Missing start button

A few weeks after installing SP2 for XPpro, I don't have a start button, taskbar or desktop, just a background, therefore no access to the control panel, any ideas??
:confused:

same in Safe Mode?.. try the Admin account as well as Your account

The fact it didnt happen imediatly on the install of SP2.. rules it out as the main cause..

What software has been installed since the install of SP 2.
What hardware has been installed since SP2?

The issue could be Corrupted User Profile.. there is a item in the MS knowledge base on this problem.. I will hunt the link for you..
OR you have managed to allow some Parasiteware to infest your machine.. ..

those are the most probable at this point.. please advise the results of the Safemode test..

ctrl + alt + del, and try bring up a task manager, and click the processes tab.

if the explorer process is running, kill it. then click new task, and enter "explorer" to try and restart it.

also, you should be able to run other things this way. perhaps not the control panel though, 'cause that requires explorer to be running.

maybe try installing an explorer replacement, like aston.

Thanks for your help so far,

I can still run task manager and run executables, but when I launch explorer, I get the explorer fail message "windows explorer has encountered a problem... etc. I fact, I get the same message when I open the admin account.

I can't get into safe mode though, I've tried all the possible key combos.

I can't remember what software I installed since SP2, but I remember explorer going missing during the evening while I was using Word or Excel.

Aston sounds interesting, where can I get it?

I suspect a corrupted User Profile too, I just can't a fix for it.

For the time being, I have downloaded a small browser called explorer xp from
http://www.explorerxp.com
It is useful in that it helps navigation AND displays the file sizes.
:killcompu

Hi,

Just out of curiosity, can you create a new user account with admin rights or promote an existing account to admin group?

Does this account have the same problems?

:)

if safemode isnt happening .. I suspect that the Userinit has been Hijacked.. wupdater or some such thing is responsable..

that is why the error message when manualy starting explorer.... second thought I may be wrong.. just have a read of the symptoms and see how close they are to your problem..

here is the link.. http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_wel_screen.htm

[edit]while the chances of the wsupdater parasite is only a low chance of being the cause.. my reasoning for mentioning..
driver problems are less likely to prevent you logging into an account and less liky in safe mode
Memory is likely as a cause...
Contary to the description given on the link.. I have seen machines not do the logout trick with this bug..
If it was corrupted profile (my first guess) you should still be able to get into the Admin account in safemode..
It is also possable that a sector on the HDD has corrupted.. probable.. but waht are the odds of explorer.exe being the victem?

If the user profile was corrupted, you would still be able to access safe mode to log in as Administrator unless that is your ONLY account.

I had some repair instructions but can't seem to find them right now...geez.. :confused:

In the meantime why don't you perform a F8 bootup, choose the "bootlog" bootup to find out where the process is hanging up.
To view the contents of this file, look for Ntbtlog.txt in the %SystemRoot% folder (Possibly C:\WINDOWS). If your system is hanging because of a faulty driver, the last entry in this log file may identify the culprit.

OR:

You can perform a repair install, then reinstall all OS fixes through the MS website.
For instructions on how to perform a repair install, see: http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

If you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows XP, all existing restore points are removed and a new System Checkpoint restore point is created after the in-place upgrade is complete. Do not perform an in-place upgrade if you may have to use System Restore to roll your system back to a previous state.

Backup copies of your registry files (in the %systemroot%\Repair folder) are also replaced after the in-place upgrade is complete. The registry files in the Repair folder are either from the first time you started Windows XP or the last time you used the Backup utility to back up your System State. Copy these registry backups to another location before you perform an in-place upgrade if you may have to use them after the in-place upgrade is complete.

Once all that is complete, you copy the %systemroot%\Repair files back to their original folder, then go to Help and Support to restore a system restore point prior to the date you had problems.




Hope this helps.

::biggrink

Sorted!! well, sort of sorted. I pressed ctr-alt-del twice at the login screen (something I tried before without success) and typed Administrator and password and hey presto, I had created 2 new accounts (erm, yes 2) one with admin privvies. Now, I just have to drag my shortcuts across somehow.

Earlier, I had tried http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_wel_screen.htm but there were no problems in the registry, good site though.

Thanks for all the replies evryone!!