Fix Windows Sidebar Does Not Start in Windows Vista

When you start your Windows Vista computer, the Sidebar may not load although it’s configured to run at startup. When you run the file sidebar.exe manually, a busy cursor is displayed briefly and nothing happens. This happens if the file ATL.DLL is not registered correctly. Follow these steps to resolve the problem.

Fixing the Windows Vista Sidebar

Method 1: Using the Windows Sidebar Fix-It Tool

Download and run the Sidebar Fix tool (.msi file) from Microsoft Knowledgebase Article KB963010. It registers the atl.dll, sbdrop.dll and wlsrvc.dll files automatically.

Select the I Agree checkbox, and click Next. The tool creates a System Restore Protection point and attempts to register the three DLLs (after prompting for UAC elevation.)

Method 2: Registering the Sidebar Modules Manually

1. Open and elevated Command Prompt. To do so, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

2. Type the following command in the Command Prompt window:

regsvr32.exe ATL.DLL

3. Press ENTER.

The above command should fix the problem in most cases. In case it doesn’t, run these commands below:

Press ENTER after running each command.

CD /d “%Programfiles%\Windows Sidebar”
sidebar.exe /regserver
regsvr32.exe sbdrop.dll

See Also

Gadgets in the Windows Vista Sidebar are not displayed correctly

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7 Responses to “Fix Windows Sidebar Does Not Start in Windows Vista” Subscribe to comments!

  1. Stephen
    said this on Thursday, June 11th 2009 5:10 pm

    Thanks for the tip, it really works!

  2. Madis
    said this on Tuesday, May 19th 2009 5:44 pm

    many many thanks to the guy who solved this problem….
    i’m a junior vista user and it was very annoying not to be able to fix those stupid gadgets!:))
    so, many thanks

  3. Tallie
    said this on Monday, May 18th 2009 1:19 am

    This is really helpful,
    Thanks a lot :D

  4. Rhonda
    said this on Tuesday, April 28th 2009 2:53 pm

    Thanks..I missed my sidebar

  5. Barry
    said this on Sunday, January 25th 2009 10:41 pm

    Thannks for this – been trying to fix the sidebar for a week and this worked first time.
    Obrigados!

  6. said this on Saturday, December 13th 2008 12:51 am

    thanks… works great…

  7. andy
    said this on Monday, December 1st 2008 10:59 am

    hey thanks for the fix… it worked on the first try!!

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