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re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Tuesday, January 13, 2004 at 11:15 pm Posted by Gary (2 messages posted) I've been getting the dissappearing/reappearing icons and taskbar also. I hate this "feature" of Windows XP. Please let me know if there's a fix. Thank you. -Gary On Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at 4:19 am, Rich Green wrote: >I have a question about How >do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes: > >I've been having this same problem intermittently. Typically, I will be accessing >some folder or drive in the left pane of Windows Explorer and all of the sudden my >icons and taskbar will momentarily disappear and then reappear. Most everything >seems OK with the exception of the Direct CD icon (normally in my task bar) which >does not return after each of these occurrences. Subsequent use of Explorer may >or may not cause a relatively lengthy hang that then in turn suggests reporting the >error to Microsoft. I generally just restart the computer when the icon disappearance/reappearance >act initially happens to avoid further difficulty. > >I see that this is also happening to others in some form or another. Has a fix for >this minor bug been developed by Microsoft yet? If so, where can I find it? > >Thanks in advance. > >Rich [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Friday, January 30, 2004 at 10:48 am Posted by Jerry Wendle (1 messages posted) I too would like to know if anyone has a solution to this. I've seen this issue since Win 95 and every iteration of Windows since. You'd think MS would have a fix for this by now. At least now they no longer pop up a window saying that Explorer crashed. Now they just hide that message, but that's exactly what's happenning still. On Tuesday, January 13, 2004 at 11:15 pm, Gary wrote: >I've been getting the dissappearing/reappearing icons and taskbar also. I hate this >"feature" of Windows XP. Please let me know if there's a fix. Thank you. > >-Gary > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Thursday, May 19, 2005 at 9:28 pm Posted by J0HN (6 messages posted) I get this too ... My desktop icons will disappear and the computer will loc for about 10 seconds while they reappear. Basically think explorer is crashing. Dont want to waste hours testing out what is is. Lets keep this list growing. Eventually is will lead to something On Friday, January 30, 2004 at 10:48 am, Jerry Wendle wrote: >I too would like to know if anyone has a solution to this. I've seen this issue >since Win 95 and every iteration of Windows since. You'd think MS would have a fix >for this by now. At least now they no longer pop up a window saying that Explorer >crashed. Now they just hide that message, but that's exactly what's happenning still. > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 2:37 am Posted by Ali (3 messages posted) So here we are at June 28th 2005 and I have just had this puzzling and irritating problem crop up. Booted up this morning-and no icons. Re-booted - still no icons! Have tried the sadly lacking help facility and trawled through the glossary - no luck. Any ideas please guys and girls? Ali (UK) On Thursday, May 19, 2005 at 9:28 pm, J0HN wrote: >I get this too ... >My desktop icons will disappear and the computer will loc for about 10 seconds while >they reappear. Basically think explorer is crashing. Dont want to waste hours testing >out what is is. > >Lets keep this list growing. >Eventually is will lead to something > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 2:44 am Posted by J0HN (6 messages posted) No closer to solving this ... Starting to believe it might even be a number of problems I no longer run Norton Anti Virus Corp Edit and that seems to help a little bit ... Still getting it sometimes ... Now its more when I file tries to be saved and the save dialog pops up ... it takes ages to pop up ... Not sure if this is a firefox thunderbird or explorer (windows not ie) issue ... [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 7:37 am Posted by Falcon (13489 messages posted) Do the steps below, if you're able. My Malware Removal Instructions Perform the following: Disable System Restore * Perform an online virus scan * * * * . Download, update, and run these tools: Spybot Search & Destroy * Lavasoft Adaware * CWShredder * Repeat as necessary until clean. If you still experience problems after doing these steps, download HijackThis * and post a log to this forum. To protect against reinfection, download and use these: If at all possible, I recommend that you use alternative software, particularly web browsers and email clients: Web Browsers * * * Email Clients * * If this is not a viable option, or for additional protection, use these: Javacool's SpywareBlaster * Javacool's SpywareGuard * Malware-blocking HOSTS file * IE-SPYAD * , Internet Explorer only Optionally Reenable System Restore * . Better alternatives to System Restore. If you encounter any broken links, please inform me of them. Also note that these links direct through my web server to allow me to keep them up-to-date or post additional info. If you are unable to use the links above, click the stars instead, which are a direct link to the page in question. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 2:27 pm Posted by Ali (3 messages posted) Hi John (and everyone trying to beat this problem)... So, I am married to this brilliant MS Windows developer, (who wasn't available when I was trying to sort this out earlier)... and he just fixed my current problem of the disappearing icons. In this case he: Right clicked on the blank desktop; then clicked on "Arrange icons by"; then scrolled down to "Show desktop icons" (which had mysteriously de-selected itself) - re-enabled it (with a tick [check mark for you non-brit guys and girls]) and guess what? Up they popped, as though they had just been on holiday!!! Anyway - clearly something odd going on with XP, but this might help some sufferers. Thanks for all your thoughts and efforts everyone... On a possibly connected line of thought...I had a sudden memory recall based on some of John's comments...I too have had other problems: programs unable to close down properly without resorting to "end now"; screen freezing; intermittent patchy screen painting; etc. I remembered a previous occasion when I experienced a run of these type of problems on a laptop. They seemed isolated and I didn't take them as warning signs - but maybe I should have - after a while my laptop died completely and I lost everything on the hard disk. Even a replacement hard disk didn't revive the laptop - so I don't know if the motherboard failed. Either way, I lost everything - so if any of you are having multiple problems (John et al) I should do regular independent full backups to protect your work. Bye for now... On Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 2:44 am, J0HN wrote: >No closer to solving this ... >Starting to believe it might even be a number of problems >I no longer run Norton Anti Virus Corp Edit and that seems to help a little bit ... > >Still getting it sometimes ... > >Now its more when I file tries to be saved and the save dialog pops up ... it takes >ages to pop up ... > >Not sure if this is a firefox thunderbird or explorer (windows not ie) issue ... [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 4:01 pm Posted by J0HN (6 messages posted) Thanks for the reply. But we are not talking about the desktop icons being deselected we are talking about windows explorer crashing ... during which the icons disappear for about 10 seconds and then re-disappear. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at 12:37 am Posted by Ali (3 messages posted) OK John, sorry - it's just that I have been having some of the same problems - the total disappearance of my icons was the latest in a line of 'strange behaviour' of my XP installation. They didn't self-restore as some of the other mis-behaving features did and that was why I asked for help from the forum. Thanks anyway. I'll bow out and leave you all in peace. On Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 4:01 pm, J0HN wrote: >Thanks for the reply. But we are not talking about the desktop icons being deselected >we are talking about windows explorer crashing ... during which the icons disappear >for about 10 seconds and then re-disappear. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at 12:44 am Posted by J0HN (6 messages posted) Please no bowing out ... your contribution is important ... its just that I want to be clear about the difference between a feature of the desktop and an a seemingly unsolvable ongoing problem many people are having. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Saturday, August 13, 2005 at 6:43 am Posted by Louise Nash (1 messages posted) i recently un installed notron antivirus and have been having the same problem ever since, all my explorer windows dissapear and i was stuck when they didnt come back..... help someone pls On Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 2:44 am, J0HN wrote: >No closer to solving this ... >Starting to believe it might even be a number of problems >I no longer run Norton Anti Virus Corp Edit and that seems to help a little bit ... > >Still getting it sometimes ... > >Now its more when I file tries to be saved and the save dialog pops up ... it takes >ages to pop up ... > >Not sure if this is a firefox thunderbird or explorer (windows not ie) issue ... [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Saturday, August 27, 2005 at 1:00 pm Posted by Richard (1 messages posted) Hey guys. My friend is experiencing the same problem too. He was just playing some games then the desktop icons and the taskbar is totally gone. Even if you reset the computer, nothing happens. The only thing you will see is the wallpaper and nothing more. Anybody can help me trouble shoot this kind of problem? Is there a possiblity that the virus disabled/deleted one system file? And by the way, I have read one thread here about the norton anti-virus. Take note that norton is not a very good anti-virus. It is just good in marketing. You can compare the Norton Antivirus with the Trendmicro Pccillin Antivirus. Pccillin updates for about 3 times everyday while Norton Antivirus only updates barely once everyday. You would be lucky if Norton will update its database for it's known viruses everyday. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Saturday, August 27, 2005 at 3:17 pm Posted by J0HN (6 messages posted) I think in your case a solution has already been presented here ... http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/1119994070 Possibly but probably unrelated ... MS has AntiSpyWare beta out now ... http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx On Saturday, August 27, 2005 at 1:00 pm, Richard wrote: >Hey guys. My friend is experiencing the same problem too. He was just playing some >games then the desktop icons and the taskbar is totally gone. Even if you reset the >computer, nothing happens. The only thing you will see is the wallpaper and nothing >more. Anybody can help me trouble shoot this kind of problem? Is there a possiblity >that the virus disabled/deleted one system file? > >And by the way, I have read one thread here about the norton anti-virus. Take note >that norton is not a very good anti-virus. It is just good in marketing. You can >compare the Norton Antivirus with the Trendmicro Pccillin Antivirus. Pccillin updates >for about 3 times everyday while Norton Antivirus only updates barely once everyday. >You would be lucky if Norton will update its database for it's known viruses everyday. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Monday, August 29, 2005 at 3:36 am Posted by James (1 messages posted) Having what i believe is a similar problem here, in that it is explorer related. seemingly randomly parts of my startbar will be unable to open. sometimes just programs, sometimes all sub menu's. sometimes the start button itself will become non functional, when clicked or the key pressed it will highlight but not open. interestingly i can right click the button or menu, and still explore programs etc (open menu contents in a window). quitting a restarting explorer.exe fixes the problem, giving me the problem you guys are seeing with missing icons from task tray. when this problem occurs, on next reset my startbar will be messed up, no quicklaunch etc. i also have the full explorer crash occur, although rarely, losing desktop icons, startbar etc. somtimes it comes back automatically if not i find jumping on the control + alt + delete keys, opning taskmanager, opening new task run... from the file menu and typing explorer.exe gets my desktop back to a semi usable state. hope compiling these problems together may lead to an answer, i'm tired of re installing windows because annoying little problems like this eventually tip me over the edge, sure you all know what i mean here ;-) On Saturday, August 27, 2005 at 3:17 pm, J0HN wrote: >I think in your case a solution has already been presented here ... > >http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/1119994070 > >Possibly but probably unrelated ... >MS has AntiSpyWare beta out now ... >http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Saturday, November 5, 2005 at 11:09 pm Posted by P Zeller (1 messages posted) Not a solution to the problem, but a workaround. If your desktop items, taskbar, and start button have all disappeared, do ctrl-alt-delete to bring up task manager. In Task Manager, click File > New Task (run), and type explorer.exe. Doesn't help explain the cause of the problem, but at least helps with symptoms. Might get you in to save your work anyway. On Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at 4:19 am, Rich Green wrote: >I have a question about How >do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes: > >I've been having this same problem intermittently. Typically, I will be accessing >some folder or drive in the left pane of Windows Explorer and all of the sudden my >icons and taskbar will momentarily disappear and then reappear. Most everything >seems OK with the exception of the Direct CD icon (normally in my task bar) which >does not return after each of these occurrences. Subsequent use of Explorer may >or may not cause a relatively lengthy hang that then in turn suggests reporting the >error to Microsoft. I generally just restart the computer when the icon disappearance/reappearance >act initially happens to avoid further difficulty. > >I see that this is also happening to others in some form or another. Has a fix for >this minor bug been developed by Microsoft yet? If so, where can I find it? > >Thanks in advance. > >Rich [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Tuesday, November 8, 2005 at 7:17 pm Posted by Michael Abrahamsen (1 messages posted) Thanks for the work around. I was installing Kodak Easy share software, and when the install was complete, and I re-booted was the last time I saw my desktop icons, and taskbar. I was still able to open my internet connections thanks to my hot buttons on the keyboard, and the CTRL-ALT-DELETE worked as a temporary work around. Hopefully a permanent solution will be posted soon. On Saturday, November 5, 2005 at 11:09 pm, P Zeller wrote: >Not a solution to the problem, but a workaround. If your desktop items, taskbar, >and start button have all disappeared, do ctrl-alt-delete to bring up task manager. > In Task Manager, click File > New Task (run), and type explorer.exe. > >Doesn't help explain the cause of the problem, but at least helps with symptoms. > Might get you in to save your work anyway. > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 1:28 am Posted by jimtomas (1 messages posted) I found this vb script quite helpful, ran it and my taskbar is back "magic". Would be curious as to what it does, but hey I'm happy. http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm Seems if my system goes to 99-100% with iTunes running I'll get an explorer crash. On Tuesday, November 8, 2005 at 7:17 pm, Michael Abrahamsen wrote: >Thanks for the work around. I was installing Kodak Easy share software, and when >the install was complete, and I re-booted was the last time I saw my desktop icons, >and taskbar. I was still able to open my internet connections thanks to my hot buttons >on the keyboard, and the CTRL-ALT-DELETE worked as a temporary work around. > >Hopefully a permanent solution will be posted soon. > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 7:36 pm Posted by Du_Kine (1 messages posted) Hi John, I'm curious if you ever solved the problem of the windows taskbar and icons, disappearing and reappearing about 10 seconds after the startup of Windows XP. I am experiencing a similar problem and everything seems to work OK after the disappearing and reappearing act, but it is still a nuisance! Any solutions for you yet? Aloha, Du_Kine On Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 4:01 pm, J0HN wrote: >Thanks for the reply. But we are not talking about the desktop icons being deselected >we are talking about windows explorer crashing ... during which the icons disappear >for about 10 seconds and then re-disappear. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 7:44 pm Posted by J0HN (6 messages posted) The number one problem will be another program that is running in the background. For me it was Norton Anti Virus with Real Time Protection. Once I turned that off everything started working fine. I have found that a lot of non power users seem to run a lot of programs that all sit in the tray (next to the clock) even when they are not being used. This includes programs that put themselves there by default like MSN and AOL and Quicktime and Real Media etc. Even power users have viruses and spyware from time to time. So you want to shut down anything you dont really need. You dont really need virus protection software running and it wont stop you from getting the newest virii even though they claim otherwise. So start by shutting down programs you dont ever use and move on to shutting one more down one at a time until the problem is fixed. Learn about the process manager and what process you can kill and what starts up at boot time (more that just those in the start up menu ... some services are not neccessary too) Then switch to ubuntu. :) [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Thursday, January 5, 2006 at 10:01 am Posted by Ray Paulson (1 messages posted) Not a solution to the flashing desktop and icon tray and then the sudden disapperance but the following works and it is related to some of the posts above. You cant have Norton Antivirus (2005) enabled upon startup and then you run the program/script from Kellys-Korner-XP.com called disablerefresh.reg. I had to quickly run disablerefresh.reg upon startup and when done everything was fine and I then enabled Norton Antivirus 2005. I think I have to repeat this process each time I log off though.... On Tuesday, November 8, 2005 at 7:17 pm, Michael Abrahamsen wrote: >Thanks for the work around. I was installing Kodak Easy share software, and when >the install was complete, and I re-booted was the last time I saw my desktop icons, >and taskbar. I was still able to open my internet connections thanks to my hot buttons >on the keyboard, and the CTRL-ALT-DELETE worked as a temporary work around. > >Hopefully a permanent solution will be posted soon. > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Sunday, January 8, 2006 at 5:07 pm Posted by bupaje (1 messages posted) I've had this persistent problem but when I disabled ctfmon.exe and adobe gamma loader.exe this seems to have fixed the problem for me. Hope this is helpful to someone else. stormvisions.com [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 3:48 pm Posted by GundamMon (1 messages posted) I believe I've found an answer. Oddly enough, the problem lies in the fact that you must double-click to open Explorer-based files. If you go into your "My Computer" folder, go to "Tools" and then "Folder Options," pick "Single-click to open an item." Every file on your computer now acts like a hyperlink, as opposed to double-clicking. I changed it about ten minutes ago as an experiment, and it seems to be holding for now... On Sunday, January 8, 2006 at 5:07 pm, bupaje wrote: >I've had this persistent problem but when I disabled ctfmon.exe and adobe gamma loader.exe >this seems to have fixed the problem for me. Hope this is helpful to someone else. > >stormvisions.com [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Monday, April 3, 2006 at 7:08 pm Posted by anna lee (1 messages posted) My desktop icons disappeared after I installed the Norton Anti Virus software. I can find all the hard drive files through the task manager, but I could not get back the desktop icon and I could not find the control panel etc. Please help how I can fix this problem. Many thanks On Saturday, August 13, 2005 at 6:43 am, Louise Nash wrote: > >i recently un installed notron antivirus and have been having the same problem ever >since, all my explorer windows dissapear and i was stuck when they didnt come back..... > >help someone pls > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Windows XP Explorer Crashing / Desktop 10 sec fresh icons vanish and reappear Saturday, July 8, 2006 at 1:48 pm Posted by Craig Ayliffe (1 messages posted) It's more than a year old, this thread, but thank you everyone for the valuable tips on this annoying problem of the disappearing icons from the taskbar. I am happy to say that the tweakui and/or the Upnp.exe download worked (after I rebooted). I hate my WindowsXP. I have been out of the USA for several months on several continents, have had to do a clean reinstall twice and dealt with several other small annoyances. I will never buy a PC system again and look forward to my first Mac. Thanks again Craig On Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at 12:44 am, J0HN wrote: >Please no bowing out ... your contribution is important ... its just that I want >to be clear about the difference between a feature of the desktop and an a seemingly >unsolvable ongoing problem many people are having. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Friday, April 6, 2007 at 6:21 pm Posted by Ron Galason (1 messages posted) I DON'T SEE MY icon's or my startbar. Is THERE ANY WAY TO CORRECT THIS? [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Monday, October 29, 2007 at 4:13 pm Posted by Jack (1 messages posted) Damn this is an old topic. I seem to be having the same problem. I'm not alltogether sure on how or when it started but my taskbar and desktop items disappear and reappear with 5-10 second intervals. I am currently running a virus and spyware sweep. Any solutions would be greatly appreciated [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Saturday, November 3, 2007 at 12:13 pm Posted by rj (1 messages posted) Ok if found the answer 1 press ctrl-alt-delete 2 press Task Manager 3 press new task 4 press browse 5 go th your windows file and select explorer 6 press ok that should fix this prouproblem if you have questions email me at hondoheal at gmail.com [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes' Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 8:28 am Posted by Marion (1 messages posted) I have recently had the same thing happen to me. My desktop and start bar disappear and I have to use Ctrl+Alt+Delete in order to initiate the task list and run programs. I have noticed that the icons and menu will reappear when I run 'Control' and am using the Control Panel to try to adjust features. I have tried launching Explorer and it only brings up the desktop briefly. I thought it might be my Video Driver and Uninstalled and Reinstalled the driver with no results. I created another User Account, in case my account had become corrupt but that desktop is also blank. I started my computer in Safe Mode (the desktop was still blank in Safe Mode) and ran multiple Spyware / Adware / Malware / Virus scan programs and registry cleaners (AdAware, AVG, SpyWare Doctor, CCleaner, Registry Mechanic, Advanced WindowsCare Personal, Ewido...) none of which found anything of significance. I attempted to use the restore feature to return to prior versions (a few days ago, a week ago, a month ago...) but after running the process received a message that no changes were made. I used sfc /scannow to ensure that my Windows files are OK. I have gone into msconfig to turn off all startup items that might be causing this problem and copied and pasted a fresh copy of Explorer into the C:\Windows folder in case it was corrupt. None of this troubleshooting is making a difference and I really do not want to have to resort to a full reinstall of Windows. I have Norton installed and think that this might be part of the problem as the Processes list appears to have some Norton related files starting and quickly stopping again; however, I cannot uninstall Norton using the regular install/unistall because it does not appear in the list of programs. I was wondering if anyone has actually found a solution to this problem that might work in my situation. Thanks! [Reply or follow-up to this message] Tip: Use one of the [Reply or follow-up to this message] links above to add a message to this thread Search this forum Start a new thread on a different subject Report abuse of the forum Return to the Windows XP Discussion Forum