computer question:when i logon to my computer, (windows xp) all of my icons, insluding the start button, and..

Question

and all else appears normally...on the lower right of the screen are such items as my anti virus icons, the time, clock....etc, etc, etc,
but after about ten minutes..everything disappears...the Start button at th bottm left side of the screen disappears along with all other icons on the lower right? Have I encourtered a hijack....a virus....in order to find some things again, I have to got ctrl/alt/delete and find my task manager and get back into things.
what is wrong????????????????????

Answer 1

Check your power management and screen saver. Sounds like you may have either a screensaver that may be corrupt and not coming back correctly. You may have a power management problem comming back from low power mode. In any case Try disabling both of these one at a time and see if it goes away if it does whatever the last thing you disabled was is your problem.

Most likely not a virus but may be a result of some poorly written spyware or some other malicious software. Use adaware and Spybot search and destroy to get rid of those

Answer 2

This is a new case for me, but all of those "look and feel" items, like the start button and quick launch, ect. are controlled by the file called explorer.exe(found in the default system folder: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe). This is normally running, which allows you access to all of those things mentoned above, but in your case, it abruptly stops.
...Check to see if the icons and such go away when you just sit there, and do nothing. If they do not dissapear, then try to find out what causes it to stop. Just click on a few things, like the start button, expand the icon tray, right click on the desktop, ect...and isolate where the problem is. If it closes only when you do something involving it, the you need to do fix step #2 below.

There can be many many reasons for it to stop. I will list a few:
1. Virus (probably not, and you have a virus blocker)
2. Unsafe modification of the explorer.exe file to gain a more personal look. ie. changing string vars. or changing the windows icon - causing it to crash when certain things are done involving explorer...
3. Explorer.exe could be having a conflict with another application and is being forced to stop running.
4...Other small things.

Various Fixes:
1. Simply press Ctrl-Alt-Del and File>Run...explorer.(If it cannot be found then try explorer.exe. Or search for the file, and put the whole path in the run box. If you cannot find explorer.exe then there is a big problem...
2. Find a windows xp site that has default backups of certain system files, find explorer.exe, download it, rename your explorer.exe to explorer.exe.old and place the new one in the folder the old one was in. Restart. See what happens, you can always revert back to the orriginal.
3. Start windows in a safe mode, (to determine if another app is causing it to close.) If all the icons go away and such, then you have a bad program that is conflicting with explorer and you should isolate it, and delete/disable it.
4. a) Learn the language of India.
b) Call your computers support hotline.
c) Post your question in http://www.in.answers.yahoo.com


Also, this could be a problem with your computers specs. It might not be able to run win xp safely and securely.

Any other specifics, just msg me.

Answer 3

Before I give my opinion about your problem, let me first say that if you spend any amount of time on the Internet, (even a 56k dialup connection) you should absolutely have an anti-virus program installed on your computer system. I personally recommend Trend Micro's PC-cillan Internet Security. It finds and corrects (deletes) all anti-virus, and most spyware applications your system may have before installation. It has a built-in firewall, real-time virus-scan, and checks for updated virus definitions every three hours. It is rated higher and outperforms both Norton and McAfee Internet Security programs. It is, in my opinion, the best home and small business anti-virus software available.

...But, this sounds to me like you just have your taskbar set to 'Auto-hide.' When 'Auto-hide' is enabled the taskbar will not be visible while other programs are running unless your mouse hovers over it at the bottom (or wherever you have it placed) on your desktop. To correct this, bring your mouse to the bottom of the taskbar and right click. A popup menu will appear with nine options. Select the very last one, which is 'properties.' A screen should appear in the lower left with two tabs towards the top of it. One will read 'Taskbar' and the other 'Start Menu.' The tab 'Taskbar' should be opened by default. Directly below the tabs are five checkboxes with different options pertaining to the taskbar appearance, location, and functionality. The second option on this list is 'Auto-hide the taskbar.' If this option is selected, un-select it by clicking inside the checkbox. If it isn't selected, and this isn't the problem, I would suggest taking your system to a computer service company to be diagnosed. But you may want to just find someone that knows about computers and ask him/her to diagnose it for you. It'll be cheaper and you might be saved the embarrassment if it is just a little problem and not a serious one.

That's all I got :-)
zak

Answer 4

I would recommend updating your XP software and your anti virus and spy ware databases then running scans with your antivirals and spy ware software. If the problem persists you could always use the system restore option it is in the start menu, then accessories, the system tools, and there should be a system restore option. Pick a restore date when the computer worked good for you. If all else fails try rebooting in safe mode. To do this reboot and after the POST push delete. I am not certain about the which button to push but you computer will tell you. You probably could chose safe mode from the BIOS set-up but I believe that you push delete or F8. Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Sounds as if the tool bar is configured to 'auto-hide'....place your mouse at the bottom of the screen and see if it pops back into place. The previous answer of 'lock the task bar' was nearly right, but locking the task bat refers to keeping it in that particular location on the screen---you dont have to have it on the bottom, it can be placed at the top or sides. To access these settings, right click on the taskbar and choose 'properties'...there you'll find tick boxes for locking, hiding, and others

Answer 6

You could re boot and before those icons and stuff disappears do a system restore to a time BEFORE this started happening to see if that helps

Answer 7

WHAT IS WRONG IS THAT YOUR COMPUTER IS SLOWLY DRIVING YOU NUTS. SO HERE IS THE ANSWER, AND IT IS ALSO WHAT I WOULD DO, STRATEGICALLY: TAKE A DEEP BREATH SO YOU CAN GET BACK IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT. THEN, KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ABOUT COMPUTERS. THIS IS WHAT I DO. THEN INVITE THAT PERSON TO TROUBLESHOOT YOUR SYSTEM, EITHER IN PERSON, OR BY WHAT IS CALLED "REMOTE ASSISTANCE." (YOU MAY ALSO GAIN A NEW FRIENDSHIP FROM ALL OF THIS, YOU KNOW)
WHEN I AM OUT IN PUBLIC, LIKE IN A RESTAURANT, I WILL SUDDENLY ASK THE WAITER, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND COMPUTERS?" (WHAT HARM DOES ASKING DO?) IF HE SAYS YES, YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY TO A COMPUTER THAT MAKES YOU SMILE. JUST KEEP TUNED TO FINDING SOMEONE WHO CAN STEP IN AND FIX THIS FOR YOU. IF YOU ARE ALERT AND FAIRLY KIND, YOU WILL MEET SOMEONE WHO WILL HELP YOU. IT SHOULDN'T COST YOU A FARTHING. I JUST BEGAN WITH COMPUTERS BACK IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, I AM 63, AND I HAVE ASKED EVERYONE I MEET RANDOM QUESTIONS, AND NOW MY COMPUTER MAKES ME SMILE WHEN I CLICK IT ON. ENLIST HELP FROM SOMEONE ELSE IF YOU POSSIBLY CAN, AND YOU WILL MAKE A NEW FRIEND - AS WELL AS GET YOUR COMPUTER BACK (AND YOUR WITS).
SENT TO YOU WITH A SINCERE HOPE OF TRIUMPH IN WHAT MUST BE THE MOST FRUSTRATING EVENT OF THE WEEK. C.R.G. IN SOUTH PORTLAND, MAINE, USA. (P.S.: EVERYONE WHO WORKS WITH COMPUTERS HAS GONE THROUGH WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. EVERYONE GOES THROUGH IT. TAKE HEART. LATER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE WHEN HE IS AT HIS WITS' END!)

Answer 8

sounds to be a virus problem. scan your machine for any kind or viruses after booting the machine in safe mode.

to see how to boot the machine in safe mode pls refer to the source

Answer 9

it's just your screen refreshing if it doesnt come back after you've done ctrl alt thing rigt cliuck and press REFRESH it'll refresh the screen and bring icons back


hope it helpsx

Answer 10

If everything disappears maybe you should try locking your toolbar by right clicking while in your toolbar, click on Lock Toolbar.

Hope that helps.