“Old XP bug is still present in latest updates to Windows 10”

The recent November 2019 Update for Windows 10 still contains the bug that sometimes causes contextual drop-down menus to end up behind the taskbar. The issue was first reported after the April 2018 Update, but appears to date back to the XP era.

The bug in question occurs when the user tries to open the contextual drop-down menu of an application in the system tray. Part of the drop-down menu sometimes ends up behind the taskbar, so that especially the lower options cannot be selected. The problem occurs intermittently and affects several apps. The bug seems to occur more often with some programs. As an example, Softpedia mentions the instant messenger Pidgin.

According to Softpedia, the Windows 10 November 2019 Update version 1909 does not change this. And that while the bug was already reported shortly after the release of the April 2018 Update 1803. Softpedia does not rule out that Microsoft solved the problem somewhere between April 2018 and November 2019, but that the bug returned at some point.

Several users have now announced through the Softpedia forums that the bug in question actually dates back to the Windows XP era. A user by the name of Avant writes that the problem is caused by the taskbar wanting to be in the foreground at all times, “and has been since at least the introduction of Windows XP.”

The incorrect display of the drop-down menu cannot be actively prevented. When the bug occurs, the issue can be worked around by clicking next to the drop-down menu, then right-clicking the app in the system tray again.

Screenshot: Softpedia