KB5120998: Move the Windows 11 Taskbar to Top or Left Again

KB5120998, released August 27, 2026, is the optional preview update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, and it does the thing people have been asking for since the day Windows 11 shipped: the taskbar can sit at the top, left, or right of the screen again. It takes 24H2 to build 26100.9278 and 25H2 to 26200.9278, adds a smaller taskbar, a small or large Start menu, a "Recent" section in place of "Recommended," a Search that says where each result comes from, and no known issues at release. It is a preview, so it will not install itself: you fetch it from Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates, or wait for the same changes to arrive automatically in the September 8 security update. Here is the part the taskbar headlines are skipping, and it is buried in the same support page: Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro stop receiving updates on October 13, 2026, forty-six days from today. If your PC still says 24H2, the movable taskbar is a nice reason to open Windows Update, and the end-of-updates date is the real one.

The plan for this post: how to actually move the taskbar (and why it may not show up the moment you install), the five-year story of how a setting that existed since Windows 95 went missing and came back, everything else in the update that is worth your time, who should install a preview and who should wait for September, the 24H2 deadline and the two-minute fix, and the fix ladder for the day the update refuses. Jake and Ethan will carry the explaining, because Jake has been running a third-party taskbar tool at the shop since 2022, and Tuesday morning it stopped being necessary.

The Tool Jake No Longer Needs

Quick introductions for new readers: Jake runs a phone repair shop, and Ethan is the friend who translates computer things into shop things. Jake's front-desk PC has a wide, short monitor, the kind you get when the counter has no room for anything taller, and on a screen like that a bottom taskbar eats a real slice of the invoice window. On the old Windows 10 machine he simply dragged the bar to the left edge and forgot about it for six years. When the shop moved to Windows 11 in 2022, the bar refused to move, the registry trick he found online worked for one update cycle and then broke, and he ended up installing a third-party tool that put the taskbar on the left and, roughly twice a year, disappeared after a big update until he reinstalled it.

Tuesday morning he called Ethan with a different kind of complaint: "Windows just asked me to install something optional, and the article says it moves the taskbar. Is that real, or is it another tool that dies in October?" Ethan's answer was the short version of this post: it's real, it's Microsoft's own setting, it's coming to everyone in September whether they install the preview or not, and the first thing to do is uninstall the tool that's been fighting Windows for four years. Then he asked Jake to run winver, and the conversation got more interesting, because Jake's PC said 24H2.

What KB5120998 Is, and What "Preview" Means

Microsoft ships two kinds of cumulative update every month. The second-Tuesday one is the security update: it installs automatically, it closes holes that are public knowledge by the time it lands, and you should not delay it. The fourth-week one is the preview, sometimes called the "C" or "D" release depending on which week it falls in. It carries the quality fixes and new features that are going into next month's security update, released early for people who want them early. It is optional, it never installs on its own, and it has no security content. KB5120998 is the August 2026 preview for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, released Wednesday, August 27.

Because it's cumulative, it contains everything since your version shipped, which is why the download is large and why the build number jumps: 24H2 goes to 26100.9278, 25H2 to 26200.9278. It carries the KB5120997 servicing stack update (build 26100.9270), which improves how future updates install and stays behind if you ever uninstall the main package. Microsoft lists no known issues. The support page also repeats two standing notices worth knowing about: the Secure Boot certificates that most PCs shipped with began expiring in June 2026 and are being refreshed through Windows Update over the coming months (a PC that hasn't received the new ones still boots and updates normally), and the 24H2 end-of-updates date we'll get to in a moment.

The single most useful sentence about previews is this one: everything in KB5120998 arrives automatically in the September 8, 2026 Patch Tuesday update. Installing the preview buys you twelve days. That's the whole trade, and it's a fine trade on a home PC and a poor one on a work PC, for reasons the install section spells out.

Moving the Windows 11 Taskbar to the Top, Left, or Right

Here is the setting, once the feature has switched on for your PC:

1. Open Settings (Windows key + I).
2. Go to Personalization → Taskbar.
3. Expand Taskbar behaviors. In this update the section is now open by default, because Microsoft noticed nobody could find it.
4. Find Taskbar position and choose Top, Left, Right, or Bottom.

The bar moves immediately, no restart, no sign-out. Tooltips, flyouts, the clock's calendar, notification center, and the Start menu all open from the new edge, and the animations play in the right direction. Most of the other taskbar settings work in every position: never combining buttons, auto-hide, badges, the widgets and Task View toggles. There are two limits, and Microsoft states them plainly: the search box and the new smaller taskbar are only supported at the top and bottom. Put the bar on the left or right and search collapses to an icon, which is what it did on Windows 10's vertical taskbar anyway.

The smaller taskbar lives in the same section: Taskbar behaviors → Taskbar size → Small. Both the icons and the bar's height shrink, and Start, Search, and the system tray stay where they are. On a 13-inch laptop or a low-resolution monitor, this is the change people will notice more than the position, because it hands back a strip of screen on every single window.

One thing to do first: if you have ExplorerPatcher, StartAllBack, Start11, or any other tool installed to move or shrink the taskbar, uninstall it before you install the update, or at least before you touch the new setting. Those tools work by patching the shell that this update replaces. Two things fighting over the same taskbar is how you get a bar that flickers, disappears, or lands in two places at once. Jake did this backward, spent twenty minutes with a taskbar that appeared on the left and the bottom simultaneously, uninstalled the tool, restarted, and the built-in setting worked on the first try.

How a setting older than the Start menu went missing for five years

A little history, because it explains why this update is getting the reaction it's getting. You could drag the taskbar to any screen edge in Windows 95. Every version since kept it, through XP, 7, 8, and 10, and a small but loud minority of people, especially on wide monitors and multi-monitor desks, lived with a vertical taskbar for decades. Windows 11 launched in October 2021 with a rebuilt taskbar that supported the bottom edge only. Microsoft's explanation at the time was that the new taskbar was written fresh and the other positions weren't done, then that the usage data didn't justify it. The community's response was the registry.

When	What people did	What happened
Oct 2021 (21H2)	Edited StuckRects3 in the registry to change the position byte	Top worked. Left and right produced a bar that drew but didn't function properly.
Late 2021	Edited TaskbarSi to get a small (0) or large (2) taskbar	Worked, with clipped icons and a clock that didn't fit the small size.
Sept 2022 (22H2)	Installed the feature update	Both registry tricks stopped working. The taskbar snapped back to the bottom at the default size.
2022–2026	Third-party shells: ExplorerPatcher (free), StartAllBack and Start11 (paid)	Worked well, broke after some feature updates, occasionally tripped Defender or a corporate policy.
Aug 27, 2026 (KB5120998)	Settings → Personalization → Taskbar → Taskbar position	Top, left, right, and small size are supported settings again. No tools, no registry.

If you're still carrying a registry edit from 2021 in a notes file, delete it: it does nothing on a current build and there's a supported switch now. If you're carrying a third-party tool, you can keep it for the things Windows still won't do (a Windows 10-style Start menu, ungrouped labels on every version, a taskbar that spans monitors differently), but the positioning job is finished.

"I Installed It and There's No Taskbar Position Option"

This will be the most common complaint about KB5120998, and it isn't a bug. Microsoft splits the update into two lanes and says so at the top of the release notes. The normal rollout lane is the ordinary fixes: everyone gets them the moment the update installs. The gradual rollout lane, which is where the taskbar position, taskbar size, Start menu size, the renamed Recent section, the Search changes, and the File Explorer Home speedup all live, ships the code to every PC but switches it on device by device, over days or weeks, so Microsoft can watch telemetry and stop the rollout if something goes wrong. Your build number says .9278, the feature is on your disk, and the toggle still isn't in Settings. That is the design working.

What helps it along: being signed in with a Microsoft account rather than a local one, leaving the PC connected and awake for a while after the update, and restarting once a day or so. What does not help: uninstalling and reinstalling the update, running the troubleshooter, or resetting Settings. Enthusiasts force gradual-rollout features on with ViVeTool and a feature ID from a forum thread. It works, it's unsupported, and on a machine you rely on it's a poor trade for a taskbar you'll have anyway by mid-September, so this post won't walk you through it. Europe and some managed devices can lag further for regulatory and policy reasons.

Ethan's line to Jake on this: "You waited four years. Give it two weeks."

Start Menu: Small or Large, and "Recommended" Is Now "Recent"

The Start menu picks up four changes in the same gradual lane, and together they answer most of the complaints people have had since 2021:

• Size. Settings → Personalization → Start → Start menu size now offers Small, Large, and Automatic (the default). Small gives you a compact panel on a laptop; Large uses the extra width on a big monitor so more pinned apps and the All list fit without scrolling.
• "Recommended" is renamed "Recent." Same section, honest name. It shows recently added apps and recently opened files. The rename matters because a lot of people turned the section off thinking it was advertising; if that was you, it's worth a second look with the toggles below.
• Hide your name and picture. Settings → Personalization → Start → Hide your name and profile picture on Start. Useful on a shared or front-of-house PC, like a shop counter, where the account name is nobody's business.
• Section toggles. The Start settings page is redesigned with independent switches to show or hide Pinned, Recommended (Recent), and All. Turn off the two you don't use and Start becomes the one list you do.

None of this brings back the Windows 10 tiles or a left-aligned menu with a folder tree, and if that's what you're after, the third-party tools still have a job. But "make it smaller, hide the suggestions, hide my name" covers what most people were actually asking for.

Windows Search Learns to Say Where Things Come From

Three changes, one of which is a privacy setting you should know exists:

• Search Home is simpler. Less clutter when you open Search, recent searches are easier to get back to.
• Results are labeled. Each result now shows whether it's an app, a setting, a file, a web result, or a Store suggestion, so you know before clicking whether you're opening something on your PC or launching a browser. Anyone who has typed "calculator" and ended up in Bing will appreciate this.
• Web and Store suggestions are now a setting. Settings → Privacy & security → Search has a new switch to decide whether web and Microsoft Store suggestions appear alongside local results at all. Off means Search is a launcher for your own machine. This is the setting that used to need a Group Policy or a registry edit.
• Automatic folder indexing. Windows now watches which folders you use most and adds them to the search index, so files in a project folder on a second drive start turning up. The switch is Settings → Privacy & security → Search → Automatically find additional relevant locations. If you keep certain folders out of the index on purpose (client files, a scanned-documents folder), turn this off or check the indexed list after a week.

Everything Else Worth Knowing in KB5120998

The rest of the gradual lane, in order of how likely you are to notice:

• File Explorer Home opens faster and the Recommended carousel on Home scrolls by touch. On a slow laptop, the Home speedup is the change you feel every day.
• New progress indicators at startup, sign-in, restart, shutdown, and during update installs, redesigned to look the same everywhere. Purely cosmetic, but you'll see it before you see anything else.
• Sleep after an update. A PC you put to sleep manually now goes back to sleep after it wakes to finish an update, even if automatic sleep is set to Never. This closes a small, old annoyance: the desktop that was asleep at midnight and awake with the fans running at 6 a.m.
• Virtual desktop switching is smoother; the Display settings page and brightness persistence after energy saver are more reliable; Task Manager's app history is more reliable.
• Windows Setup makes the secondary-keyboard step easier to skip, and the Get Started app gains pages for app installs, site pinning, and themes on a new PC.
• App updates through Windows Update. Apps that opt into the new Windows Update Orchestration Platform can schedule their updates alongside Windows' own, so a laptop stops updating three things at three different times. Expect this to mean more in 2027 than it does today.
• Post-quantum TLS. ML-KEM can now be used on its own for TLS key exchange, not only in the hybrid groups added earlier this year. You won't see it; your browser and the servers it talks to negotiate it quietly.
• VPN resilience, Japanese IME hangs, voice typing settings, touchpad gesture reliability, Narrator natural voices, classic Outlook search on Japanese devices. Fixes, in the normal lane, on the day you install.
• AI components update to 1.2608.951.0 for Image Search, Content Extraction, Semantic Analysis, and the Settings Model. These only install on Copilot+ PCs and are skipped on everything else.

Administrator Protection Starts Rolling Out

This is the change with the longest tail, and the one home users will read about and then never see. On most Windows PCs, the first account created is an administrator, and that account carries admin rights every second it's signed in. Malware that lands in that session inherits those rights, and the User Account Control prompt is the only thing between a bad click and full control of the machine. Administrator Protection changes the model: your everyday session runs as a standard user, and when something needs elevation, Windows asks for Windows Hello (face, fingerprint, or PIN), issues a temporary admin token from a separate, hidden, system-managed profile, does the job, and throws the token away. Microsoft first disclosed it in October 2025 and it is now beginning to roll out with this update.

Two honest caveats from Microsoft's own wording: it's off by default, enabled through Intune or Group Policy, so a home PC sees no change unless you go looking; and Microsoft is careful to call it hardening against elevation-of-privilege attacks rather than a formal security boundary. If you administer PCs, this belongs on your list to test this quarter, because the profile separation breaks some installers and some old admin scripts that assume the elevated process shares the user's profile folders. The IT admin section below has the practical order.

WMIC Is Gone, and This KB Makes It Official

The release notes restate the removal in plain terms: starting August 2026, Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 no longer include the WMIC command-line utility, it's already absent from new installs, and it is no longer available as a Feature on Demand. Only the wmic.exe client is removed; WMI itself, the thing PowerShell and every management product talk to, is untouched. If a batch file at work has started failing with 'wmic' is not recognized as an internal or external command, that's this, and nothing is broken or infected. The translations to Get-CimInstance for the twenty most common wmic commands, the temporary bridge for a vendor app you can't update, and the fleet checklist are all in the WMIC removal post.

The Forty-Six-Day Clock: Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro End October 13

Now the part of the support page that deserves the headline more than the taskbar does. Under "End of updates," Microsoft writes that Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro editions reach end of updates on October 13, 2026. After that date, those editions receive no monthly security updates, no previews, no fixes for known issues, no time-zone updates, and no technical support. Enterprise and Education editions of 24H2 continue until October 12, 2027. Counting from today, August 28, that's forty-six days.

Here's why this catches people. 24H2 is the version that shipped in October 2024, the one that was "the new Windows 11" for most of last year and the one many PCs were sold with through 2025. It doesn't feel old. It's receiving KB5120998 today with the same build number series as 25H2. Windows Update hasn't been nagging about it the way it nagged about Windows 10. But Home and Pro get twenty-four months of servicing per version, and 24H2's twenty-four months are nearly up. Jake's front-desk PC, bought in early 2025, said 24H2 when he ran winver, and he had no idea there was a difference.

The fix is one of the smallest updates you'll ever install. 25H2 is an enablement package: 24H2 and 25H2 share the same code base (which is why both get the same fixes in the same KB), and moving between them just switches on features that are already present. Go to Settings → Windows Update, look for Windows 11, version 25H2 is available, click Download and install, and restart once. A few minutes, not the hour a full feature update used to take. If you don't see the offer, turn on Get the latest updates as soon as they're available at the top of the Windows Update page and check again; if you're on a managed work PC, your IT team controls the timing, and they've almost certainly got October circled.

The thirty-second check, on every Windows 11 PC in the house: Windows key + R, type winver, Enter. "Version 25H2" means you're fine into late 2027. "Version 24H2" on Home or Pro means October 13. "Version 23H2" on Home or Pro is already out of support and needs the move today.

Should You Install a Preview Update? An Honest Split

The preview has no known issues and no security content, which means the downside of skipping it is zero and the downside of installing it is "whatever a brand-new update does on your particular machine." That makes the decision about the machine, not the update:

Your situation	Install KB5120998 now?	Why
Home PC, you want the taskbar on the side or a smaller bar	Yes	This is exactly who previews are for. Back up first, as with any update.
Work laptop, or the only PC that runs your business	No, wait for Sept 8	Twelve days early is not worth an afternoon offline. September's update is the same code after two more weeks of telemetry.
PC that fought the August 11 security update (KB5121003) or hit a BitLocker prompt after it	No	Let a machine that just recovered stay recovered. The KB5121003 post and the BitLocker recovery-key walkthrough cover both.
Managed by IT (Intune, WSUS, Windows Update for Business)	Not your call	Previews don't ship through WUfB; the changes arrive in the next security update your admins approve.
Still on 24H2 Home/Pro	25H2 first	Do the enablement package, then the preview if you want it. Order matters less than doing the first one.
Windows 11 23H2, or Windows 10	Not offered	This KB applies to 24H2/25H2 only. Neither older version gets the movable taskbar, ever.

Getting it through Windows Update

1. Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates.
2. Under "Optional updates available," find 2026-08 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 (KB5120998) and click Download & install.
3. Restart when asked. Budget fifteen to twenty minutes on a normal PC; a cumulative package this size is not a quick install even when nothing goes wrong.
4. Run winver. You want 26100.9278 (24H2) or 26200.9278 (25H2).

If the Optional updates page is empty, either you're on a managed PC, or you haven't got Get the latest updates as soon as they're available switched on and Windows hasn't offered the preview to your device yet. Flip that switch, click Check for updates, and look again. If it's still absent, the Update Catalog route below works regardless.

Getting it from the Microsoft Update Catalog

Search KB5120998 at catalog.update.microsoft.com and download the package for your architecture, x64 for nearly everyone and Arm64 for Snapdragon laptops. This month's KB is delivered as more than one MSU file, and they must install in order, which is a change from the single-file days. Microsoft's simplest method: put every downloaded MSU for KB5120998 in one folder, say C:\Packages, open an elevated Command Prompt, and run:

DISM /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\Packages\windows11.0-KB5120998-x64_<hash>.msu

Point it at the KB5120998 file (the name ends in a long hash) and DISM finds and installs the prerequisite MSU from the same folder on its own. PowerShell users can use Add-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath the same way. Double-clicking the files also works if you install them in the order the catalog page lists. The one warning on the support page, error 0xc0430001, only applies if you're slipstreaming this update into installation media and forget the boot.stl Secure Boot file; it does not happen when updating a running PC.

If KB5120998 Won't Install: The Short Ladder

The full fix ladder for a Windows 11 cumulative update lives in the KB5121003 post and every rung applies here unchanged. The short version, cheapest rung first:

• 1. Restart and try again. The bundled servicing stack sometimes needs one restart before the main package proceeds. Do this before anything clever.
• 2. Free space. 10 GB free is a comfortable floor. Settings → System → Storage → Cleanup recommendations clears old update leftovers fast.
• 3. The Windows Update troubleshooter. Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters → Windows Update. It resets the update services and clears the download cache, which is most of what a manual "reset Windows Update" script does.
• 4. Pause third-party antivirus for the duration of the install, then turn it back on.
• 5. Repair the plumbing: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, then sfc /scannow, restart, retry.
• 6. Install the .msu from the Update Catalog using the DISM command above. This sidesteps Windows Update entirely.
• 7. Remember it's optional. If a preview fights you at every rung, stop. There's no security exposure in skipping it, and September's update will carry the same changes through a fresh download.

And the standing rule for any update: a percentage that hasn't moved in twenty minutes is usually still working. Interrupting a cumulative update mid-install is how you create the problem you were trying to avoid.

Uninstalling It, and What This Update Will Not Do

Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates → KB5120998. The servicing stack stays behind by design and is harmless. Because there's no security content, removing the preview doesn't reopen anything; you simply go back to the August 11 build and meet the same features again on September 8.

• It won't change your Windows version. 24H2 stays 24H2, which is exactly the problem for Home and Pro. The version change is the separate 25H2 enablement package.
• It won't bring the taskbar toggle the moment it installs. Gradual rollout; see above.
• It won't turn on Administrator Protection. Off by default, policy-controlled.
• It won't put WMIC back. Nothing will; the bridge for legacy scripts is in the WMIC post.
• It won't install on 23H2 or Windows 10. Not offered, not applicable.

For IT admins: what to test before September 8

Previews exist so you can find out what breaks before the mandatory version lands. This one carries more shell change than any preview this year, so a pilot ring is worth the effort:

1. Pilot the taskbar position on your worst apps. Line-of-business apps that hard-code window placement against a bottom taskbar can open partly off-screen under a left or right bar. Test with the bar on every edge, and decide whether to leave the choice to users or lock it with the existing taskbar policies before September.
2. Plan Administrator Protection as a project, not a toggle. Enable it via Intune (OMA-URI) or Group Policy on a test group first. The hidden-profile elevation breaks installers and scripts that expect the elevated process to see the user's own profile folders and mapped drives. Log the failures; most are fixable by re-pathing, some need the vendor.
3. Review the Search defaults for regulated data. Automatic folder indexing (Settings → Privacy & security → Search) will add frequently used folders to the index. If you exclude certain paths on purpose, push the policy that disables it, or verify your exclusions hold after the update.
4. Windows Update Orchestration Platform. If you package apps that update themselves, check whether they're adopting UOP; scheduling changes can shift when app updates hit user sessions.
5. Media builders: include boot.stl. If you slipstream this LCU into WinPE or install media, use Microsoft's Update WinPE script or copy boot.stl from Windows\Boot\EFI; missing it means devices fail to boot from the media with 0xc0430001.
6. Multi-MSU delivery. The catalog package is now several MSU files with an install order. Update any deployment scripts that assume one file; DISM with a folder path handles the prerequisite automatically.
7. 24H2 Home/Pro in your estate. Enterprise and Education 24H2 are fine until October 2027, but any Pro devices (small-business fleets, BYOD, branch offices bought retail) hit end of updates on October 13. Query the build and push the 25H2 enablement package now; it's a restart, not a migration.
8. Standardize on Get-CimInstance anywhere wmic still appears in logon scripts, RMM checks, or inventory tasks. This KB restates the removal as final.

The Thirty-Second Check After Installing

Press Windows key + R, type winver, press Enter. The box should read Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.9278), or Version 24H2 (OS Build 26100.9278) if you haven't moved yet. Then open Settings → Personalization → Taskbar → Taskbar behaviors and look for Taskbar position. If it's there, pick your edge and enjoy the first supported vertical taskbar on Windows 11. If it isn't, the build number tells you the update is fine; the toggle is on its way.

Jake's ending: tool uninstalled, 25H2 installed in the time it took to make a coffee, KB5120998 installed on the second attempt after one restart, and the Taskbar position option appeared the following morning. The invoice window got its strip of screen back. Ethan's only note was that the shop's front-desk PC now knows what version it's running, which is more than it did on Monday.

Questions People Actually Ask

What is KB5120998?

The August 27, 2026 optional preview update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. It takes 24H2 to build 26100.9278 and 25H2 to 26200.9278, bundles the KB5120997 servicing stack, has no security content, and lists no known issues. Its headline is the return of taskbar positioning: top, left, or right, plus a smaller taskbar and a small or large Start menu.

How do I move the Windows 11 taskbar to the top, left, or right?

Install KB5120998 from Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates, restart, then Settings → Personalization → Taskbar → Taskbar behaviors → Taskbar position → Top, Left, Right, or Bottom. No registry edit, no third-party tool. If the option isn't there yet, the feature is installed but not switched on by the gradual rollout; it appears over days or weeks.

Is KB5120998 safe to install?

Microsoft lists no known issues, and it's a preview rather than a security update, so skipping it costs nothing. Install it on a home PC if you want the taskbar and Start changes early. Skip it on a work machine, on a PC that just recovered from an update problem, or on anything you can't have offline for an hour; the same changes arrive automatically on September 8.

Why does the update not show up in Windows Update?

Previews never install on their own. They sit under Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates, and only appear if "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" is on or you open that page and choose to download. It also applies only to 24H2 and 25H2; on 23H2 or Windows 10 it won't appear at all.

I installed KB5120998 but there is no Taskbar position option. Why?

Gradual rollout: the code is on your disk, and Microsoft switches it on device by device over days or weeks. Confirm winver shows .9278, stay signed in with your Microsoft account, stay connected, restart now and then. Enthusiasts force it with ViVeTool feature IDs; it's unsupported and a poor idea on a machine you rely on.

Can I make the Windows 11 taskbar smaller?

Yes, with KB5120998 or the September 2026 update: Settings → Personalization → Taskbar → Taskbar behaviors → Taskbar size → Small. Icons and bar height both shrink. Small taskbar and the search box are only supported at the top and bottom positions, not left or right.

Does the taskbar position registry hack still work?

No. The StuckRects3 edit that moved the taskbar to the top only worked on the original 21H2 release and stopped in 22H2. It's unnecessary now that Top, Left, and Right are back in Settings as a supported option. If you still have a third-party taskbar tool for positioning, uninstall it before trying the built-in setting.

What is Administrator Protection in KB5120998?

A security feature that stops administrators having always-on admin rights. When something needs elevation, Windows asks for Windows Hello and grants a temporary, just-in-time admin token from a separate hidden profile, then discards it. Off by default; home users see no change; organizations enable it through Intune or Group Policy.

Is WMIC removed by KB5120998?

Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 no longer include WMIC from August 2026 and it's no longer a Feature on Demand. WMI itself is untouched; only the wmic.exe client is gone. Scripts that call wmic fail with a "not recognized" error and need translating to PowerShell Get-CimInstance.

When does Windows 11 24H2 stop getting updates?

24H2 Home and Pro reach end of updates on October 13, 2026: no security or preview updates after that. Enterprise and Education 24H2 continue until October 12, 2027. The fix is 25H2, a small enablement package on top of 24H2 with one restart.

How do I check which build I have after installing?

Windows key + R, type winver, Enter. 24H2 should show OS Build 26100.9278 and 25H2 should show 26200.9278. A number ending in .9278 means KB5120998 is on board.

How do I download KB5120998 manually?

Search KB5120998 at catalog.update.microsoft.com, pick the x64 or Arm64 package for your version, and download the .msu files. The KB contains more than one MSU; put them all in one folder and run DISM /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath: pointing at the KB5120998 file, and DISM installs the prerequisite from the same folder.

Can I uninstall KB5120998 if I do not like it?

Yes: Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates → KB5120998. The bundled servicing stack stays behind by design and is harmless. Since the preview has no security content, uninstalling it reopens nothing.

Will the taskbar move to the side make my apps look wrong?

Windows-aware apps reflow correctly, and tooltips, flyouts, and animations come from the new edge. Some older apps that assume a bottom taskbar can open partly under a left or right bar the first time; moving or maximizing the window once fixes it. The search box and small taskbar aren't available on the left or right.

What does the new Windows Search setting do?

Two things. A toggle in Settings → Privacy & security → Search decides whether web and Microsoft Store suggestions appear alongside local results. And "Automatically find additional relevant locations" lets Windows index the folders you use most; turn it off if you keep sensitive folders outside the index on purpose.

Is KB5120998 the September 2026 Patch Tuesday update?

No. It's the August preview, released August 27. Everything in it, plus September's security fixes, rolls into the Patch Tuesday update on September 8, 2026, which installs automatically. Most people will meet these taskbar changes for the first time through that September update.

What is error 0xc0430001 mentioned in the KB?

It only affects IT teams applying the update to installation media. If the boot.stl Secure Boot file is missing from the media, devices fail to boot from it with 0xc0430001. The fix is Microsoft's Update WinPE script or copying boot.stl from Windows\Boot\EFI into the media. It doesn't happen when updating a normal running PC.

Does KB5120998 apply to Windows 11 23H2 or Windows 10?

No. KB5120998 is for 24H2 and 25H2 only. Windows 11 23H2 Home and Pro reached end of updates in November 2025, and Windows 10 stopped receiving updates in October 2025 unless enrolled in Extended Security Updates. Neither will ever get the movable taskbar.

Published August 28, 2026, the morning after the preview shipped. If your taskbar is on the left for the first time in five years, or the option is still refusing to appear, the comments are the place to say so; the rollout timing is the one thing Microsoft's page can't tell us, and your report helps the next reader judge how long to wait. I hope you learned something new! See you in next post.