Vista - Explorer Window is the only thing displayed on Log-on

Hi!

I've just recently purchased and installed Windows Vista Ultimate Edition,
and am so far sort of enjoying it.

However, recently something weird and very annoying happens. Every time I
log on, all that is displayed is an Explorer window, on a black background.
This was not always the case.

The computer does nothing, and all I can do is sit there, unless I open the
task manager and manually start explorer.exe, which kickstarts the complete
log-on process (with all the appropriate startup processes, etc.)

I was just wondering how I would go about fixing this annoying issue.

Anyone?

"brokenjago" wrote:

> Hi!
>
> I've just recently purchased and installed Windows Vista Ultimate Edition,
> and am so far sort of enjoying it.
>
> However, recently something weird and very annoying happens. Every time I
> log on, all that is displayed is an Explorer window, on a black background.
> This was not always the case.
>
> The computer does nothing, and all I can do is sit there, unless I open the
> task manager and manually start explorer.exe, which kickstarts the complete
> log-on process (with all the appropriate startup processes, etc.)
>
> I was just wondering how I would go about fixing this annoying issue.

Hi

Not sure what you mean by "an Explorer window"? Do you mean Windows
Explorer, or....? How are opening Task Manager, is the Taskbar visible?

Did this behavior manifest itself right after you installed a program or new
drivers for a device?

Have you tried using System Restore to roll back to a time before this
behavior was first seen?



--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


"brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:BEE268AF-D5E0-4633-838F-209DBC2B034E@microsoft.com...
> Anyone?
>
> "brokenjago" wrote:
>
>> Hi!
>>
>> I've just recently purchased and installed Windows Vista Ultimate
>> Edition,
>> and am so far sort of enjoying it.
>>
>> However, recently something weird and very annoying happens. Every time I
>> log on, all that is displayed is an Explorer window, on a black
>> background.
>> This was not always the case.
>>
>> The computer does nothing, and all I can do is sit there, unless I open
>> the
>> task manager and manually start explorer.exe, which kickstarts the
>> complete
>> log-on process (with all the appropriate startup processes, etc.)
>>
>> I was just wondering how I would go about fixing this annoying issue.

I mean a Windows Explorer window, which lets me browse my files & folders.

No, the taskbar is not present. Nothing is present except the explorer
window, on a completely black background. I would take a screenshot, but I
can't.

To me, it seems as though as part of the normal startup process, explorer is
being loaded, except, of course, with the wrong options enabled. So instead
of loading the Taskbar, start menu, desktop, etc, it loads the explorer that
lets you browse your files and folders, etc.

I'm opening task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and selecting the "Open
Task Manager..." button.

To be honest, I had installed about a billion programs before the restart in
question, so it could have been any one of them.

No, I have not tried System Restore. It's actually been occurring for quite
some time now, so I would prefer a way to simply getting it to work without
the hassle of system Restore.

"Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:

> Hi
>
> Not sure what you mean by "an Explorer window"? Do you mean Windows
> Explorer, or....? How are opening Task Manager, is the Taskbar visible?
>
> Did this behavior manifest itself right after you installed a program or new
> drivers for a device?
>
> Have you tried using System Restore to roll back to a time before this
> behavior was first seen?
>
>
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:BEE268AF-D5E0-4633-838F-209DBC2B034E@microsoft.com...
> > Anyone?
> >
> > "brokenjago" wrote:
> >
> >> Hi!
> >>
> >> I've just recently purchased and installed Windows Vista Ultimate
> >> Edition,
> >> and am so far sort of enjoying it.
> >>
> >> However, recently something weird and very annoying happens. Every time I
> >> log on, all that is displayed is an Explorer window, on a black
> >> background.
> >> This was not always the case.
> >>
> >> The computer does nothing, and all I can do is sit there, unless I open
> >> the
> >> task manager and manually start explorer.exe, which kickstarts the
> >> complete
> >> log-on process (with all the appropriate startup processes, etc.)
> >>
> >> I was just wondering how I would go about fixing this annoying issue.
>
>

Hi

OK, go to Start and type: regedit under Programs, right click
regedit.exe and select Run As Administrator. Click Continue at the prompt.

Navigate down to:

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

In Winlogon, on the right side, there should be a value called "Shell".
Double click this value. Select the text in the Value Data line and copy /
paste it in a reply here.


--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


"brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B85B48BB-4A74-4D77-B4C7-B3C64599D3C1@microsoft.com...
>I mean a Windows Explorer window, which lets me browse my files & folders.
>
> No, the taskbar is not present. Nothing is present except the explorer
> window, on a completely black background. I would take a screenshot, but I
> can't.
>
> To me, it seems as though as part of the normal startup process, explorer
> is
> being loaded, except, of course, with the wrong options enabled. So
> instead
> of loading the Taskbar, start menu, desktop, etc, it loads the explorer
> that
> lets you browse your files and folders, etc.
>
> I'm opening task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and selecting the
> "Open
> Task Manager..." button.
>
> To be honest, I had installed about a billion programs before the restart
> in
> question, so it could have been any one of them.
>
> No, I have not tried System Restore. It's actually been occurring for
> quite
> some time now, so I would prefer a way to simply getting it to work
> without
> the hassle of system Restore.
>
> "Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:
>
>> Hi
>>
>> Not sure what you mean by "an Explorer window"? Do you mean Windows
>> Explorer, or....? How are opening Task Manager, is the Taskbar visible?
>>
>> Did this behavior manifest itself right after you installed a program or
>> new
>> drivers for a device?
>>
>> Have you tried using System Restore to roll back to a time before this
>> behavior was first seen?
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Ronnie Vernon
>> Microsoft MVP
>> Windows Shell/User
>>
>>
>> "brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:BEE268AF-D5E0-4633-838F-209DBC2B034E@microsoft.com...
>> > Anyone?
>> >
>> > "brokenjago" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi!
>> >>
>> >> I've just recently purchased and installed Windows Vista Ultimate
>> >> Edition,
>> >> and am so far sort of enjoying it.
>> >>
>> >> However, recently something weird and very annoying happens. Every
>> >> time I
>> >> log on, all that is displayed is an Explorer window, on a black
>> >> background.
>> >> This was not always the case.
>> >>
>> >> The computer does nothing, and all I can do is sit there, unless I
>> >> open
>> >> the
>> >> task manager and manually start explorer.exe, which kickstarts the
>> >> complete
>> >> log-on process (with all the appropriate startup processes, etc.)
>> >>
>> >> I was just wondering how I would go about fixing this annoying issue.
>>
>>

Ah-HA!

There's the problem! After Explorer.exe was another process that shouldn't
have been there. I changed it back to just plain ol' Explorer and all seems
to be well.

Thank you muchly!

"Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:

> Hi
>
> OK, go to Start and type: regedit under Programs, right click
> regedit.exe and select Run As Administrator. Click Continue at the prompt.
>
> Navigate down to:
>
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
>
> In Winlogon, on the right side, there should be a value called "Shell".
> Double click this value. Select the text in the Value Data line and copy /
> paste it in a reply here.
>
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B85B48BB-4A74-4D77-B4C7-B3C64599D3C1@microsoft.com...
> >I mean a Windows Explorer window, which lets me browse my files & folders.
> >
> > No, the taskbar is not present. Nothing is present except the explorer
> > window, on a completely black background. I would take a screenshot, but I
> > can't.
> >
> > To me, it seems as though as part of the normal startup process, explorer
> > is
> > being loaded, except, of course, with the wrong options enabled. So
> > instead
> > of loading the Taskbar, start menu, desktop, etc, it loads the explorer
> > that
> > lets you browse your files and folders, etc.
> >
> > I'm opening task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and selecting the
> > "Open
> > Task Manager..." button.
> >
> > To be honest, I had installed about a billion programs before the restart
> > in
> > question, so it could have been any one of them.
> >
> > No, I have not tried System Restore. It's actually been occurring for
> > quite
> > some time now, so I would prefer a way to simply getting it to work
> > without
> > the hassle of system Restore.
> >
> > "Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:
> >
> >> Hi
> >>
> >> Not sure what you mean by "an Explorer window"? Do you mean Windows
> >> Explorer, or....? How are opening Task Manager, is the Taskbar visible?
> >>
> >> Did this behavior manifest itself right after you installed a program or
> >> new
> >> drivers for a device?
> >>
> >> Have you tried using System Restore to roll back to a time before this
> >> behavior was first seen?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> Ronnie Vernon
> >> Microsoft MVP
> >> Windows Shell/User
> >>
> >>
> >> "brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:BEE268AF-D5E0-4633-838F-209DBC2B034E@microsoft.com...
> >> > Anyone?
> >> >
> >> > "brokenjago" wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> Hi!
> >> >>
> >> >> I've just recently purchased and installed Windows Vista Ultimate
> >> >> Edition,
> >> >> and am so far sort of enjoying it.
> >> >>
> >> >> However, recently something weird and very annoying happens. Every
> >> >> time I
> >> >> log on, all that is displayed is an Explorer window, on a black
> >> >> background.
> >> >> This was not always the case.
> >> >>
> >> >> The computer does nothing, and all I can do is sit there, unless I
> >> >> open
> >> >> the
> >> >> task manager and manually start explorer.exe, which kickstarts the
> >> >> complete
> >> >> log-on process (with all the appropriate startup processes, etc.)
> >> >>
> >> >> I was just wondering how I would go about fixing this annoying issue.
> >>
> >>
>
>

Great, glad you got this fixed. Enjoy.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


"brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1435C7DB-E9BB-4D01-A40A-58B971186CC6@microsoft.com...
> Ah-HA!
>
> There's the problem! After Explorer.exe was another process that shouldn't
> have been there. I changed it back to just plain ol' Explorer and all
> seems
> to be well.
>
> Thank you muchly!
>
> "Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:
>
>> Hi
>>
>> OK, go to Start and type: regedit under Programs, right click
>> regedit.exe and select Run As Administrator. Click Continue at the
>> prompt.
>>
>> Navigate down to:
>>
>> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
>>
>> In Winlogon, on the right side, there should be a value called "Shell".
>> Double click this value. Select the text in the Value Data line and copy
>> /
>> paste it in a reply here.
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Ronnie Vernon
>> Microsoft MVP
>> Windows Shell/User
>>
>>
>> "brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:B85B48BB-4A74-4D77-B4C7-B3C64599D3C1@microsoft.com...
>> >I mean a Windows Explorer window, which lets me browse my files &
>> >folders.
>> >
>> > No, the taskbar is not present. Nothing is present except the explorer
>> > window, on a completely black background. I would take a screenshot,
>> > but I
>> > can't.
>> >
>> > To me, it seems as though as part of the normal startup process,
>> > explorer
>> > is
>> > being loaded, except, of course, with the wrong options enabled. So
>> > instead
>> > of loading the Taskbar, start menu, desktop, etc, it loads the explorer
>> > that
>> > lets you browse your files and folders, etc.
>> >
>> > I'm opening task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and selecting the
>> > "Open
>> > Task Manager..." button.
>> >
>> > To be honest, I had installed about a billion programs before the
>> > restart
>> > in
>> > question, so it could have been any one of them.
>> >
>> > No, I have not tried System Restore. It's actually been occurring for
>> > quite
>> > some time now, so I would prefer a way to simply getting it to work
>> > without
>> > the hassle of system Restore.
>> >
>> > "Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi
>> >>
>> >> Not sure what you mean by "an Explorer window"? Do you mean Windows
>> >> Explorer, or....? How are opening Task Manager, is the Taskbar
>> >> visible?
>> >>
>> >> Did this behavior manifest itself right after you installed a program
>> >> or
>> >> new
>> >> drivers for a device?
>> >>
>> >> Have you tried using System Restore to roll back to a time before this
>> >> behavior was first seen?
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >>
>> >> Ronnie Vernon
>> >> Microsoft MVP
>> >> Windows Shell/User
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> "brokenjago" <brokenjago@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> >> news:BEE268AF-D5E0-4633-838F-209DBC2B034E@microsoft.com...
>> >> > Anyone?
>> >> >
>> >> > "brokenjago" wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >> Hi!
>> >> >>
>> >> >> I've just recently purchased and installed Windows Vista Ultimate
>> >> >> Edition,
>> >> >> and am so far sort of enjoying it.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> However, recently something weird and very annoying happens. Every
>> >> >> time I
>> >> >> log on, all that is displayed is an Explorer window, on a black
>> >> >> background.
>> >> >> This was not always the case.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> The computer does nothing, and all I can do is sit there, unless I
>> >> >> open
>> >> >> the
>> >> >> task manager and manually start explorer.exe, which kickstarts the
>> >> >> complete
>> >> >> log-on process (with all the appropriate startup processes, etc.)
>> >> >>
>> >> >> I was just wondering how I would go about fixing this annoying
>> >> >> issue.
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>