The taskbar is an essential feature of the Windows computer. We all know that taskbar is not only there to watch the time and battery percentage. We can also pin the most used apps, files, necessary folders, and web pages in the taskbar. You can set up your taskbar according to your needs.

But sometimes, when you reinstall your operating system, it can disrupt the arrangement of the Taskbar apps. Also, if you are planning to move to a different operating system, you will need your previously arranged taskbar. Don’t worry, because we are going to show you how to backup and restore your taskbar in your Windows 10 computer.

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Method 1: Manually backup and restore your taskbar

You can manually back up and restore your taskbar using the registry. Make sure that the apps you want to add in the taskbar are already installed on your computer.

Backup your taskbar:

  • Press Windows key +R.
  • Type “regedit” and press OK.
  • The Registry window will open up.
  • Choose the HKEY_CURRENT_USER
  • Click on the Software folder.
  • Then, choose the Microsoft folder.
  • Open the Windows folder.
  • Then, keep scrolling down until you find the CurrentVersion folder.
  • Now, click on the Explorer folder to find the Taskbar folder.
  • Click on the Export option and Name the .reg file where you are going to backup the taskbar.
  • Save the .reg file to an external device like a USB for future use.
  • You have to open the Run dialog box again and to do that press Windows key +R.
  • Type the following lines and press Enter.

%AppData%MicrosoftInternetExplorerQuickLaunchUserPinnedTaskBar

  • You can see the Taskbar backup folder and check the apps you had pinned to it.

Restore your taskbar:

  • If you are restoring the taskbar on another computer, then copy the files to one of the system drives.
  • Press Windows key +R.
  • Run the command given below

%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

  • Press Enter.
  • Copy the backup shortcuts.
  • Press Windows key +R
  • Type “regedit” and hit Enter.
  • Leave the Registry Editor window opens.
  • Go to the taskbar and right-click on it.
  • Choose the Task Manager option.
  • You have to close the exe file.
  • Click on the End Process button.
  • Go to the Registry Editor and click on the File menu.
  • Choose the “Import” option.
  • Now, import the backup Taskbar file from the USB.
  • Open the Task Manager and choose the File menu.
  • Click on the Run new task option.
  • You have to write in the run box explorer to resume the explorer.exe process.
  • Press Enter.
  • You can now see all the shortcuts right on the task manager.

Method 2: Automatically backup and restore the taskbar

Keep it in mind that this process will not back up the items downloaded from Microsoft Store. Other than the Microsoft Store applications, you can backup any taskbar items using this method. To automatically backup and restore the taskbar, you need to create two bat files. We can call them the “Backup Pinned Taskbar Items” and “Restore Pinned Taskbar Items.”

To automatically backup the taskbar, follow these steps.

  • Go to the Notepad.
  • Paste this info in the Notepad- REG EXPORT HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband “E:\Pinned Items Backup\tb-pinned-items.reg” xcopy “%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar” “E:\Pinned Items Backup\pinnedshortcuts” /E /C /H /R /K /Y
  • Save the file as Backup Pinned Taskbar Items.bat file.
  • Then, you have to run this bat file as an admin.

To automatically restore the taskbar, follow these steps.

  • Go to the Notepad.
  • You can Paste this info in the Notepad- REGEDIT /S “E:\Pinned Items Backup\tb-pinned-items.reg” xcopy “E:\Pinned Items Backup\pinnedshortcuts” “%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar” /E /C /H /R /K /Y
  • Save the file as Restore Pinned Taskbar Items.bat file.
  • Now you run this bat file as an admin.

You can easily access the most used apps from the taskbar. If you have already set up for your taskbar items, you don’t need to make changes again when you move to a new operating system. You only have to create a backup file of the taskbar items.

After creating a backup taskbar file, you can restore the taskbar items to your computer whenever you want and enjoy the previously arranged taskbar. And for that, you can follow our guide given above. We hope this article was helpful. If you have any queries or feedback, please write down the comment in the below comment box.