Sounds like "Tiny Footprint mode"
There is a mode for MMTASK that is called "tiny footprint mode" and in this mode you can shrink MMTASK down to practically zero pixels in height and width. Well, not that small, but pretty small so it can be hidden beneath the taskbar.
hit ctrl-alt-del and wait about a minute, then see if a little GREEN icon that lights up green is down in the systray. If it is there, double klik on it to bring it back up.
The MMTASK interface may be hidden underneath the taskbar, to right klik on START and hit PROPERTIES and tell the task bar to AUTO-HIDE.
Then when the taskbar goes off the screen, you may see the MMTASK tray, drag it back up and double click on the upper part of it, to put it back in regular footprint mode.