Prior to Windows 7 the system tray started focus from the left: WinEscTabTab
Windows 7 adds Win+B as an alternative, but starts focus from the right.
Is there a way to change it to start focus on the left?
After verification, the problem was to be at my end. It is most likely the Classic Shell plugin, and i will have to pursue a fix there.
Thanx everyone for verifying. It set me on the right track!
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up-arrow (I'm not using Classic). Note: Win-B has apparently been around since XP - also mentioned in this answer