blank screen after login

[Todd]

XP starts up normally but after the administrator logs in,
there's only a blank screen (blue) and the mouse arrow.
There are no icons or even a start button.

If I ctrl-alt-del and login as the "guest", I can access
most programs and use the computer but some of my
essential files are for "administrator only".

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

First, run a virus scan on the system and make sure the antivirus software
is up to date prior to running the scan.

Next, download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com

If you cannot do the above from the Guest Account, reboot the system, start
tapping F8, this should eventually bring you to a menu, select Safe Mode
from the menu. If this is a relatively recent issue, you might try using
System Restore to take you back to a time prior to when this began. If
System Restore doesn't offer the option when you access Safe Mode, go to
Start\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Restore.

If that doesn't resolve it, try the other options I mentioned at the
beginning of this post. If none of the above works, it sounds as though the
user profile may be corrupt, please see the following Knowledge Base Article
for help with this issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q318011