NOtification/ system tray icon missing from system tray in XP

Cause

The exact cause for the problem is unknown. According to Microsoft, the problem can be caused by the Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) which discovers Universal Plug and Play devices on your network.

However, Microsoft Knowledge Base may not exactly the same symptom with notification area icons do not appearing issue, as it also has other symptoms:

• The pointer changes to an hour glass when you move it over the taskbar.
• Some icons do not appear in the notification area.
• When you click Start, nothing happens.
• The Start button does not work for several minutes, and then it starts to work.
• When you restart the computer, the icons in the notification area are missing. If you log off and log on with the same user account, the icons appear.
• When you click any icon in the Quick Launch bar immediately after starting the computer, the pointer changes to an hourglass.

Solutions

Possible solutions are many, although none confirmed to be working perfectly. If you have the symptoms as mentioned by Microsoft above, you can try out resolution suggested by Microsoft to resolve this behavior. Note that Microsoft’s solution will disable the SSDP Discovery Service, which caused new devices on the network cannot be found automatically.

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Click Services and Applications.
3. Double-click Services.
4. In the Services list, right-click SSDP Discovery Service, and then click Properties.
5. On the General tab, in the Startup type drop-down list, click Disabled.
6. Click OK.