What to do when the desktop disappears??

[ken]

I was merrily working in XP (all updates) with a pcAnywhere session and
a session in IE on a different computer when "the lights [not literally]
wnet out." The desktop disappeared. I tried keystrokes like crtl-esc
to bring up a menu, but no luck. A ctrl-alt-delete allowed me to shut
down the computer (I was dutifully queried by the OS about saving files
I had open but which I could not see, and I was able to reboot without
any problem.

Is there anything that can be done at a moment like that to restore the
desktop/start menu/task bar, etc???? Or is rebooting the only option?

Thanks

 

[db ´¯`·.. >]

instead of rebooting with
the task manager,

simply launch the task
below via the apps tab:

explorer.exe

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was merrily working in XP (all updates) with a pcAnywhere session and a session in IE on a different computer when "the lights
[not literally] wnet out." The desktop disappeared. I tried keystrokes like crtl-esc to bring up a menu, but no luck. A
ctrl-alt-delete allowed me to shut down the computer (I was dutifully queried by the OS about saving files I had open but which I
could not see, and I was able to reboot without any problem.

Is there anything that can be done at a moment like that to restore the desktop/start menu/task bar, etc???? Or is rebooting the
only option?

Thanks

 

[ken]

instead of rebooting with
the task manager,

simply launch the task
below via the apps tab:

explorer.exe

Thanks. Hopefully, it won't happen again, but I will try explorer.exe
to restore the desktop..