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no desktop icons no task tray on windows 7 using firefox

  • 4 replies
  • 5 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

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no desktop icons no task tray windows 7 firefox. I was using live mail email and accidentally did something to clear ALL desktop icons as well as task tray. I have a completely blank desktop with only the background image. I have to use power button to turn computer on and off and cannot open browser, email or any other program. No icons. Blank slate. I do alt cntrl delete and task monitor comes up. What to do? Help, please. I am asking this from a PDA.

no desktop icons no task tray windows 7 firefox. I was using live mail email and accidentally did something to clear ALL desktop icons as well as task tray. I have a completely blank desktop with only the background image. I have to use power button to turn computer on and off and cannot open browser, email or any other program. No icons. Blank slate. I do alt cntrl delete and task monitor comes up. What to do? Help, please. I am asking this from a PDA.

All Replies (4)

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See if this - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2635447 - helps you solve that Windows 7 operating system support issue.

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Did you try to reboot the computer?

It sounds that the Explorer program that maintains the Windows desktop crashed or otherwise got closed.

  1. Open the Task Manager (Shift+Ctrl+ESC)
  2. In the Process tab start a new explorer.exe process via "File > New Task" to get the desktop and Taskbar back.
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thank you Cor-rel and the-edmeister for your replys. Becuase I have limited time on computer I am just able this minute to come back to computer and the desktop was here. All icons were back. However task tray is coming and going. I am running Malwarebytes (cannot remember if that is correct spelling) scan right now.

Thank you all again. The desktop icons and tray were gone for hours last night. Turned computer on/off several times via power button as I had no start or shutdown buttons. Left computer on last night with blank desktop on it. This AM all was populated. Any ideas what is going on?

Many thanks once again.

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If there was nothing on the desktop (i.e. not even the Task Bar and the usual right-click context menu) then it is likely that the Explorer program wasn't running.
If it happens again then you can check that in the Task Manager (Shift+Ctrl+ESC).