Log in I get desktop only, no windows

[Marty]

When I click to log in sometimes I get my desktop only, no icons, windows
etc..I do a ctl alt del and log out and then I log back in and it works..This
happens about 1 out of 3 times I log in. I have all the updates and SP etc
installed. Any ideas on how to correct this? Thanks
Marty

 

[Kelly]

Hi Marty,

I would suggest checking to see what is running in the background during a
boot to see what is actually needed. XP doesn't need anything listed under
msconfig - startup to boot.

Another option would be to increase your icon cache from line 121:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm.

And yet another reason could be if automatic updates undated your display
drivers, if so try a roll back.

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

 

[Richard Urban]

WOW!

Good to see you here Kelly. I haven't seen you much (maybe at all) since
Katrina.

 

[Gerry]

Marty

What are you anti-virus and anti-spyware arrangements?

Is your system error free?

Are there any other Warning or Error reports in the System or
Application logs in Event Viewer during the last 48 hours?

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Marty]

Thanks for your time Kelly, I got rid of all programs in msconfig running
except for pctools spyware dr..So far so good, I'll try the other 2 if it
continues..Thanks much
Marty

 

[Guest]

Marty,

If you are using the PC Tools stuff then you could have searched their site
for registry tweaks & not used that out-of-date one of Kelly's that imports
unnecessary entries into your registry

http://www.pctools.com/guides/registry/detail/57/

If your Desktop always refreshes then it's usually a sign of the icon cache
being too small. If the icons change then it's usually the icon cache is
corrupt. Deleting & letting Windows re-create it normally resolves that, but
also the cache size too:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/132668

As you'll see with the above Microsoft article they haven't updated it to
include XP SP3

Out of interest: was EXPLORER running as a process when you logged in with a
blank Desktop? Did you try killing (END TASKing) the process & starting it
again?

 

[Marty]

All I have done was uncheck all the programs running in the background so
I'll monitor the issue and try your solutions if warranted. I really
appreciate your help