How to remove Store from taskbar

Question

Since a recent Windows 8.1 update, I have the Microsoft Store fixed in my taskbar.

How can I remove this Icon again?

Right click on it does not give me the unpin option

Solution

Pinned programs

Starting with Windows 7 you can pin a program directly to the taskbar. The pinned items data is stored in the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband

Adding or removing pinned items programmatically is not officially supported, and the registry data is in binary format anyway, hence not easily editable.

The actual shortcut files are stored in this hidden folder:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

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Windows 8.1 Update

Among other things, the update brings the ability to pin Windows Store apps to the taskbar, just like regular programs. The Store app gets automatically pinned to the taskbar, probably in an effort to encourage people to try and explore modern apps.

Unpinning Windows Store apps

Usually you should be able to unpin Windows Store apps simply by right-clicking their icons on the taskbar. If you can't unpin apps that way, you can try from the Start screen instead:

1. Open the Start screen.
2. Right-click the app tile, and choose Unpin from taskbar from the context menu.

Clearing all pinned apps

In case you can't remove some pinned app, you might want to clear everything and start fresh.

1. Open a command prompt.

2. Type or paste the following commands, pressing Enter each time:

   del /f "%appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\*.lnk"
   for /f "tokens=1" %G in ('reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband" ^| findstr /i /c:"Favorites"') do reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband" /v "%~G" /f
   taskkill /im explorer.exe >nul
   taskkill /im explorer.exe /f >nul
   start explorer.exe
   

References

• Taskbar Pinned Apps - Reset and Clear in Windows 8

Comments

[and31415]

Did you try clearing all pinned programs?

[FiveO]

Just tried it - yes this works. You can add it as an answer