Member Avatar for mikestrat6

I recently wasn't able to connect to the internet, so i went to microsoft's website and followed the steps for fixing the problem (which was supposedly winsock2 related) and now my start button and taskbar freezes every time i start my computer. It also displays the Active Desktop Recovery Screen. If i terminate explorer.exe with the task manager the desktop comes back but running explorer.exe again i can open the start menu and then it freezes again and causes the same problem. Everything else seems to be fine (i can run programs from the task manager) but the start menu problem is the same.

I have tried an upgrade install from the xp cd but with no luck.

Also all of the problems started when i replaced the power supply and added a usb2.0/firewire/ethernet card and DVD+-RW drive (all of which were working fine except for the fact that i could not see pictures in IE6.

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This thread already contains useful pointers from , and , and a later registry suggestion from . The fact that killing and restarting explorer.exe temporarily restores the desktop strongly points to something loaded into the shell (a context-menu/thumbnail/toolbar extension or an Internet Explorer/Active Desktop component) or to a corrupted user/profile-specific setting rather than a pure network issue. (support.microsoft.com)

A short, safe diagnostic order that narrows causes quickly:

  • Boot to Safe Mode to see whether the problem appears with the bare minimum drivers and services. If Safe Mode is clean, the cause is almost certainly a driver, service, or shell extension.
  • If Safe Mode looks OK, perform a Clean Boot (msconfig) to isolate third‑party startup items and services.
  • Check Event Viewer for explorer, shell, or IE-related errors (Application/System logs) and note the Event ID / source — that information points to the failing component. (support.microsoft.com)

Targeted fixes to try next (in that order):

  • Disable non‑Microsoft shell extensions (context menu/thumbnail handlers) and restart Explorer; re-enable one at a time to find the offender (use ShellExView to make this painless). (nirsoft.net)
  • Repair Windows system files with the System File Checker: run sfc /scannow from an elevated prompt. If SFC finds problems it can often restore missing DLLs that make Active Desktop or Explorer misbehave. (support.microsoft.com)
  • Because IE/Active Desktop issues often come from unregistered IE DLLs, re-register the core IE DLLs (example commands shown below). Run these from Start > Run (or an elevated cmd) one at a time and watch for the "DllRegisterServer ... succeeded" message. (support.microsoft.com)
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 mshtml.dll
regsvr32 browseui.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
regsvr32 oleaut32.dll

If those steps do not help: test with a fresh local administrator user (rules out profile corruption), temporarily remove the new hardware/drivers, and back up data. If system files are badly damaged and nothing else works, a repair (in‑place) install or a carefully planned clean reinstall after full backup is the last reliable option. Always back up user data before running low‑level repairs, and avoid running unverified "fix" scripts from random sites.

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Member Avatar for Redshift

Ouch, Try disabling Active desktop and rebooting, after which you can try again. As for tracking down the problem I would start by getting the latest drivers for all the new equipment you installed and running windows update, if that fails remove the componants and re-add them one at a time untill the problem re-occours. It will at least give you somewhere to work from for getting a solution.

Member Avatar for steven_s-h

Try updating the drivers for the ethernet card. Are you connecting to the internet from a modem or through the ethernet card? It is possible that the drivers that you are using are not winodws XP compatible.

Member Avatar for mikestrat6

everything was working fine for like a day after I installed the new hardware. I downloaded all the latest drivers from the manufacturer and they were all signed as compatible with xp. I tried to do a system restore and got an error that a dll file could not be found and system restore quit. I connect to the internet through the ethernet card and a residential gateway (which is what i'm using now for my laptop to find the solution to this issue)

Try updating the drivers for the ethernet card. Are you connecting to the internet from a modem or through the ethernet card? It is possible that the drivers that you are using are not winodws XP compatible.

Member Avatar for mikestrat6

the problem didn't really start until i ran windows update....


Ouch, Try disabling Active desktop and rebooting, after which you can try again. As for tracking down the problem I would start by getting the latest drivers for all the new equipment you installed and running windows update, if that fails remove the componants and re-add them one at a time untill the problem re-occours. It will at least give you somewhere to work from for getting a solution.

Member Avatar for mikestrat6

i tried all the basic fixes (reinstall drivers, rollback drivers, windows update, etc.) I think it's a problem with the registry. i had the same problem with IE not working on my laptop after i installed imesh which i fixed by using a system restore point. but something seems to be missing from system restore in this case...

Member Avatar for ubaz27

My solution is just about "active desktop recovery"but not freezing of task bar.
Go to the registry below and change the Reg_Dword to zero in decimal

HKey/Current user/software/microsoft/IExplorer/Desktop/safemode/components/DeskHtmVersion

change the Reg_Dword of DeskHtmVersion = 0. but change it to decimal and close the registry window.
refresh your window or exit the explorer and load it again by the use of "Task Manager". But be careful with editing registry, any wrong value can cause serious problem to your OS.
Good lock.

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
Check the date on that thread "Feb 2004"
I think the poster might have a new PC by now and wont need this repair.

Member Avatar for samsoniga

I have a windows 2000 pc connected to the internet. Recently there was a power surge.
when i restarted the the computer i got the message that window could not locate the active desktop file. I clicked Ok, now everything is frozen. When I try to click either an icon or the start button, there is not response.

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