Hi,

When I boot up my daughter's laptop the taskbar is visible for a
fraction of a second and then it disappears.  I also see no desktop
icons, but the background is visible.  The problem seems to be with
explorer.exe  I can run most anything, except IE, by starting a new
task from the task manager.

The problem might have been caused by a screwed up Windows update, or
shutting down or hibernating during a Windows update, or by some other
software update.

Here's is what I've tried to get this working again without any
success.

- run explorer.exe from the task manager
- tried a registry fix that seemed to work for other
- reregistered a bunch of system files that seemed to work for others
- booted to safe mode (no taskbar or icons either)
- ran several spyware and virus checkers
- system restore wouldn't work
- repaired Windows (i.e. reinstalled without reformatting)
- cursed and prayed

The computer is still quite usable by running everything from the task
manager, but it's sort of like running everything from a command line
in DOS.

Any other suggestions that don't involve reformatting and starting all
over.

Thanks,

Bob