Desktop has background only, no icons or taskbar

[Susan Bradley]

I am using a Windows XP PC here which is working extremely slow. When I start the pc it loads up slowly that shows blank screen. Only the task bar is visible. There are no icons on the screen nor there is any background. I am not able to understand the issue here. Recently there was some virus problem but it looks the issue is not so complicated. My antivirus wiped out everything and it is working fine now. What should I do know to fix the problem.

[EltonJ]

It is due to corrupt profile. Try to boot in safe mode and create a new user account. Delete the old one and then check back. I am sure it will fix the issue. Due to corrupt profile the desktop fails to load and the icons does not appear. It can be due to virus also. Scan your system a number of time in safe mode until it gives you clear notification about virus infections.

[FRIESEN]

It can be a theming bug also. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del from your keyboard. And then look for explorer.exe in the startup tab. Click on it and end the process. Then again click on File > New Task and type explorer.exe hit enter. If your desktop is restored then there is still a virus issue in your system. It is necessary that you check properly or else this kind of issues are common.