I don't know how to describe this other than bizarre. After I attempted a system restore recently, upon restart Windows Explorer doesn't seem to load. The computer boots as usual, but nothing on screen loads except my wallpaper.
I'm able to open the task manager by using ctrl-alt-del. Once there, it appears that explorer.exe is running... but between 80-97% of CPU Usage. Nothing 'normal' loads, no taskbar, no desktop icons, not even any error messages, nothing but my wallpaper.
I can "end task" explorer.exe, allowing the system to run a little more easily (CPU Usage goes back down to between 10-20%), and access other programs and things through New Task (Run)..... which is how I'm here. Networking is normal, etc etc etc... And I can't even say for sure that explorer ISN'T working, because I can use Internet Explorer to get anywhere on the computer.
After I end explorer.exe, it doesn't restart, as it usually would. The computer is a 4-year-old Dell, and therefore I have no Windows XP CD, and no longer have access to their support services. Everything was just fine before I did this system restore... what's happened, and is there any way to fix it? Please help!
