Member Avatar for PurpleGiant

I am running Windows XP SP2. My computer boots up perfectly until it gets to the desktop. Only the wallpaper is showing. No Icons or task bar. Pressing the windows key does nothing. I can't right click on the desktop either. However task manager works fine, and I can run programs from that and all of them work fine. Just no icons and no taskbar.

I had this exact same problem a couple of weeks ago, and I eventually was directed to the Microsoft website and I downloaded the file WindowsXP-KB938828-X86-ENU. Two weeks ago, I installed and ran that program and it worked. Today, I did the exact same thing and it didn't work. I don't get any error messages at all.

The only thing remotely suspicious that's happened in the last two weeks is when I click the shutdown, restart, or standby buttons from the taskbar (when it was there), nothing would happen. This seems to have started when I tried to download and install Windows XP SP3, which completely f'd everything up and I had to use a system restore point.

This is mildly aggravating, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 192 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by uniquestar

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for PurpleGiant

So I turn my computer on today, and it starts up OK and goes straight to the desktop with everything loaded correctly. Apparently that file did work. Maybe this will help someone else.

Member Avatar for uniquestar

To help further, this just means that explorer.exe hasn't loaded. If you can run programs from Task Manager, run explorer.exe and it'll load up the desktop & taskbar for you.

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.