Channel Bar Missing When Windows Desktop Update Not Installed

If you are running Internet Explorer without the Windows Desktop Update component, the Channel bar may be missing from the desktop when you start your computer. This may occur even though the Channel bar is enabled.

This behavior can occur if the Channel bar is moved off of the viewable area of the screen.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To resolve this behavior, delete the "Window_placement" string value under the following registry key: This causes the Channel bar to reappear in its original position on the desktop.

Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

To verify that the Channel bar is enabled when the Windows Desktop Update component is not installed, click Start, point to Programs, point to Internet Explorer, and then click Channel Bar.

If the Windows Desktop Update component is not installed, the position of the Channel bar is specified by the "Window_placement" string value in the registry. If the Windows Desktop Update component is installed, the position of the Channel bar is specified by the Desktop.htt file.

For information about how to resolve this behavior if the Windows Desktop Update component is installed, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: