desktop does not appear

[stevej]

Hi,

I have a computer that will not go to the desktop after hitting "alt
ctrl del" and putting in the correct username and password.
The computer is not on a network, is running Windows 2000 Pro.
After hitting "alt ctrl del" and putting in the password, I see it loading
the personal settings and "applying etc etc' and then it seems to stay at
the background screen and will not load the Icons on the desktop. I am able
to hit alt ctrl del and "log off" but even if I try the administrator
account I get the same problem.
Any suggestions on what to do with this?

Thanks

Steve

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Sounds like explorer.exe is missing, corrupt or inaccessible.
You may be able to get to a Command Prompt by pressing
Ctrl+Esc, Run, cmd + click OK.

 

[Ivan Sheng]

Hi Stevej,

Let's check if the following setting if you can do ctrl alt del and run
explorer.exe from task manager:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

2. Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following subkey:

\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell

3. Change what is there to Explorer.exe.

4. Quit Registry Editor; shut down and restart the system.

Explorer should then start as expected.

Please let me know if this helps. I look forward to hearing from you.??

Sincerely,
Ivan Sheng, MCSD,MCSE4,2000,MCDBA,CCNA,ASE
Microsoft Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

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?

 

[stevej]

Hi Ivan,

Thanks for your input. I started to follow your instructions and then
realized that this computer was upgraded from windows 98 to windows 2000,
thereby not having the subkey that you described. Is there a different
subkey that I should look at to try and follow your earlier instructions?

Thanks

Steve

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I would create the subkey.

As an overall remark: While it is possible to upgrade
Win98 to Win2000, it is not recommended. The two
OSs are just too different. If you want to have a rock-solid
Win2000 installation then you should start from scratch.

 

[Ivan Sheng]

Hi Steve,

Since I don't have a test Win2000 environment which is upgraded from Win98
at hand, I cannot tell you which key you need to change on your side. But
as Pegasus suggested, you can try adding such a key.

As the same time, you can try booting into safe mode (press F8 when
restarting the computer) to see if this issue is caused by 3rd party
applications. If so, we can use clean boot to narrow down this issue. (you
need to copy the msconfig.exe from a winxp machine.)

Q310353: How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP.
<http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q310/3/53.asp>

By the way, please don't forget to check the article Fabio suggested
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;256194

Sincerely,
Ivan Sheng, MCSD,MCSE4,2000,MCDBA,CCNA,ASE
Microsoft Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via
your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit
from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[stevej]

Hi Ivan,
I tried adding the key but I still get stuck just before the icons appear.
I will follow your next idea.

Thanks
Steve

 

[stevej]

Hi Ivan,

When running a into safe mode I received the same situation. I also
tried the administrator account and a user account when logging on but it
still stops after I try to log in and before the icons appear. Any
suggestions.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Ivan Sheng]

Hi Steve,

I'd like to follow up to see how things are processing with the issue. I
look forward to hearing from you.

Ivan Sheng
Microsoft Online Partner Support
MCSD,MCSE4,2000,MCDBA,CCNA,ASE
Get Secure! – www.microsoft.com/security

This posting is provided “as is” with no warranties and confers no rights.