Unable to Pin icons to taskbar or start menu

[Aideen]

I am running Windows 7 computer in my home and this is the same computer with which I am facing the problem. The problem is that I could not pin the desktop icons to either taskbar or the start menu. I have already tried drag and drop and also right clicking on the icon and selecting "Pin to Taskbar". None of them solved my problem. Is there any solution to this problem?

[XSI]

This problem occurs if you have chosen your Windows 7 shortcut not to be the shortcut. It can be done if you remove the shortcut arrow from the icons. It also happens if somehow the IsShortcut registry key gets deleted. So to solve this problem, you have to either restore the key back to normal or replace the shortcut arrow on icons. For registry fix, open Registry Editor (Start - Run - regedit.exe - OK). Look for HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile. Right click on empty area on the right side, select New and then String Value (REG_SZ). Rename the key as IsShortcut. Save it and reboot your computer.

[Sujit15]

Fresh UI is a best solution for configuring and optimizing Windows. It is fully loaded with hundreds of useful hidden settings and it covers all the customizing and optimizing techniques in it. I have personally used this application and have solved my similar problem with Windows 7 64 bit version. All you have to do is reinstate shortcut "arrows" and "shortcut to" with the help of this tool. Once you have done that you can now pin the taskbar once again.

[killerboy]

I think your Windows installation has been corrupted and this is the main reason why you are getting this kind of problem. If you are unable to solve this problem then I would recommend you to repair your Windows. You may require Windows installation disk for this. Simply boot your computer with Windows disk and follow the instructions of the wizard that appears in front of you to perform the Repair operation. I tried the registry fix as suggested above but it only solves the problem of Start menu but not the Taskbar. I changed to some basic settings of taskbar and it solved the problem. I don't know what solved the problem but it worked at least. The below are the settings:
- Lock the taskbar
- Use small icons
- Location: bottom
- Buttons: Always combine, hide labels
- Notification area: show all icons
- Toolbars: none

[Xavier1234]

The solution to your problem is right click on the Taskbar and select Properties. Go to Start menu, unmark "Store and display recently opened programs in the Start menu" and let "Store and display recently opened items in the Start menu and the taskbar" be marked, and then click on Apply. That's it! Now you must notice that you can pin the folders to the taskbar. You might think off how this is affecting this pinning feature. However, if you are not sure about my suggestions then you can undo the process and see the difference.