When I turned on my computer & monitor this morning, all of the icons, the start menu, and task bar were missing. Also, when I right click on the mouse, there is nothing. The only way I was able to access the Internet and my Word files was by going through Task Manager. HELP! I know I need to get to System Restore, but how can I do that if I can't see anything?

Hi, · Do you remember making any changes prior to this issue?· Do you receive any message during the boot process?· Do you see the wallpaper displayed with all the icons and taskbar missing? You may want to refer to the following article and check if it helps.After the Windows Logo displays or after you log on to Windows, a Windows XP-based computer may only display the wallpaper, a black screen, or a blue screen Regards,Syed N – Microsoft Support--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Why do you know you need to get to System Restore?If you are compelled to try to use System Restore instead of actually fixing your problem, you can launch System Restore using Task Manager (assuming that System Restore is also not afflicted) by entering this into the Task Manager New Task box:%SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe Otherwise...What is your system make and model?What is your XP version and Service Pack?Describe your current antivirus and anti malware situation: McAfee, Norton, Spybot, AVG, Avira!, MSE, Defender, ZoneAlarm, PC Tools, Comodo, etc.Does the afflicted system have a working CD/DVD drive?Do you have a genuine bootable XP installation CD (this is not the same as any Recovery CDs that came with your system)?Fill in the blank: My system was working fine until: ____________________________________________.If you only see your background wallpaper image and do not see any desktop icons and no Start button or Taskbar, this usually means that the program explorer.exe is not running (and it needs to be running) or the explorer.exe program is afflicted. A good way to think about it is that explorer.exe process "is" your desktop.If this is the case there is generally malicious software afoot. Sometimes your anti malware program will quarantine (and in effect delete) your explorer.exe file (or other critical XP system files) if it thinks that the file is infected. The file may really be infected, but you can find out for sure and then reconsider your anti malware options.First, you need to get your desktop working, then you can resolve your potential malware issue.From your background image, press CTRL-ALT-DEL and open Task Manager.Look at the Processes tab and if the explorer.exe Process is not running, launch it. Click File, New Task and in the Open box enter:%windir%\explorer.exeClick OK and see if you get your desktop back.If explorer.exe is already running in the Processes tab, it is likely the object of the affliction and the file may need to be replaced (which is not difficult).If you see that the explorer.exe process is already running in Task Manager, highlight the explorer.exe process then click the End Process button to terminate it, and launch a new explorer.exe process as indicated above.If things look okay now, your system is still not fixed, but it should be useable enough so now you can fix it.Please report back with your findings.Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!