Missing Toolbars in Microsoft Paint

This article applies to Windows Vista, Windows XP and possibly earlier versions of Windows.

Problem

In Paint, you cannot see the toolbars and are unable to bring them back.

Cause

This can be caused by dragging the tool box too far off the screen to the point that it is unable to come back.

Solution

To reset the toolbars in Paint:

  1. Open a Command Prompt as an Administrator.
  2. Copy all the text in the box below:
    reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Paint\General-Summary" /f
  3. Right click in the Command Prompt window and click Paste.
  4. Press Enter.
  5. Close the Command Prompt.

40 comments

  10. I Tried to paste the text and it didn’t work, but I found out by trial and error how to fix it without copying and pasting the text :
    Click the customize quick access toolbar button on the top of the screen and uncheck the minimize ribbon box.

    Reply

    1. “I Tried to paste the text and it didn’t work, but I found out by trial and error how to fix it without copying and pasting the text :
      Click the customize quick access toolbar button on the top of the screen and uncheck the minimize ribbon box.”

      THANKS! CMD prompt didn’t do it for me either. This worked perfect though,

      Reply

  29. I AM STUPID WITH A COMPUTER—-AFTER A WHILE YOUR SUGGESTION WORKS—-I AM NOT SMART AND WAS NOT SURE OF MYSELF IN DOING THIS—TYVM

    Reply

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