Win 7 Gadgets

I've no idea what may have caused it, but all of a sudden none of my gadgets for Windows 7 are working.
I can open them, but they're completely blank.

Help?

 

Greetings, Silver Fox.

A few quick shots:

Have you installed or uninstalled any antivirus software recently?

Is UAC enabled? UAC must be enabled in Win7 for gadgets to work (up to a point - there are registry hacks to get around this, but I doubt that applies in your situation).

You might try toggling the gadget platform. To do so, go to Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off, and uncheck 'Windows Gadget Platform'. Click 'Yes' in the pop-up window, and exit Control Panel.
Then, repeat the procedure and re-enable the Platform, see if your symptoms have changed.

 

Have you installed or uninstalled any antivirus software recently?
I haven't had to touch my antivirus recently, no installs or uninstalls to speak of.

Is UAC enabled? UAC must be enabled in Win7 for gadgets to work (up to a point - there are registry hacks to get around this, but I doubt that applies in your situation).
Checked it, it's set on the default setting so it's definitely on.

You might try toggling the gadget platform. To do so, go to Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off, and uncheck 'Windows Gadget Platform'. Click 'Yes' in the pop-up window, and exit Control Panel.
Then, repeat the procedure and re-enable the Platform, see if your symptoms have changed.
I've tried this, but to no avail.

Here's a screenshot to show what I mean:
http://img222.imageshack.us/i/gadgetsj.png/

 

Seems like I've read that gadgets are affected by Java - you might try running JavaRA to get rid of any older Java versions, and make sure you've got the current version (I believe it's JRE 6 Update 23).

You might also try downloading and reinstalling any gadgets in question.

 

Having just tried that, unfortunately it hasn't seemed to work.
I don't get it... I uninstalled all the newer gadgets, checked my UAC, haven't changed antivirus settings nor added/removed any, updated both Java and my graphics drivers... and nothing...

 

Weird.

Try this: Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
Type the following command and press ENTER: regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll.
You should see the following message after running the command: DllRegisterServer in vbscript.dll succeeded.
Click 'OK', reboot, and see if your symptoms change.

 

If the above doesn't work, you might try this:

Delete the file C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\Settings.ini. Reboot, and see if your symptoms change (Windows will rebuild the 'Settings.ini' file upon restart).

 

I can hardly believe it, but I tried both of those and restarted each time, and it still changed nothing. I'm now under the impression that I've done something and messed them up, but I can't think of what if I did do something myself.

 

Hang in there - I'll keep searching, and I'm sure some other Geeks will jump onboard with more suggestions.

 

Is it possible that installing drivers, new programs, internet troubles, or other seemingly mundane issues may cause this?

 

Affirmative.

Have you tried a System Restore?

 

I want to avoid that as much as I possibly can.
I don't keep system restore points, and backing my PC up beforehand wouldn't help I assume as it saves system settings...

A system restore would be beyond the last resort for me I think... since this started right after our internet first began its several days of complete unreliability I'm inclined to think that has something to do with it, but I have my doubts.

 

How about a non-destructive repair install?