Member Avatar for onemoretry

Hi, I am new to the forum. I dont know where to post this question so i'll post it here 1st.. my pc background cannot click after i change wallpaper.. all my icons gone too.. when i press start > control panel everything hangs.. i can only move my mouse cursor and ctrl+alt+delete to run programs, but task manager cant go to control panel.. can anyone tell me what is the problem? to add on.. i cant visit My Computer too.. its like control panel.. hangs everything...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

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Thread moved earlier by and the OS was clarified after asked for details from . The behavior reported (desktop unresponsive after changing wallpaper; icons gone; Start/Control Panel/My Computer hang) most often means the Explorer shell is failing, a user profile is corrupted, or malware/third‑party startup items are interfering.

Recommended steps, in order:

  • If Task Manager is available: kill explorer.exe and then use File -> New Task to run explorer.exe again to see if the shell comes back.

  • Boot to Safe Mode (press F8 at boot). If the desktop and Start menu work in Safe Mode, run System Restore to a point before the problem and scan for malware from Safe Mode with Networking.

  • If Safe Mode does not help, run diagnostics from a command prompt or recovery console:

chkdsk c: /f /r
sfc /scannow

Both can fix file-system or protected-system-file issues (SFC may request the XP CD).

  • Check the Winlogon registry entries (export the key before changing):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Shell should be explorer.exe. Userinit should reference the OS userinit executable (normally in C:\Windows\system32). Restore defaults only with care.

Other useful checks: run an up-to-date on-demand anti‑malware scan (Malwarebytes or similar) from Safe Mode; use MSConfig to disable non-Microsoft startup items; try creating a new local user to test for profile corruption. Back up personal data before any repair install or clean reinstall of XP. Edits to the registry and disk repairs carry risk; export settings and back up files first.

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Member Avatar for itdupuis

You will need to provide information about your operating system before anyone can help you. Once you get this, try to post in the proper threading area. For example; if you have windows vista as your operating sysem, under the tech talk tab click on Windows Vista. Your post will get much more attention there, Good luck!!

Member Avatar for onemoretry

i am running on microsoft window xp home edition service pack 2 Packard Bell Inter(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.60GHz 1GB of ram

Member Avatar for itdupuis

Ok, now that you have that information go to the tech talk tab and post your problem (with all of the details) in the windows xp forum. This will allow you to get some help there.....oh and if someone does solve your problem, it would be great to mark your issue as SOLVED. Ok then, good luck!

Member Avatar for jbennet

moved.

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