program that displays the task bar and desktop icons in Windows. Press "Ctrl," "Shift," and "Esc" at the same time to bring up the System Manager. Then click "File," followed by "New Task (Run)" and type "explorer.exe" in the dialogue box that pops up. You now have your task bar and desktop icons back. Reboot to see if they stick around after rebooting. If not, repeat the process in the above paragraph. When you have you task bar back click "Start," then "Programs," then "Accessories," then "System Tools" and then "System Restore." Restore the computer to a time when everything was working fine by clicking that date on the calendar. Reboot to see if this fixes the problem. If none of this brought back your task bar permanently it may be time to run a repair install. Change My Task Bar b> In Windows operating systems, the taskbar shows your currently active windows and programs, shortcuts to your favorite programs, the time, your volume control, active programs and the "Start" button. You may want to change the taskbar so it has a different look or to customize it to suit your needs when using your computer. Windows XP users have fewer options than Windows Vista or Windows 7 users, but all operating system owners can make changes to the taskbar.

Right-click in your taskbar. Left-click on "Lock the taskbar" if it is currently checked. Otherwise, click back onto the taskbar. Click on any empty area of the taskbar. Drag the taskbar to the position (bottom, top, left or right side of the screen) you desire, and release it. Re the taskbar by moving your cursor to where the taskbar ends. Your cursor will change to a two-way arrow. Left-click and drag the taskbar until it reaches the you want. Move your cursor over the series of separator bumps between the Start button and the Quick Launch menu, and the Quick Launch menu and the active programs section of the taskbar, to alter the of the Quick Launch menu and the active programs area. Right-click the taskbar, and left-click on "Lock the taskbar" once you've completed the changes you wish to make. b> Change Taskbar Options b> Right-click on the taskbar, and left-click on "Properties." Modify the taskbar settings so that it appears the way you like. You can decide whether to show the Quick Launch menu (a series of icons for your most commonly used programs), to show thumbnails for your active programs in Windows 7 and Windows Vista and to group similar active programs, and to automatically hide the taskbar or to always have it on top of other windows. Click on the "Notification" tab in Windows 7 or Vista to modify the way the notification area to the far right appears. Stay on the taskbar tab in Windows XP. Hide inactive icons, and decide which information to show, including the clock or the volume, power and network icons in Windows 7 and Vista. Click on the "Customize" button to specify which programs or notifications should always show, never show or grow inactive with disuse. Click on the "Toolbars" tab in Windows 7 or Vista to specify which toolbars you wish to see in the taskbar. Your options will vary according to the programs you have installed on your computer but may include the Quick Launch, address bar and links toolbars. Click the "Apply" button, then "OK" once you have made the changes you desire. Hope this helps.

Right click on any open area of your bottom taskbar, in the popup box click on "Properties".
On the next box that comes up click on "Customize".

You will then see a list of items that you can have displayed all the time on the right of your taskbar or
you can click on the bottom left box that will "Show All Icons and Notifications", best setup.


Make sure you click "OK", on the bottom right to apply the new settings.

Good Luck

The on-screen volume control icon on the Taskbar can be restored as follows....
1. right-click on a blank spot on the Taskbar
2. click on Properties at the bottom of the resulting pop-up window
3. in the Notification area of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window
4. click the Customize button beside the check-marked Hide inactive icons
5. in Customize Notifications, grab the slider bar on the right side and slide down
6. click on the row with the Name "Volume" and on its Behavior click v and set it to Always show

guy click on start button move to control pannel it will display a dialog box for u,click properties it display a nw dialog box select level

where the clock is RIGHT click and select CUSTOMISE NOTIFICATION ICONS then make sure that the the volume panel is showing this - hope this helps.

You experience one of the following symptoms on a Windows XP-based computer:

* The Volume icon is not displayed in the notification area at the far right of the taskbar.
* When you try to add the volume control icon to the notification area, you receive the following error message: "Windows cannot display the volume control on the taskbar because the Volume Control program has not been installed. To install it use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. "

Therefore, you cannot start the Volume Control program and cannot adjust the volume and sound level settings of your computer.

There are two possible causes of this problem:

* The Volume icon has not been added to the notification area of your computer. (The Volume icon is not displayed automatically when you first install Windows XP.)
* The Sndvol32.exe file is damaged or missing.

Solution:

Method 1: Add the Volume icon

To add the Volume icon to the notification area of your computer, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Copy and paste or type the following command in the Open box, and then click OK:
mmsys.cpl
3. Click to select the Place volume icon in the taskbar check box.
4. Click OK.

If the Volume icon is displayed in the notification area of your computer, you are finished. If you cannot add the Volume icon or if you receive an error message when you try to add it, the Sndvol32.exe file might be damaged or missing. Go to method 2.

Method 2: Save a new copy of the Sndvol32.exe file on your hard disk

If the Sndvol32.exe file is damaged or missing, you must extract a new copy of the Sndvol32.exe file from the Windows XP CD and save it on your computer's hard disk.

Prerequisites
This method requires you to have your Windows XP installation CD.

To extract a copy of the Sndvol32.exe file from the Windows XP CD and save it on your computer’s hard disk, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD drive or DVD drive. Press and hold the SHIFT key as you insert the CD to prevent it from starting automatically.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. Copy and paste or type the following command in the Open box, and then click OK:
cmd
The command prompt opens.
4. Type the drive letter of the CD drive or DVD drive, type a colon, and then press ENTER. For example, if your computer’s CD drive is drive E, type the following, and then press ENTER:
e:
5. Copy and paste or type the following, and then press ENTER:
cd i386
6. Copy and paste or type the following, and then press ENTER:
expand sndvol32.ex_ system_root\system32\sndvol32.exe

Note: system_root is the path and folder name where the Windows system files are located on your computer. This is usually C:\Windows. If the folder that contains the Windows system files on your computer is C:\Windows, type the following, and then press ENTER:
expand sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32\sndvol32.exe
Note There is a space between "ex_" and "c:\windows" in this command.

7. Type exit to exit the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
8. Verify that you can start Volume Control and that the Volume icon is displayed in the notification area (if you selected this option in method 1).

Hopefully the Volume icon is now displayed in the notification area.

Right click on the taskbar and look at properties. Uncheck "Hide inactive icons".

If already unchecked, try:

Start-Run type gpedit.msc and select ok.

In User config, open Start menu and Taskbar,

Double-click Turnoff Notification Cleanup in the right panel, select Enable and apply.

Good luck.

Close gpedit.msc and reboot.

Right click on your taskbar then choose properties. On the bottom of the box opened, there is a check box with label "Hide Inactive Icons". Uncheck the box.