No icons, no desktop, taskbar - Win XP pro

[JDSr]

If anybody KNOWS how to fix, please post.

Hardware:
Pentium 4 - GHz
1 Gig RAM - Kingston 333 matched kit
Win XP pro
Win updates current as of about 3 weeks ago


Background:
System was running normally 2 days ago. Started the PC in the morning,
appears to start normally, login with user name & password - I get a
background, but nothing else.
Mouse moves the pointer, but right click does not work.
No Icons, No Start Button, No Task Bar.
ctrl-alt-del brings up Task Manager.
Starting Explorer as a new task - the start bar flashes on for about 1
second, then is gone.

I have tried:
safe mode - no change
last good config - no change
msconfig, uncheck all but essential in all tabs - no change
chkdsk - no errors found
Made sure that no Firewalls were running (MS or third party)
Uninstalled my antivirus (NAV 2006) - no change
Seagate Tools & OnTrack - No HDD errors, No data errors
remove the HDD, put into another system - virus scan using Symantec CE, AVG
Malware 7.5, NOD32, F-Prot (all current) - No virus found
Checked technet - followed the 3 suggestions - no change
Installed new RAM - no change
Replaced video card - no change
repair install of Windows - no change
Delete Explorer.exe & Iexplore.exe, repair install of Windows - no change.
Hiren's 9 & UBCD 411 both show all hardware is good

System is NOT part of a Domain
All external devices have been disconnected - only Monitor, Keyboard/mouse
are currently connected.

If you have had a similar problem & fixed it, please let me know.

 

[Claymore]

If anybody KNOWS how to fix, please post.

Hardware:
Pentium 4 - GHz
1 Gig RAM - Kingston 333 matched kit
Win XP pro
Win updates current as of about 3 weeks ago

Background:
System was running normally 2 days ago. Started the PC in the morning,
appears to start normally, login with user name & password - I get a
background, but nothing else.
Mouse moves the pointer, but right click does not work.
No Icons, No Start Button, No Task Bar.
ctrl-alt-del brings up Task Manager.
Starting Explorer as a new task - the start bar flashes on for about 1
second, then is gone.

I have tried:
safe mode - no change
last good config - no change
msconfig, uncheck all but essential in all tabs - no change
chkdsk - no errors found
Made sure that no Firewalls were running (MS or third party)
Uninstalled my antivirus (NAV 2006) - no change
Seagate Tools & OnTrack - No HDD errors, No data errors
remove the HDD, put into another system - virus scan using Symantec CE, AVG
Malware 7.5, NOD32, F-Prot (all current) - No virus found
Checked technet - followed the 3 suggestions - no change
Installed new RAM - no change
Replaced video card - no change
repair install of Windows - no change
Delete Explorer.exe & Iexplore.exe, repair install of Windows - no change.
Hiren's 9 & UBCD 411 both show all hardware is good

System is NOT part of a Domain
All external devices have been disconnected - only Monitor, Keyboard/mouse
are currently connected.

If you have had a similar problem & fixed it, please let me know.

Hello,

Try this:

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Line 195 Right

 

[JDSr]

Downloaded & ran the fix, got the "fix has been installed" message.
Rebooted - no change.

Thanks, but no joy.

Somebody, somewhere must have fixed this.

JD

 

[Guest]

If anybody KNOWS how to fix, please post.

Hardware:
Pentium 4 - GHz
1 Gig RAM - Kingston 333 matched kit
Win XP pro
Win updates current as of about 3 weeks ago


Background:
System was running normally 2 days ago. Started the PC in the morning,
appears to start normally, login with user name & password - I get a
background, but nothing else.
Mouse moves the pointer, but right click does not work.
No Icons, No Start Button, No Task Bar.
ctrl-alt-del brings up Task Manager.
Starting Explorer as a new task - the start bar flashes on for about 1
second, then is gone.

I have tried:
safe mode - no change
last good config - no change
msconfig, uncheck all but essential in all tabs - no change
chkdsk - no errors found
Made sure that no Firewalls were running (MS or third party)
Uninstalled my antivirus (NAV 2006) - no change
Seagate Tools & OnTrack - No HDD errors, No data errors
remove the HDD, put into another system - virus scan using Symantec CE, AVG
Malware 7.5, NOD32, F-Prot (all current) - No virus found
Checked technet - followed the 3 suggestions - no change
Installed new RAM - no change
Replaced video card - no change
repair install of Windows - no change
Delete Explorer.exe & Iexplore.exe, repair install of Windows - no change.
Hiren's 9 & UBCD 411 both show all hardware is good

System is NOT part of a Domain
All external devices have been disconnected - only Monitor, Keyboard/mouse
are currently connected.

If you have had a similar problem & fixed it, please let me know.




Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

Start >> Run >> Regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

HideIcons should be set to 0

 

[Newbie Coder]

Devil,

That key wouldn't unhide the Taskbar too

 

[Newbie Coder]

JD Sr,

Is Explorer running?

CTRL + ALT + DEL

Run NEW TASK 'explorer' (without quotes) & press ENTER

Has it returned then?

Post back result, please

 

[Newbie Coder]

OOPS - Sorry.

Never read your post fully.

Please disregard

 

[JDSr]

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
is set to 0. Just for fun I set it to 1, rebooted. Set it to 0 & rebooted
again, No Change.

Downloaded & ran http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm , Program
was run while logged in as Administrator, appeared to run properly, got a
message about restarting Windows Shell & a "Program has finished" window.
Restarted - No Change - No Taskbar, No Icons, No Right Click. My background
is there & if I start & minimize several programs from Run New Task, I can
get to them via alt-tab. Except (of course) for Explorer & Iexplore, which
appear to start & run for approx 1 second & do not show up in Processes for
more than a second or 2.

Any Ideas . . . . . . Anybody?

 

[Elmo]

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
is set to 0. Just for fun I set it to 1, rebooted. Set it to 0 & rebooted
again, No Change.

Downloaded & ran http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm , Program
was run while logged in as Administrator, appeared to run properly, got a
message about restarting Windows Shell & a "Program has finished" window.
Restarted - No Change - No Taskbar, No Icons, No Right Click. My background
is there & if I start & minimize several programs from Run New Task, I can
get to them via alt-tab. Except (of course) for Explorer & Iexplore, which
appear to start & run for approx 1 second & do not show up in Processes for
more than a second or 2.

Any Ideas . . . . . . Anybody?

Have you tried this?

SFC /SCANNOW

In Safe Mode, run MSCONFIG and disable everything starting from there.
Reboot, does that help?

Could the hard drive be damaged? In MSConfig, set it to run CHKDSK, reboot.

 

[JDSr]

MSCONFIG has everything disabled.
Ran SFC /SCANNOW - took about 20 to run, no errors, no messages, could not
find a logfile.
Rebooted - No Change.

 

[Elmo]

MSCONFIG has everything disabled.
Ran SFC /SCANNOW - took about 20 to run, no errors, no messages, could not
find a logfile.
Rebooted - No Change.

Try launching Explorer.exe from Task Manager, and see if it gives you an
error.

If it gives you the "Explorer.exe has encountered a problem" error, look
in the "Click Here" information for a Mod Name; that file is causing
your problems. Please report back with what you find.

 

[JDSr]

Try launching Explorer.exe from Task Manager, and see if it gives you an
error.

If it gives you the "Explorer.exe has encountered a problem" error, look
in the "Click Here" information for a Mod Name; that file is causing your
problems. Please report back with what you find.

From Previous

Restarted - No Change - No Taskbar, No Icons, No Right Click. My
background is there & if I start & minimize several programs from Run New
Task, I can get to them via alt-tab. Except (of course) for Explorer &
Iexplore, which appear to start & run for approx 1 second & do not show up
in Processes for more than a second or 2. No errors are displayed.

In addition I have tried:

safe mode - no change
last good config - no change
msconfig, uncheck all but essential in all tabs - no change
chkdsk /f - no errors found
Made sure that no Firewalls were running (MS or third party)
Uninstalled my antivirus (NAV 2006) - no change
Seagate Tools & OnTrack (Long Test on both) - No HDD errors, No data
errors - PASS 100%- Drive is a Seagate Barracuda ATA 133 7200 rpm
remove the HDD, put into another system - virus scan using Symantec CE,
AVG Malware 7.5, NOD32, F-Prot (all current) - No virus found
Checked TechNet - followed the 3 suggestions - no change
Installed new RAM - no change
Replaced video card - no change
repair install of Windows - no change
Delete Explorer.exe & Iexplore.exe, repair install of Windows - no change.
Hiren's 9 & UBCD 411 both show all hardware is good

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Line 195 Right

Downloaded & ran the fix, got the "fix has been installed" message.
Rebooted - no change.

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
HideIcons should be set to 0

Just for fun I set it to 1, rebooted. Set it to 0 & rebooted again, No
Change.

Downloaded & ran http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm , Program
was run while logged in as Administrator, appeared to run properly, got a
message about restarting Windows Shell & a "Program has finished" window.
Restarted - No Change - No Taskbar, No Icons, No Right Click. My background
is there.

In short, I've done the simple stuff - That I can think of.

I need to avoid a reload if at all possible. Thanks.

 

[Elmo]

From Previous


In addition I have tried:

Downloaded & ran the fix, got the "fix has been installed" message.
Rebooted - no change.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
HideIcons should be set to 0

Just for fun I set it to 1, rebooted. Set it to 0 & rebooted again, No
Change.

Downloaded & ran http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm , Program
was run while logged in as Administrator, appeared to run properly, got a
message about restarting Windows Shell & a "Program has finished" window.
Restarted - No Change - No Taskbar, No Icons, No Right Click. My background
is there.

In short, I've done the simple stuff - That I can think of.

I need to avoid a reload if at all possible. Thanks.

If you don't have an OEM install, a repair install should be
non-destructive. I'm not suggesting you need to repair install yet
though. Try looking through a Google Groups search for other
suggestions first. That's where I get my ideas.. Change the parameters
of the search to narrow, or increase the amount of posts:

http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=desktop+taskbar+missing&qt_s=Search+Groups

 

[Kelly]

This generally has to do with display drivers. If you have recently done so
or ran the MS updates to do so, try a rollback via the Device Manager. If
this is not the case, use Ctrl/Alt/Delete and end process on Explorer.exe if
it is listed and either way, then go to File/New Task (Run) and type in:
Explorer.exe.

Restore the Taskbar to Default Functionality (Line 164)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Taskbar Is Missing When You Log On to Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q318027

If your taskbar has disappeared from the desktop or becomes hidden when you
move your cursor near, it may be due to a corrupt registry key.

Close any open desktop and taskbar applications, then open your registry and
find the key below.

Delete the entire "StuckRects" key, or "StuckRects2" for Windows 2000/XP,
and reboot.

Run this edit, then reboot. When Windows restarts the taskbar should be set
back to a default working state.

--

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

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

 

[Guest]

Greetings JDSr

My son's computer has the exact same symptoms that you describe. One
difference is we run Win XP home Ed.

Have you found a cure to this problem?? From what I read none of the kind
advice worked.

Thanks
DG

 

[Guest]

Hi JDSr

My son's computer has the exact same symptoms that you describe.

Have you found a cure to this problem?? From what I read none of the advice
worked.

Thanks
DG