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desktop and taskbar disapeared.

post #1 of 14
8/7/03 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 
ok i just started up my computer and when it finished loading all that came up with the background picture. no icons and worest of all no task bar. Which means i can't go to the start menu can't do anything. the only way i can open anything is with windows task manager. Anyone know whats going on??
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post #2 of 14
8/7/03 at 4:53pm
Look in task manager and see if explorer.exe is listed in your Proceses. It is the desktop shell. if it is not there then I'd say you need to reload Windows.
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post #3 of 14
8/7/03 at 6:51pm
Thread Starter 
oh yea forgot to mention that. Thats the strange thing it explorer.exe is running. its like i just can't get to it. when i shut down the computer all the icons on my desktop flash for a second as windows is logging out.

is there a way i can access my settings, like my display settings, through taskmanager?
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post #4 of 14
8/7/03 at 11:29pm

Hmmm

Any chance that your task bar has been sized down so small that you cannot raise it? Move your mouse over the bottom of the screen and see if you can get it to lock in on it.


Let me keep thinking.

OK,
if that doesn't work, then you can open a new task from the task manager, and browse over to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONTROL.EXE. This should open your control panel and give you access to your display settings.

Other than this I would suggest reloading Windows.

Good luck.
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post #5 of 14
8/8/03 at 1:25am
I've had the same problem a couple of times. Today I tried going to new task and typed in explorer.exe which brought up a second explorer.exe and then ended the first one. Magically, all my icons and the taskbar came up.
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post #6 of 14
8/8/03 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
nope, typing explorer.exe didn't do anything
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post #7 of 14
8/8/03 at 2:24pm
Thread Starter 
i just reinstalled my video drivers and the ati control panel and everything's back to normal.

Thanx for the suggestions.
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post #8 of 14
8/8/03 at 10:27pm
One of the several problems with the explorer shell is that its a file browser and shell so when it misbehaves it can be a pain to get to come up right again. Usually Windows is notified of the shell crashing and automagically restarts it for you but sometimes it doesn't.

If it happens again go into your process tree and if there is a copy of explorer.exe still running, whether it's in the file browser mode or shell mode you have to end task it.

One of the problems with the explorer.exe shell is if it sees another copy of it already running it assumes it's the shell. Ending all the explorer tasks will sometimes trigger explorer to automatically restart but sometimes you'll have to manually run it. Just go to File>Run explorer.exe .

If all that fails try logging off and logging back on and the OS will re-start the shell.
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post #9 of 14
8/8/03 at 10:58pm
beakmyn probably has the right answer... if there's no explorer.exe running when you CTRL-ALT-DEL and select Task Manager, then you should (via the task manager) RUN "explorer" that should restart it.

Have you been monkeying with any "shell enhancement" things? I.E. desktop replacements? That usually screws things up.

-myrkat
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post #10 of 14
8/9/03 at 1:07am
Thread Starter 
well if that was the case than simply restarting would have started fixed it. since explorer would be restarting. I'm positive it was a problem with the ati drivers, probably the control panel not the driver it self but i replaced both anyways and thats what fixed the problem. My guess is that some how the display setting got messed up.


EDIT: Never mind what he said was exactly it. I just restarted my computer and it did it again. i killed explorer.exe and started it back up again and the desktop and everything came back.
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post #11 of 14
8/9/03 at 7:57pm
Typically, if ATI drivers are funky, you either get a BSOD or something as severe... still moving the mouse, etc. but no icons usually is a windows/explorer thing. Glad it was worked out.

If it persists, you can always do a REPAIR, then patch yourself back up to current levels.

-myrkat
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post #12 of 14
8/9/03 at 11:51pm
Thread Starter 
yea it does keep doing it actually, everytime i restart. I did repair originally and that did nothing.
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post #13 of 14
8/10/03 at 1:07am
Quote:
Originally posted by Dom02
yea it does keep doing it actually, everytime i restart. I did repair originally and that did nothing.
Did you say YES to overwrite all files? The REPAIR function can be tricky, knowing what to fix and what to leave alone.

I suppose a re-format / re-install would be the next logical step. If it persists, I'd give MS a call (assuming it's a legit copy of XP), have them figure it out (though they'll just tell you it's another software vendor and/or hardware issue).

-myrkat
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post #14 of 14
8/10/03 at 2:23am
Thread Starter 
hmmm not sure if i said yes to overwrite files. I may not have. I'll give that a try and hopefully it works.
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