How to Fix or Disable the Black Tool Bar
By Dalton McVey
Internet Explorer 8 suffers a glitch involving high-contrast themes for the Windows desktop and other "theme-skinning" software. Themes change the way components of the Windows operating system appears. When Internet Explorer 8 is installed for the first time, certain themes such as "Classic" can trigger a defect in the browser which makes the toolbar and window frame appear to be solid black. The glitch is only temporary and is removable by switching themes.
Press "WIN" and "R" at the same time. Type "services.msc" into the "Run" Dialog box and Press "Enter". Scroll down the list of services until you see "Themes" service. Stop it by right-clicking it and selecting "Stop". This forces the visual effects for Windows to be disabled temporarily.
Close any Internet Explorer windows that may be open. In the "Services" list, right-click "Themes" and select start. This will reset and re-enable visual effects for the Windows operating system.
Right-click the desktop and select "Properties". In the "Properties" dialog box, click the "Themes" tab if it is not selected. On the drop down list, change the theme to an alternative item on the list. Click "Apply". Once the theme has changed, click the drop down list again and change it back to the original theme. Click "OK" to any open dialog boxes.
Open up Internet Explorer to test the browser. If the toolbar appears normal, the issue has been resolved. If they still appear black, reboot the computer and test Internet Explorer again.
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