Member Avatar for serachi

Hi guys, sorry if I have set out this post incorrectly as I couldn't find the forum rules anywhere.(there were a few forums I came across detailing how they want me to set out a post of a problem).

On my laptop, my windows loads fine, but when it gets to the welcome screen it takes a lot longer than usual to get from there to the desktop screen. Around 5 minutes. And then, when it gets to the desktop screen, the cursor and the background picture show but no icons and no start menu. I can move the cursor around, but that is all. I've waited quite a bit for anything else to show but... nothing.

I have also tried safe mode, it seems to be working fine in that mode.

I have also tried a system restore on 2 checkpoints but both failed as I found out when I went into safe mode again.


Please help me out, I'm, afraid I'll be in much trouble if anyone finds out :sweat:

  • 6 Contributors
  • 9 Replies
  • 227 Views
  • 6 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Suspishio

Dani AI

Generated

— given the symptom set (login reaches welcome, desktop shows only wallpaper + cursor, Safe Mode works, System Restore failed) the two most likely buckets are: (A) the interactive shell/Explorer is being prevented from starting or is crashing at normal logon, or (B) the user profile or a startup item is corrupt/malicious and stops the shell from loading. ’s one-off shell start is a useful quick test; and were right to suspect malware as one possible cause; ’s Active Desktop note is another valid angle for older Windows builds.

A compact, low-risk diagnostic checklist (in this order) that does not destroy data:

  1. Back up personal files first — use Safe Mode, or boot a Linux/WinPE USB to copy the user folder to an external drive.
  2. Check the Event Viewer (Application and System logs) for errors around logon times that mention explorer, userinit or application crashes.
  3. Test whether the problem is profile-specific by creating a new local admin account from Safe Mode (or via net user TempTest /add and net localgroup administrators TempTest /add) and logging in normally.
  4. Verify Winlogon entries at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon: Shell should point to explorer.exe and Userinit to the default C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe,. Back up the registry before changing anything.
  5. Repair system files and disk metadata from Safe Mode / Recovery Command Prompt: run sfc /scannow and chkdsk C: /f.
  6. Use an autorun/startup inspector (booted in Safe Mode) to look for unexpected startup items or shell replacements; an offline rescue scanner can find rootkits that hide during normal boot.

If those steps fail, copying data and performing a repair install (or a clean install) is the safest recovery path. Any registry edits or offline repairs carry risk — back up first and document any changes.

Recommended Answers

All 9 Replies

Member Avatar for Andrieux

Hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE > File > New Task > explorer.exe

Explorer is, put simply, the user interface of Windows. (Start Bar, Icons, etc.) Once you restart, you should be fine.

Member Avatar for Suspishio

I doubt it'll be fine. Always a chance but there has to be a cause for this event. If you search this forum on such as "No desktop", "No Icons", "Explorer.exe", this stuff has happened before and it isn't trivial to get back to normal. Have a read of the other posts then get back to us as to where you stand with what's already been considered here.

Member Avatar for Ricky45

there probably be viruses or other malwares on the the computer. Scan with Kaspersky 2009 or Avast pro. Try to clean your registry. use registry fix or regure. also there could be many programs starting at start up.

Member Avatar for Leo G

I just had this problem on my sons desktop. Hacktool.Rootkit virus was the culprit.

In safe mode run Malwarebytes. Hopefully you can download it and then update it. I have it on my system already. After you update it run it as full scan. Do whatever it tells you to. More than likey you will have to reboot to get rid of everything. It should boot up fine if this is the problem, it did for me. Run the scan again.

Member Avatar for serachi

I tried scanning with spybot sd and what came up for ''microsoftwindowssecuirty_disabled'' or something like that and one malware entry called ''smitfraud-c''.

Can smitfraud-c cause this desktop problem? I have killed it with spybot for now. Also I tried malware bytes and downloaded it fresh, then put it on my laptop.It tried to update but it was in safe mode without networking(as I was afraid a virus could attack somehow). I'm not sure if this version is not updated but since I downloaded the newest vers of it I think it's fine. It didn't pick up any malware, though.

I havent had time to do anything else, I have a really busy schedule...so I might be slow in replying.

Member Avatar for Suspishio

Don't worry about being on Network in Safe Mode when you're working with Malware Bytes. You'll get cleaned up if you use the tool as per advice given ion the Spyware/Virus forums.

Also seartch this forum site for SmitFraud. It's well covered.

Member Avatar for mjdodd

another source that gives similar problem is that someone may have set your desktop to be an active desktop but given it a desktop file (wallpaper etc) that is NOT an active url link or siliar. try right click on desktop and turn off the active desktop.... it took me hours to find this one onone occasion.
BOL
M

Member Avatar for serachi

Could not do ctrl-alt-delete. Nothing showed.

Can't also do right-click>active desktop thing, no response from computer.

Also cannot go to the internet to update the malware bytes system, as in safe mode with networking, I still have wireless internet...and that means the device for wireless is off.

Multiple scans show nothing, and I think spybot sd is giving me a false alert for smitfraud as I show no symptoms of it, I think.

edit:nevermind, I will follow the prompts in the virus,other nasties section.

Member Avatar for Suspishio

I wouldn't waste any more time on this after the current round of cleansing if not successful. If you can stream off your data files and check them later for infection, I'd wipe your disk using FDISK, full format and re-build your system. Once you can't Ctrl+Alt+Del you're degenerating faster than you can maintain progress.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.