Portions of Taskbar dead

All icons on the task bar have now disappeared. I can't even access task mgr from the task bar, either. Since my left hand doesn't work, I can't use "ctrl-alt-delete" . A little while ago, I couldn't open Chrome from its desktop icon. A shut down and restart solved that. Something really screwy going on! I could possibly try resetting the computer, but Chrome browser would be gone and if, for some reason, I couldn't use Edge again, I'd be really screwed. Hitting winkey + R now fails to bring up the run command box. Is my OS toast, or can it be salvaged?

Mr Ed said:

Since my left hand doesn't work, I can't use "ctrl-alt-delete"...

If you are unable to press Ctrl Alt Del simultaneously, you may be able to turn Sticky Keys on. With it turned on you can press them one after the other.

Turn On or Off Sticky Keys in Windows 10 | Tutorials

I appreciate your help, Bree (and others), but I can't get into "settings" because of this problem, so I can't use option 2 that Bree mentioned. If I'm able to reset my machine, I may be willing to try, but losing Chrome in the process and not being able to access Edge would be a disaster. Then i could be looking at a new PC (but would like to avoid that, if possible.

If I wanted to reset my computer, with the task bar completely dead and unable to use a run command, how would I do that?

Mr Ed said:

I appreciate your help, Bree (and others), but I can't get into "settings" because of this problem, so I can't use option 2 that Bree mentioned

Did you try pressing the shift key five times? You shouldn't need to go into settings. Option one says this is turned on by default.

1. Press the Shift key five times to turn Sticky Keys on or off.
The keyboard shortcut will only work if turned on ... It is turned on by default.

I really appreciate all the help, guys, but I'm almost ready to buy a new computer since having one in good operation is vital for me.
Latest developments: I can't open the run box any more by pressing winkey + R. All icons on the task bar are gone. I 'd like to reset this PC but can't see how to do it. I feel that might eliminate the problem by reinstalling the OS during the recovery process. How can I do this since I can't access "settings" ? Thanks again for all the support.

Mr Ed said:

...I 'd like to reset this PC but can't see how to do it.... How can I do this since I can't access "settings" ?

MrNeeds has shown the way in post #15

MrNeeds said:

You can access the recovery options via the booting process, follow option two from this tutorial
Boot to Advanced Startup Options in Windows 10

and once in the advanced boot options, follow option one from this tutorial here
Reset Windows 10

Ideally, you'll want to "Reset this PC" and "keep my files" which will allow you to clean up any operating system issues while still retaining your profile and settings, good luck!

Given the state of the PC, you'll probably have to use Option Six, Boot to Advanced Startup Options from a Hard Reboot as the first step.

One more update: following a suggestion from another forum, I performed a hard shutdown/restart and now have the icons back on the task bar. However, I still can't launch anything from there. I can't reach the run box anymore, but can now reach task mgr. Is there any way I can use task mgr to reset this machine?