118. Windows Sidebar Fails To Start
Before you proceed with the following
instructions make sure that the Windows Sidebar has
not been disabled. You can check to see if the
sidebar has been disabled by following the
instructions in Step One. If the sidebar is not
disabled then proceed to Step Two.
In Step Two it is important to ensure that you
choose the correct instructions for your version of
Windows Vista, i.e., 32 Bit or 64 Bit.
Step One
1/ Click the Start button.
2/ From the Start Menu, Click
Control Panel.
3/ In the Control Panel Window,
Click the Windows Sidebar Properties
icon.
4/ When the Windows Sidebar Properties
window opens, Check that there is a
Check Mark (Tick) in the box to the
Left of the Start sidebar when
windows starts option. If the box is empty
then the sidebar is disabled. To
enable it hover your Mouse
over the box and Right Click the
mouse button. A Check Mark
(Tick) should now appear in the box.
5/ Finally, Click OK to close
the properties window.
Step Two
If the Windows Sidebar fails to open it may be
necessary to un-register and then re-register the
sidebar .DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files. In order
to do this you need to open a a Command prompt in
Elevated mode. Once the Elevated Command window
opens you can proceed to, firstly, un-register the
required .DLL files and then, after they have
successfully been un-registered, you can re-register
them again and the sidebar should then work as
normal.
To complete this task, proceed as follows:
Windows Vista 32 Bit Version
1/ Click the Start button.
2/ From the Start menu, Click
All Programs followed by
Accessories.
3/ From the Accessories drop
down menu, Right click on the
Command prompt option and then,
from the command prompt drop down
menu, Click on the Run As Administrator
option.
4/ When the Elevated Command prompt
window opens type the following:
Regsvr32 -u "%ProgramFiles%\Windows
Sidebar\sbdrop.dll" and then Press
Enter. (Don't forget to include the
"double Quotes" in the command line or the
command will fail.)
5/ A message should appear telling you that the
.dll file has successfully been
un-registered.
6/ Next type the following into the
Command Prompt window:
Regsvr32 -u "%ProgramFiles%\Windows
Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll" and then press
Enter. (Don't forget to include the
"double Quotes" in the command line or the
command will fail.)
7/ The above two files should
now have been un-registered.
8/ Now you need to register the
following files: atl.dll;
sbdrop.dll; and wlsrvc.dll
so proceed as follows:
9/ Back in the Elevated Command Prompt
window type:
Regsvr32 atl.dll (that is ATL)
and press Enter.
10/ Next type:
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows
Sidebar\sbdrop.dll" and press Enter.
(Don't forget to include the "double Quotes"
in the command line or the command will fail.)
11/ Finally type:
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows
Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll" and press Enter.
(Don't forget to include the "double Quotes"
in the command line or the command will fail.)
12/ Now Close the
Command Prompt Window and Restart
your PC.
13/ The Windows Sidebar should
now open for you.
If your version of Vista is the 64 Bit version
then follow the instructions below:
Windows Vista 64 Bit Version
1/ Click the Start button.
2/ From the Start menu, Click
All Programs followed by
Accessories.
3/ From the Accessories drop
down menu, Right click on the
Command prompt option and then,
from the command prompt drop down
menu, Click on the Run As Administrator
option.
4/ When the Elevated Command prompt
window opens type the following:
Regsvr32 -u "%ProgramFiles(86)%\Windows
Sidebar\sbdrop.dll" and the Press
Enter. (Don't forget to include the
"double Quotes" in the command line or the
command will fail.)
5/ A message should appear telling you that the
.dll file has successfully been
un-registered.
6/ Next type the following into the
Command Prompt window:
Regsvr32 -u "%ProgramFiles(86)%\Windows
Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll" and then press
Enter. (Don't forget to include the
"double Quotes" in the command line or the
command will fail.)
7/ The above two files should
now have been un-registered.
8/ Now you need to register the following files:
atl.dll; sbdrop.dll;
and wlsrvc.dll so proceed as
follows:
9/ Back in the Elevated Command Prompt
window type:
Regsvr32 atl.dll (that is ATL)
and press Enter.
10/ Next type:
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles(86)%\Windows
Sidebar\sbdrop.dll" and press Enter.
(Don't forget to include the "double Quotes"
in the command line or the command will fail.)
11/ Finally type:
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles(86)%\Windows
Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll" and press Enter.
(Don't forget to include the "double Quotes"
in the command line or the command will fail.)
12/ Now Close the
Command Prompt Window and Restart
your PC.
13/ The Windows Sidebar should
now open for you.