Win XP Desktop is gone (but background is okay)

[gridster]

I loaded and ran Network Associates VirusScan 7.0 last night, rebooted, and my desktop taskbar and program icons don't show up any more. Right-click and left-click on the background does nothing. I can open the windows task manager and run programs using the "create new task" command, but this is incredibly painful (man, are we spoiled). There may be a conflict with the Beta Microsoft Antispyware and the anti-popup software.

Can anyone help me restore my desktop? You'll have to be very explicit as to the steps to take since I can't browse very efficiently.

Much thanks.

P

[Miz]

Go to http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm, scroll down to line 117, download "Restore Taskbar and Start Menu." Run it according to the directions at the top of that page.

If you have a Windows key on the keyboard, does pressing it bring up the Start Menu? If so, life will get a little easier until you get things fixed...which may be as soon as you can download and run the above file.

[gridster]

I downloaded the xp-tweaks file and added it to the registry. No change on the reboot. Do you know the exact file that windows runs for the taskbar/start menu/desktop icons to show up? I can get to the cmd line and also regedit, but don't know how to access it.

Can you explain what the Windows key is--is it the one with the windows flag on it? I'm not at home where my computer is, so I can't try it. I have a feeling, though, that I've already tried all the keys at some point or another.

Thanks.

[alex99]

This probably won't work for you right now. But I went to www.videoprofessorproducts.com to learn all about my Windows system! I love it. I do the online lessons and I can get on anytime and find answers to all my questions about Excel and Word and everything. It really helped me with Windows!

[Zxian]

In Task Manager, can you see a process called explorer.exe? If not, go to File->New Task and type in explorer.exe. You should see your desktop load up.

If not, try booting into safe mode. Restart the computer and when the BIOS screen shows (the very first screen that you see when you turn on your computer), press F8. You should see a menu with options to start up. Use the keyboard to select "Safe Mode" and press Enter. Does the problem arise here? If you can get to the desktop, it sounds like some nasty software is affecting your computer.

Let us know how things go.

[gridster]

Hey, Zxian,

As it turned out, I looked for explorer.exe, and it was in a quarantine folder in the c:drive. I ran it from the File-> New Task, and it restored my desktop and allowed all the other processes to load. I then added a copy back where it should have been. FYI, I knew about safe mode before, but it didn't let me see where it was getting stuck loading.

I suppose I need to download a clean copy of explorer.exe now, just to be safe. Thanks for all your help. I'm glad this was fairly easy to solve.