Microsoft hates Windows 7 desktop gadgets: Official.

I understand why MS doesn’t like Windows 7 desktop gadgets anymore.  They are vulnerable to various exploits if you’re not careful.  On the other hand, if you’re firewalled and running decent AV software and running MalwareBytes on a regular basis, that shouldn’t be a big deal.  The official Microsoft disapprobation of desktop gadgets notwithstanding, they do still work even if MS doesn’t want to give them to you anymore.

So when my weather gadgets started not working the other day, I figured there was a change in the URL for the service they were using and started looking to see if there was an unsupported fix for that.  Turns out that wasn’t the problem:

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-7/1142347-win-7-weather-desktop-gadget.html

Bottom line is that you go to

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live\Services\Cache\

and there is a file there called Config.XML.  You right click the file, click “Edit”, and then save the file without editing it.  After a few minutes you restart the desktop gadgets by right-clicking the desktop, choosing “View”, then deselect “Show desktop gadgets”, followed by the same thing but selecting “Show desktop gadgets” instead of deselecting it.

Thought I’d put this here in case I need it again.  I have another machine with the same problem, but it wasn’t critical because it was not a machine I use often. Now I know how to fix it.