If you turn off the Language bar (right-click the Language bar, and then click Close the Language bar) on your Windows XP-based computer, you may not be able to turn the Language bar back on.

Back to the top

This problem may occur if you have a Group Policy setting that prevents you from accessing Control Panel in Microsoft Windows XP. By design, you must have access to Control Panel to turn on the Language bar.

Back to the top

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Back to the top

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
   -----------------------------------------------------
   28-May-2003  15:33  5.1.2600.1226  183,296  Msutb.dll 
				

After you apply the hotfix, you can create a Group Policy setting to prevent users from closing the Language bar.

Back to the top

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Back to the top

To turn on the Language bar, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.	Click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options.
3.	Click Regional and Language Options.
4.	Click the Languages tab, and then click Details.
5.	On the Settings tab, click Language Bar.
6.	Click to select the Show the Language bar on the desktop check box, and then click OK.
7.	Click OK to close the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box.

After you install the hotfix that is described in the "Resolution" section of this article, you can configure a registry setting to prevent users from turning off the Language bar. To do this, follow these steps

1.	Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2.	Locate and then click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
3.	On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
4.	Type MSCTF, and press ENTER.
5.	Right-click the new MSCTF key, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Type DisableCloseButton, and then press ENTER.
6.	Double-click the DisableCloseButton entry, type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK.

Back to the top

For more information about how to use the Language bar in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Back to the top