No Desktop or Taskbar on startup

I

iMintz

New Member
Yesterday my computer was working perfectly, however when i started my computer up today the screen was completely black and all i had was a mouse, luckily i was able to start task manager and then run programs. I assumed this was a one time vista glitch but just in case, i ran an anti-virus that came out negative. I expected things to be resolved if i restarted my computer, but when i restarted it the same thing, so i restarted one more time, and to my discontent, this time there was not even a mouse, so now i have to write this from vista safe mode in order to access my computer, please help me sort out this issue or my computer is basically useless.
Attached is my dxdiag if you need to see it.
 

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  • DxDiag.txt
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My Computer

System One

In safe mode, try running MSCONFIG and selecting the "diagnostic startup" option, then rebooting to normal mode.

Do you then have Explorer and your mouse back?
 

My Computer

System One

I figured out that my comp, was just blocking explorer.exe from loading up, now the problem is to figure out why this is, because it is still doing this.
 

My Computer

System One

Sounds like the infamous video card drivers. You running a Nivida card?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Cyberpower
    CPU
    AMD Phenom X4 9850
    Motherboard
    MSI K9N SLI V2
    Memory
    8 GIG DDR 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 9800 GT 512mb
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SyncMaster 220wm
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi something or other 500 gigs
    PSU
    650 watts
Every time i start my computer, it doesn't load explorer and once i manually load it it says some programs were blocked during start up
 

My Computer

System One

iMintz said:
Every time i start my computer, it doesn't load explorer and once i manually load it it says some programs were blocked during start up
Click to expand...

What are the contents of the "Shell" value under the following registry key on your machine:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

"Shell" should be set to "explorer.exe". If not, that could be why Explorer is not starting at all. Otherwise, there's a possibility that it is starting, but then subsequently crashing - that's subtly different.

Are there any warning or error events logged during startup which contain references to Explorer or "shell"? (run EVENTVWR to see the event logs)
 

My Computer

System One

iMintz said:
the shell says explorer.exe "C:\Windows\update.exe"
Click to expand...

I think your machine has been infected with a virus. A through AV and anti-malware scan would be a good idea.

The reference to c:\windows\update.exe (a non-default executable) as an Explorer arg is suspicious.
 

My Computer

System One

avgwarhawk said:
Sounds like the infamous video card drivers. You running a Nivida card?
Click to expand...

I am running an Nividia Video Card & Chipset and I can almost guarantee this is not the culprit. Just to be on the safe side though, I went ahead and downloaded fresh copies of all my Nvidia drivers, Sound & monitor drivers... same fate.

H2SO4 said:
iMintz said:
the shell says explorer.exe "C:\Windows\update.exe"
Click to expand...

I think your machine has been infected with a virus. A through AV and anti-malware scan would be a good idea.

The reference to c:\windows\update.exe (a non-default executable) as an Explorer arg is suspicious.
Click to expand...

I also suspect (strongly) that this is due to a virus, the problem is that I think this is a new virus that is affecting computers and it has not catch up yet because, Spybot S&D, Malawarebytes & Avast have not been able to take care of this problem.

As explained on my other thread (similar to this one), this weekend I will be having to make a back up of my data and Install a fresh coat of Windows Vista x64.

Heck, I might throw in Windows 7 x64 as a dual boot just for giggles ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
AstaLaVista said:
I also suspect (strongly) that this is due to a virus, the problem is that I think this is a new virus that is affecting computers and it has not catch up yet because, Spybot S&D, Malawarebytes & Avast have not been able to take care of this problem.
Click to expand...

So you are assuming that this is some sort of new virus. Since I ran Malwarebytes, Ad-aware and all those anti-virus. At first i got a couple of infected files, but after deleting them the problem persisted. If it might help at all, I am running a dualboot on my comp.
 

My Computer

System One

If you found infected files then the safest thing to do is back up your data and reinstall Vista. Once a virus has been on your pc it can delete files, move files, add files etc and simply removing the virus wont undo what it has done. Make sure to do a full format of your hard drive before installing Vista.
 

My Computer

System One

iMintz said:
If it might help at all, I am running a dualboot on my comp.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you trying to say with this?

1.- that you agree with me on the assumption of it being a new virus because one of the OS is doing this but not the other?

2.- that you don't agree with me because all of a sudden both your OSs started to have the same symptoms

I am not more confused than before! :p :D

stew2 said:
If you found infected files then the safest thing to do is back up your data and reinstall Vista. Once a virus has been on your pc it can delete files, move files, add files etc and simply removing the virus wont undo what it has done. Make sure to do a full format of your hard drive before installing Vista.
Click to expand...

Yep, I have always been a firm believer in doing just that and even though it is a pain in the bum, it is the safest way to go.

Acronis is now waiting for me to finish and, this time around, I will make a boot image as soon as I am done installing everything I need.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
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