Active windows reduced in height

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. First, please try these, uninstall Start11, reboot immediately (important), download latest version available in your account product download page: https://store.stardock.com/myaccount/products. Install it, reboot immediately again. Retest it and report back.

Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Thanks, I'll try that as soon as possible.

Thanks again Basj! It works well.   

One more question: when I uninstalled Start 11 with IObit Uninstaller, this program told me that Start 11 was still active and that I should deactivate it. I didn't know how so I ignored this. But the uninstallation succeeded.

How do we deactivate? I once used Start10tweak but it almost destroyed my PC !!!   

If you mean how to deactivate the license, you should use this guide: https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1260191763/How+to+review+and+manage+your+current+activations.

But, if you mean, Start11 still running, while uninstalling, not sure how IOBit Uninstaller did the uninstall. But, it should not be running before uninstall is done. It is important to reboot your system after the uninstall.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Didnt't mean to touch the license.

You wrote "But, it should not be running before uninstall is done". How can I be assured Start 11 is not running, when I don't know a way to stop it running. For me, as long as the Start 11 icon is visible, the program is running.

More important:

After booting this morning, the problem reappeared: no taskbar at all! So, I uninstalled the program one more time and I don't intend to use it again as long as I don't have a warning from Stardock that this bug is fixed.

I'm on Windows 11 family 25H2.

Thanks for your help !

Thanks for the update. Just to share, this issue doesn’t appear on my Windows 11 25H2 system, and I haven’t seen similar reports from other users so far.

If you’d like to try again, you might consider installing it in a Windows Sandbox to see if the issue persists in a clean environment. Here’s a guide that walks you through the setup: https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1416855562/Testing+Start+in+Sandbox.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Thanks again!

I'll try this as soon as I have time.

Reconsidering, I will not test your Sandbox.

What would it reveal? That my system is not compatible with Start 11? Ok. The reason why? No! So, it's not a solution.

As I already wrote, Start 11 worked fine with the same system until I upgraded to the 2.56 build. The problem thus resides in this build!

There is something I don't like.  Too often, we receive the same easy kind of answers from helpdesks:

• you are the only/first one complaining or reporting this
• this must be the fault of another soft present on your system
• blame it on Microsoft
• etc.

I don't know how many people use Start 11 but it's not possible I"m the only one concerned.

I know you're a volunteer and not part of Stardock so, I don't blame you personnaly. I appreciated your help!

But I'll wait for the next upgrade.

And seeing the complete forum, there are many problems with the taskbar.

Do you actually understand what Windows Sandbox mean? Here a short description on What Windows sandbox actually are:

Windows Sandbox is a lightweight, isolated virtual environment included in Windows 10 and 11 (Pro and Enterprise editions). It creates a clean, temporary Windows installation that runs separately from your main system.

Benefits of testing software in Windows Sandbox:

• Fresh baseline: Lets you see how software behaves on a clean Windows setup, free from other apps or settings that might affect performance.

• Isolation: Changes made inside the sandbox don’t affect your main system.

• Automatic cleanup: Everything is deleted when you close the sandbox, returning it to a fresh state next time.

• Convenience: Quick to start and requires no extra setup like a full virtual machine.

In short, Windows Sandbox provides a simple, disposable environment for comparing how software runs on a clean Windows system.

This is the reason why we encourage user to test in a Windows Sandbox. If it still appear while in the Sandbox, than perhaps its hardware related issue. But, if it is not, that show it something in your current main Windows Environment conflicting with Start11.

Please reconsider,

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

That’s understandable—since Start11’s core functionality revolves around the taskbar, it’s naturally more prone to compatibility issues. From what I’ve seen, many taskbar-related problems stem from conflicts with other third-party apps like DisplayFusion, StartAllBack, or ExplorerPatcher. These tools also interact with the Windows taskbar, which can lead to overlapping behavior or unexpected glitches.

Hope that helps clarify things a bit.

Thanks!

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I'm well aware of the Sandbox meaning. I'm not exactly a beginner since I use Windows from version 1, 30 years ago.

I've used all Windows versions. And I don't use other programs interacting with the taskbar. Or even Windows tweakers!

I also use Fences and Start from the first versions.

So, as already said, I'll wait for an update correcting all bugs.

Thanks again!