missing desktop icons and toolbar

[Guest]

WIN XP Media Edition..

Every so often when the PC has finished loading,all the desktop icons and
the start toolbar is missing.Sometimes you can only access task manager,no
other programs are available.

To close down the PC I have to switch off at the tower.Usually the second or
third time the PC is switched back on,the icons and toolbar are present.

Can anyone offer any help please.Thank you

 

[BillW50]

WIN XP Media Edition..

Every so often when the PC has finished loading,all the desktop icons
and the start toolbar is missing.Sometimes you can only access task
manager,no other programs are available.

To close down the PC I have to switch off at the tower.Usually the
second or third time the PC is switched back on,the icons and toolbar
are present.

Can anyone offer any help please.Thank you

Probably happened after a Windows Update, eh? I hate those things, they
screw up more things than they fix. Usually they will fix it next month,
if you want to wait it out.

Although if you get tired of this Windows Updates screws up the Desktop
nonsense (like I did), may I suggest Aston Shell.

http://www.astonshell.com/aston/

 

[SingaporeWebDesign]

Hello,

Have you located which process hangs the whole system in Task Manager >
Processes (tab)? Look for the row taking up the most CPU.

You might also want to do a malware/spyware scan - I recommend
http://www.superantispyware.com

A workaround when the problem occurs is to access task manager and End Task
EXPLORER.EXE in Process tab. Then go to File > Run > type 'Explorer' > OK.



--
Singapore Website Design
http://www.bootstrike.com/Webdesign/
Singapore Web Hosting
http://www.bootstrike.com/WinXP/faq.html
Windows XP FAQ

 

[BillW50]

Well explorer should restart itself. I don't think you have to manually
restart it after you end it.

 

[Guest]

Hello BillW50 and SingaporeWebDesign,

The PC is only 5 days old.Before I connected yo the internet I deactivated
automatic updates.The only updates present are the ones included with SP2.

The replacement desktops sounds interesting,but I will check for which
process is causing the problems vis task manager first.

Is there a known update which causes an error like this,if yes is there an
update to correct it?.

Thank you both for your help.Cheers,Mike

 

[SingaporeWebDesign]

Hello,

No, explorer will not restart itself if you end task it. Might have been in
the Win9x days, but not in XP.

--
Singapore Website Design
http://www.bootstrike.com/Webdesign/
Singapore Web Hosting
http://www.bootstrike.com/WinXP/faq.html
Windows XP FAQ

 

[BillW50]

Yes some updates will fix these sort of problems. Although I don't know
what they are offhand. And yes, killing Explorer (it is being used as
the shell (desktop, taskbar, etc) should restart it (you may have to
restart it manually). And this often corrects the problem.

Keep in mind, there could be a startup program that is causing Explorer
to hang too. You know how to enable/disable startup programs with
MSCONFIG right? Another thing to check, is if safe mode works okay. This
disables all startups and many drivers.

 

[BillW50]

Oh okay, I believe you. Thanks!

--
Bill

Hello,

No, explorer will not restart itself if you end task it. Might have
been in the Win9x days, but not in XP.

 

[Rock]

Hello BillW50 and SingaporeWebDesign,

The PC is only 5 days old.Before I connected yo the internet I deactivated
automatic updates.The only updates present are the ones included with SP2.

The replacement desktops sounds interesting,but I will check for which
process is causing the problems vis task manager first.

Is there a known update which causes an error like this,if yes is there an
update to correct it?.

Thank you both for your help.Cheers,Mike

If it's a new computer contact the computer tech support.