Member Avatar for o0CroW0o

well first of all i want to tell you guys how gratefull i am to find a site wich helps people in trouble without asking for money (you dont see that very muvh lately), and now ito my problem, i am runnin a compaq presario 900, OS windows xp sp3, my problem is that after i update windows (through windows update page or the yellow icon on the botton right) when i reboot the system (wich i must do), my desktop fully diapears, no icons, no bar, no nothing, i open taskmanager, and try running explorer.exe and it only opens "my documents", the only way i am able to get everything back is restoring (manually) through he new task button in taskmanager, i would really appreciate, if anyone could tell if there is a known solution of some sort... but well thank you guys in advance...

And if i post this in the wrong thread, please move it or let me know ^^ (i dont write to much in forums).

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Dani AI

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Following 's update that the disappearance of the desktop was tied to an infection, a few extra checks and repair steps are useful to confirm the system is truly healthy and to help others who hit the same symptom (desktop/taskbar missing after updates).

Short checklist and triage

  • Boot to Safe Mode (F8) and run a full, up-to-date anti‑malware scan; follow with an offline rescue-scan from bootable media if possible.
  • Verify that the Windows shell and startup sequence are intact: a shell that launches only a folder window or nothing at all often indicates altered Winlogon values or missing system files. Back up the registry before any edits.

Quick, targeted checks (safe to perform from an administrator account)

Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Expected values:
Shell    = explorer.exe
Userinit = C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe,

Export the Winlogon key before changing values. Use msconfig to inspect startup entries and disable suspicious items.

Repair and verification steps

  • Run sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt to repair protected system files (have the original Windows media available if prompted).
  • If SFC fails or system integrity is still questionable, try "Last Known Good Configuration" from the boot menu or perform a repair install/repair from recovery tools.
  • After cleaning, run a second independent scanner (different engine) and check Event Viewer for errors during the update or at logon.

Hardening and follow-up
Create a full image backup once the system is verified, change passwords that were used on the machine, enable restore points, and keep a rescue/bootable scanner handy. Editing registry keys and repair installations carry risk; if uncertainty remains or critical files appear corrupted, a repair install or clean OS reinstall may be the safest route.

Member Avatar for o0CroW0o

well, i've ound out the problem, it was a worm virus that had infected system files, and once it installed the updates the files where corrupt, so it caused the problem, now i've cleaned the laptop with AVG 8 free edition, and its running smooth, buty thanks guys anyway, ^^

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