Solved desktop disappeared

J

juhi

New Member
hi..
while surfing online i was looking into some language converter tools when my system hanged.. i manually shut down the system by holding the power button.. But since then on starting, my desktop and taskbar have disappeared.. however m able to access everything from task manager..
I looked onto 1 of the treads which had the solution to such a problem and changed the value of shell in the registry to explorer.exe.. However even then my desktop is not appearing on start up :confused:.. Only when i start a new process from task manager "explorer.exe", then my desktop appears.. Could you please tell me whats wrong and help me remedy it asap.. thanks
 

My Computer

System One

Hello Juhi,

You might see if doing a system restore at boot using a restore point dated before this happened may be able to fix it for you.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
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    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
It sounds to me like you might have caught a virus (wandering unsuspectingly around the internet looking for tools from unknown sources can do that). I would suggest taking steps in looking for malware just in case.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP dv5-1120ej Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Dual 2.16GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9200M GS, 256MB
    Hard Drives
    320GB internal, 320GB external, 1TB external to come (big download library XD)
    Internet Speed
    Fast enough
    Other Info
    Firefox, Foobar, and AutoHotkey! Go open source!
Try Malwarebytes. If that picks anything up, get superantispyware.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
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    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
Isn't there a 'show desktop' icon in Vista like there is in XP ? Maybe you are on the other desktop ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire X1700
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    3 gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1 gig GeForce 210
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 21" tv
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 resolution
    Hard Drives
    1 terabyte sata in 1 partition
    Cooling
    fans that came with it
    Keyboard
    basic USB
    Mouse
    basic USB
    Internet Speed
    3 megabits on a cable modem, wired
The show desktop is to show the items on the desktop (specifically icons). In this case though, there is no desktop to show (explorer.exe isn't running on startup).

By the way, a workaround can be to make a shortcut to explorer in the startup folder: press Win+R, type shell:startup, right click and select New->Shortcut. In the shortcut location simply type explorer.exe. It's a workaround, and you should probably do it only until you fix the issue; this will work, but it's not a real fix.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP dv5-1120ej Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Dual 2.16GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9200M GS, 256MB
    Hard Drives
    320GB internal, 320GB external, 1TB external to come (big download library XD)
    Internet Speed
    Fast enough
    Other Info
    Firefox, Foobar, and AutoHotkey! Go open source!
Hi Guys, after reading this post, I decided to take a look at Malwarebytes per Frosts post. It did indeed find something, my question is, after telling it to delete the reg entry, should I do anything else or consider it taken care of, heres the log.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.41
Database version: 2997
Windows 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1

10/20/2009 6:20:11 AM
mbam-log-2009-10-20 (06-20-11).txt

Scan type: Quick Scan
Objects scanned: 80573
Time elapsed: 1 minute(s), 45 second(s)

Memory Processes Infected: 0
Memory Modules Infected: 0
Registry Keys Infected: 0
Registry Values Infected: 0
Registry Data Items Infected: 1
Folders Infected: 0
Files Infected: 0

Memory Processes Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Values Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Infected:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoActiveDesktopChanges (Hijack.DisplayProperties) -> Bad: (1) Good: (0) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.

Folders Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Files Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

thanks in advance
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 545
    CPU
    Core 2 quad
    Memory
    8 gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radion HS 3450
    Hard Drives
    1 TB
tideripper said:
my question is, after telling it to delete the reg entry, should I do anything else or consider it taken care of...
Click to expand...

Is your desktop showing on startup? If so, you're back where you started, and that's good.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP dv5-1120ej Notebook PC
    CPU
    Intel Dual 2.16GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9200M GS, 256MB
    Hard Drives
    320GB internal, 320GB external, 1TB external to come (big download library XD)
    Internet Speed
    Fast enough
    Other Info
    Firefox, Foobar, and AutoHotkey! Go open source!
thanks for the reply, actually I never lost my desktop, I just ran the program outta curiosity. so I guess Im good
thank you
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 545
    CPU
    Core 2 quad
    Memory
    8 gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radion HS 3450
    Hard Drives
    1 TB
You're welcome Juhi. I'm happy to hear all is ok now. :)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Thanks VaguelyRapt!! I did this n my dsktop did appear.. have done system restore now, so now things are fine.. thanks a real lot..

VaguelyRapt said:
The show desktop is to show the items on the desktop (specifically icons). In this case though, there is no desktop to show (explorer.exe isn't running on startup).

By the way, a workaround can be to make a shortcut to explorer in the startup folder: press Win+R, type shell:startup, right click and select New->Shortcut. In the shortcut location simply type explorer.exe. It's a workaround, and you should probably do it only until you fix the issue; this will work, but it's not a real fix.
Click to expand...
 

My Computer

System One

VaguelyRapt said:
The show desktop is to show the items on the desktop (specifically icons). In this case though, there is no desktop to show (explorer.exe isn't running on startup).

By the way, a workaround can be to make a shortcut to explorer in the startup folder: press Win+R, type shell:startup, right click and select New->Shortcut. In the shortcut location simply type explorer.exe. It's a workaround, and you should probably do it only until you fix the issue; this will work, but it's not a real fix.
Click to expand...

I have had Windows disappear all of the icons I added. I click on 'show desktop' and the computer switches back to the desktop that shows everything I added.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire X1700
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    3 gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1 gig GeForce 210
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 21" tv
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 resolution
    Hard Drives
    1 terabyte sata in 1 partition
    Cooling
    fans that came with it
    Keyboard
    basic USB
    Mouse
    basic USB
    Internet Speed
    3 megabits on a cable modem, wired
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