Windows Start Icon does not respond/Taskbar inaccessible

[KCup415]

While I can use my laptop to do everything, all of a sudden, when I try to
click on Start, the cursor changes to an hourglass. Also, the Taskbar area is
colored black which prevents me from seeing things like the battery level.
Any ideas on where to start in fixing this?

 

[jimbo571]

While I can use my laptop to do everything, all of a sudden, when I try to
click on Start, the cursor changes to an hourglass. Also, the Taskbar area is
colored black which prevents me from seeing things like the battery level.
Any ideas on where to start in fixing this?

And the virus scan reported ?

 

[KCup415]

Norton runs all of the time and detected no viruses, malware, etc. Ran a
second software today- Kapersky- which also detected no problems. While I can
see the entire taskbar and Start Button- the normal row at the bottom, I
cannot click through on anything displayed there.