My laptop (HP Pavilion zt3000, windows XP Pro) has suddenly developed a
problem where it boots up to a blank desktop with only the cursor. After 90
seconds or so with an empty desktop, the desktop icons finally appear, and
the computer acts normally after that. I tried using System Restore to roll
the system back to a previous state, but that made no difference. It was
working fine yesterday, and I made no changes to anything recently. While
the desktop is blank, I can take no actions like Ctrl-Alt-Del, but the
cursor moves around freely in response to my inputs. A right-click on the
desktop does not bring up any menu. I've scanned for viruses or spyware,
with negative results.

I'm sure I can reinstall XP, but if anybody has an easier fix to suggest,
I'd really appreciate your suggestions.

Alan

Alan,

This has happened to me before and believe me; I've tried everything
out there from the Windows Repair solution to replacing the shell.dll
file to no avail. The ONLY thing I have found that actually works was
through my own trial and error. I have determined that explorer.exe
is running out of sequence when you reboot your PC. Here's what to
do:

1.Reboot PC
2.Windows XP runs without desktop icons or start bar (blank desktop)
3.Wait 30 seconds or so to allow boot sequence to run
4.Hit Ctrl,Alt,Del (the three-fingered salute)
5.Click the "Processes" tab and look for "explorer.exe"
6.Now click it, and then click the "End Process" button
7.You will receive a Task Manager Warning, blah, blah, blah…click YES
8.Now click "File" in the upper left and click "New Task (Run…)"
9.In the field, type: "explorer.exe" (without the "") and click "OK"
10.Your icons and start bar will pop up instantly…Voila, you're done!

I do not know the root cause of the problem, or how to permanently fix
it; I only know that it will happen from time to time and this is the
only thing that seems to work for me. If you are using Win2000 or
Win98, I don't know if the Task Manager looks the same for you, but if
you understand what's happening, then maybe you can figure out a way
to end explorer.exe and run it again in sequence. Hope this helps.

-Garrett

Thanks, Garrett!!

"Gr8DaddyG" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Alan,
>
> This has happened to me before and believe me; I've tried everything
> out there from the Windows Repair solution to replacing the shell.dll
> file to no avail. The ONLY thing I have found that actually works was
> through my own trial and error. I have determined that explorer.exe
> is running out of sequence when you reboot your PC. Here's what to
> do:
>
> 1.Reboot PC
> 2.Windows XP runs without desktop icons or start bar (blank desktop)
> 3.Wait 30 seconds or so to allow boot sequence to run
> 4.Hit Ctrl,Alt,Del (the three-fingered salute)
> 5.Click the "Processes" tab and look for "explorer.exe"
> 6.Now click it, and then click the "End Process" button
> 7.You will receive a Task Manager Warning, blah, blah, blah.click YES
> 8.Now click "File" in the upper left and click "New Task (Run.)"
> 9.In the field, type: "explorer.exe" (without the "") and click "OK"
> 10.Your icons and start bar will pop up instantly.Voila, you're done!
>
> I do not know the root cause of the problem, or how to permanently fix
> it; I only know that it will happen from time to time and this is the
> only thing that seems to work for me. If you are using Win2000 or
> Win98, I don't know if the Task Manager looks the same for you, but if
> you understand what's happening, then maybe you can figure out a way
> to end explorer.exe and run it again in sequence. Hope this helps.
>
> -Garrett