Behaviour: On a Terminal Server (Windows Server 2003 Standard SP2) when a user logs on he has no taskbar and icons. With Ctrl-Alt-Del you can start the Task Manager and by that certain programs. But you cannot start Explorer.exe using the Task Manager. It closes immediately without any message. I presume that it starts because every time I start Explorer.exe in safe mode , it shows the message that it runs in safe mode and you can see the process coming up in Task Manager, but after clicking 'ok' it shuts down again. When I try to start EventVwr.exe using Taks Manager I get the error 'Class not registered'. Attempts so far: - Scan for viruses, trojans, malware, (you name it...) - Followed all steps described in KB 318027 - Tried secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose - Tried sfc /scannow - Checked register for Shell -value as Explorer.exe in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon - Replaced C:\Windows\Explorer.exe - Tested C:\Windows\Explorer.exe on another server and it worked fine. - Rebooted the server (also in safe mode) with the network cable disconnected and logged in as local administrator All with no result... Thanks in advance for ANY HELP!

Hi, Jan,Can you log on locally?Thanks,ChristaChrista Anderson [MSFT]

Hi Christa, As you can see in my thread I rebooted the server and logged in as local administrator with the network cable physically disconnected. I tried this also in safe mode but always without result. Thanks anyway for your effort te be of help. Jan

Hello Jan, Based on our experience, some third party service or application could cause this kind of issue. To isolate the influence of any third party application, do you have a chance to try to perform a Clean Boot to see if the issue still exists? Step : Perform a Clean Boot 1. Click "Start", go to "Run", and type "msconfig" in the open box to start the System Configuration Utility. 2. Click the "Services" tab, check the "Hide All Microsoft Services" box and click Disable All (if it is not gray). 3. Click the "Startup" tab, click "Disable All" and click "OK". 4. Restart your computer. When the "System Configuration Utility" window appears, please check the box and click "OK". Hope this can be helpful.This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Hello David, I've tried the procedure you described above but (as I expected since 'safe mode' did not work either) it gave no result. As soon as Explorer.exe starts, it exits again... Thanks anyway!

I apologize that we cannot get a quick fix to this issue but as you can see everyone will keep trying to help. Have you considered running a repair or loading up the recover console?http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325375There is alot of information that may not be useful to you in the link above but it does describe a few ways to try to recover your installation. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326215 I know this may sound trivial but have you tried to connect to the machine from another using the computer management snap-in or event viewer to look for errors that may help?

Hello David, I've tried all that and meanwhile I've even de- and reinstalled terminal server and terminal server licenses but without result. For now I've changed the profile of the users so that, when they logon to the sever, an alternative menu program (in this case RocketDock) is started with the shortcuts to their applications. And, to look at the bright side, this increases the safety since no one can (try to) start any other programs than those in their menu...

Since my problem is still not resolved I'd like to re-install the Terminal Server completely. Are there certain considerations I should take into account before starting (apart from things like backups, of couse...)? For instance, can I just register the Terminal Server licenses again or do I have to follow a specific procedure if they've already been registered once? Thanks in advance for your reply.