Blank Taskbar Icons for Windows Store Apps

SOLVED Discussion in 'Windows 8 Support' started by bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015.

  1. bigwebmaster

    bigwebmaster

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    On my Surface 3 Pro, in Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 (tech preview), my taskbar icons are blank for any Windows Store apps. The icons are normal for other apps (like MS Office, Explorer, etc...).

    I am betting it has something to do with a group policy. But I can't find anyone else out there with this problem. I've reimaged the device, upgraded from 8 -> 8.1 -> 10. Nothing has changed.

    When I first got the Surface - it all worked great. I could see the icons fine. As soon as I joined the device to our corporate domain, that is when the problem started happening. I have tried connecting to the internet from home (thinking it was a network/firewall issue at work) but that did not solve it.

    See the attached screenshot (it's a screenshot of Windows 10 - but the same thing was happening in Windows 8 and 8.1). It does this for any of the "apps".

    Any ideas what group policies might affect this? Any other ideas?

    Dan
     

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    bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015
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  2. bigwebmaster

    Trouble noob whisperer Moderator

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    Sometimes domain profiles will have a different look at feel.
    Double check and make sure that your domain user account is a member of the local administrators group on your device.
     
    Trouble, Feb 11, 2015
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  3. bigwebmaster

    bigwebmaster

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    It is a local administrator. But even if it wasn't, I should still be able to see icons for the Windows Store Apps I have open. These aren't even purchased apps - they're the Windows Store Apps that come preloaded on Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 (like Weather, Mail, Calendar, etc...)
     
    bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015
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  4. bigwebmaster

    Trouble noob whisperer Moderator

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    I was thinking that it might have more to do with the difference in the two profiles.
    When you log on locally (not to the domain) using your Microsoft ID (local account), does the same problem exist?
     
    Trouble, Feb 11, 2015
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  5. bigwebmaster

    bigwebmaster

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    Good suggestion to try. I just logged in locally using my Microsoft ID and the problem does not exist. It's only when I log on using my corporate domain account.
     
    bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015
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  6. bigwebmaster

    Trouble noob whisperer Moderator

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    Trouble, Feb 11, 2015
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  7. bigwebmaster

    bigwebmaster

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    My domain account is connected with my Microsoft account. I tried that on Win8, 8.1 and 10.
     
    bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015
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  8. bigwebmaster

    Trouble noob whisperer Moderator

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    OK, well that pretty much exhausts any quickie fixes that I know of. And......
    Unfortunately I do not have a current configuration to perform further testing.
    Perhaps someone else might have additional suggestions, but......
    It might be nice to know in advance.....
    What Server / Domain / Forest Functional Level is your current domain (2k, 2k3, 2k8, 2k12, and any associated R2s) the domain / forest functional level is probably more important than the actual Sever version.
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2015
    Trouble, Feb 11, 2015
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  9. bigwebmaster

    bigwebmaster

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    It is 2008 R2
     
    bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015
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  10. bigwebmaster

    bigwebmaster

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    I figured it out. There is a group policy at the account level which blocks the Windows Update service (because we aggregate updates and push them out after they've been tested). The description of that policy indicates it also blocks the Windows Product Catalog. I believe the icons get populated by hitting this service.

    Probably a crappy design by Microsoft. It should be two separate services (one for Windows update, one for Windows Product Catalog), and two separate policies.

    Once I disabled that policy on my account, I logged out, logged in, and bingo - it worked.
     
    bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015
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  11. bigwebmaster

    Trouble noob whisperer Moderator

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    Great... good bit of troubleshooting. Glad to hear you managed to resolve your problem.
    Thanks for posting back with that information, it may very well prove helpful to others.
    Regards
    Randy
     
    Trouble, Feb 11, 2015
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  12. bigwebmaster

    bigwebmaster

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    Any idea if functional level 2012 has any more granularity around controlling access to Windows Update services versus Product Catalog services?
     
    bigwebmaster, Feb 11, 2015
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  13. bigwebmaster

    Trouble noob whisperer Moderator

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    I can only speculate on the possibility but I haven't actually got around to trying it.
    Since Server 2k8 was the server equivalent of the client side Vista and Server 2k8 R2 was likewise for Windows 7, both of which were well before any metro / modern apps and tiles, I might think that, Server 2k12 or even better 2k12 R2 might lend themselves more friendly to the "ImmersiveUI" which includes apps, tiles and start screen changes., but.......
    That's just me guessing.
     
    Trouble, Feb 11, 2015
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