Problem: All of the icons on my desktop, and/or the Start button, and/or the Task Bar have disappeared.
Solutions:Turn your desktop icons on. Right-click on your desktop. Click on Arrange icons and from there click on Show desktop icons.
Unhide the taskbar. If you right-click on your taskbar and choose Properties, you'll discover an option for "Auto-Hide." Turning on auto-hide means that the taskbar stays out of sight unless you mouse over it, at which point, it pops up and is visible. Move your mouse pointer to the bottom or sides of your display and see if the task bar pops up. If it does, right click, select Properties, and uncheck the option to Auto Hide the task bar.
Resize the display. If you or someone else has changed the display dimensions dramatically, you may find yourself having to scroll around the screen to locate familiar icons.
Unplug external USB devices. If you have stretched the memory limitations of your machine by connecting to your PC a USB device other than the keyboard or mouse, this may cause the desktop icons and taskbar to disappear. A particular brand of USB flash drive, for instance, has been known to cause this problem. Simply unplugging the device may return things to normal.
Run Explorer.exe. If you are able to get to the Task Manager by right-clicking on your task bar or by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL, try the following:
- Click on explorer.exe in the Processes Tab and click End Process.
- Keeping Task Manager open, click File-->Run and type explorer.exe and hit Enter. (Caution: This may restart your PC).
Remove the F-Nimda virus. Your problem may be traceable to a common virus called F-Nimda. Click
*here* to download the fix.
If the above options fail to solve the problem:a. Create a new user and log in as this New User.
b. Use your Windows disk to repair your OS.
Consult the Computer Hope forums if you require assistance on how to do this.
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