Desktop not showing at startup, no icons, just plain black screen

Anonymous
2009-09-12T18:16:47+00:00

At the moment my computer startsup I see nothing at all, no desktop, no icons. just a plain black screen and sometimes i can start task manager and then

from there start explorer but sometimes that is impossible.

I saw another entry in this forum about it and i did what it says but I had

no luck at all.

the other entry link is http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistaappearance/thread/1823caee-f574-4559-88ca-65b0e4c1222b

I already download the Windows Vista recovery disk and tried the startup repair and the program says that there is no issue at all,

then i tried a system restore and same bad luck.

So there is another way to fix this without format and install everything again?

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2009-09-13T15:42:58+00:00

Hello,

Welcome to Microsoft answers forums!

Do you have Windows vista installation disk?

I would suggest you to try this out first:

Open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Delete), then the tab processes, select and end explorer.exe. Then click a menu in the toolbar, select and run as a write explorer.exe, then accept.

This process will make the Windows desktop restarts.

If not,

Check what happens when you try to boot in safe mode.

To start your computer in safe mode, you can refer the below link:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/323ef48f-7b93-4079-a48a-5c58eec904a11033.mspx

If you are able to boot to safe mode, try the following changing registry  settings:

You have to set the default value for the windows shell setting:

In the Windows Registry (open 'regedit')

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\winlogon\

Set 'Shell' variable = 'Explorer.exe'

REGISTRY EDIT DISCLAIMER:

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

Hope this information is useful.

Regards,

Savan – Microsoft Support.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-09-08T02:21:29+00:00

    the screen is black with ALL my icons--I want too put a pictue of a flower or something pretty

    How do I accomplish that ?

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    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2009-09-14T16:56:01+00:00

    Savan

    I did the registry thinh and now is working fine, thank you for your help

    Dan

    Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!

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    2 people found this answer helpful.
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