Fix for System Tray Icon Missing in Windows XP

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After the computer started, not all icons that should be present in the system tray of the task bar is showing. Often, one or more icons are missing and disappearing from the task bar notication area.

This behavior can be caused by the Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP). This service discovers Universal Plug and Play devices on your network.

Solution 1

To resolve this behavior, follow these steps to disable the SSDP feature:

Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.

Click Services and Applications.

Double-click Services.

In the Services list, right-click SSDP Discovery Service, and then click Properties.

On the General tab, in the Startup type drop-down list, click Disabled.

Click OK.

Note When SSDP Discovery service is disabled, new devices on the network cannot be found automatically.

If it doesn’t work, the alternative would be disable both SSDP Discovery Service and Universal Plug and Play Device Host. Repeat the above steps for both services.

You may try to choose Automatic at drop-down list instead of Disabled, as it’s reported some people has success with this.

Solution 2

If you need Universal Plug and Play services and wouldn’t want to disable it, Francesco Ostuni suggested Ostuni Workaround which does not disable the uPNP service. The steps as below (only applicable on Windows XP with Service Pack 2):

1. Open My Network Places.

2. Click Hide Icons for Networked uPnP Devices at the Tasks panel.

3. For Windows Classic theme users, click Tools and the Folder Options in Windows Explorer, and then select Show Common Tasks in Folders to see the option specified in step 2.

Or,

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Click Add or Remove Programs.

3. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.

4. Select Networking Services.

5. Click Details button.

6. Uncheck (remove) the UPnP User Interface.

7. Click OK.

Now you need to logout and then login again to Windows XP.