Help! Start Menu and Task Bar Missing

Recently started to use Windows Vista HOme Premium. I have changed my
desktop picture and, on doing so, the whole task bar and start menu
disappeared. This has happened twice and the only way I can get it back is
to restart the system. I have tried the windows button on my keyboard,
ctrl-alt-del, task manager, right clicking to change the picture again (this
does not bring up any menus either) etc. It seems as though the full desktop
has disappeared and frozen. I can bring up programs through the task manager
but unless I restart the system I am pretty much stuck. Any assistance or
recommendations on this (other than not to change the picture!!!)???

"Scott from Scotland" <Scott from Scotland@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
in message news:A224A083-2C71-4341-85E2-051D7100D60C@microsoft.com...
> Recently started to use Windows Vista HOme Premium. I have changed my
> desktop picture and, on doing so, the whole task bar and start menu
> disappeared. This has happened twice and the only way I can get it back
> is
> to restart the system. I have tried the windows button on my keyboard,
> ctrl-alt-del, task manager, right clicking to change the picture again
> (this
> does not bring up any menus either) etc. It seems as though the full
> desktop
> has disappeared and frozen. I can bring up programs through the task
> manager
> but unless I restart the system I am pretty much stuck. Any assistance or
> recommendations on this (other than not to change the picture!!!)???

Does a window come up saying explorer.exe has stopped responding or similar?

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

Thanks for the reply. In answer to your question, simply NO! there are no
messages or warnings of any sort. It is almost as though the computer
stopped halfway through the process (you know sometimes when the desktop
changes there is a very slight pause where the icons are readded, well its
like that but they never come back, along with the start menu and task bar).

Scott

"Paul Smith" wrote:

> "Scott from Scotland" <Scott from Scotland@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
> in message news:A224A083-2C71-4341-85E2-051D7100D60C@microsoft.com...
> > Recently started to use Windows Vista HOme Premium. I have changed my
> > desktop picture and, on doing so, the whole task bar and start menu
> > disappeared. This has happened twice and the only way I can get it back
> > is
> > to restart the system. I have tried the windows button on my keyboard,
> > ctrl-alt-del, task manager, right clicking to change the picture again
> > (this
> > does not bring up any menus either) etc. It seems as though the full
> > desktop
> > has disappeared and frozen. I can bring up programs through the task
> > manager
> > but unless I restart the system I am pretty much stuck. Any assistance or
> > recommendations on this (other than not to change the picture!!!)???
>
> Does a window come up saying explorer.exe has stopped responding or similar?
>
> --
> Paul Smith,
> Yeovil, UK.
> Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
> http://www.windowsresource.net/
>
> *Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*
>
>

what kind of picture (jpg, png, tiff, etc...) and how large.
there have been reported other kinds of problems with LARGE pictures in other parts functions of vista.



mikeyhsd@comcast.net



"Scott from Scotland" <Scott from Scotland@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:A224A083-2C71-4341-85E2-051D7100D60C@microsoft.com...
Recently started to use Windows Vista HOme Premium. I have changed my
desktop picture and, on doing so, the whole task bar and start menu
disappeared. This has happened twice and the only way I can get it back is
to restart the system. I have tried the windows button on my keyboard,
ctrl-alt-del, task manager, right clicking to change the picture again (this
does not bring up any menus either) etc. It seems as though the full desktop
has disappeared and frozen. I can bring up programs through the task manager
but unless I restart the system I am pretty much stuck. Any assistance or
recommendations on this (other than not to change the picture!!!)???

Hi, the first two times it occurred when I changed the wallpaper with another
Vista wallpaper. The last time was with one of my own photos - jpg of 723 kb
(2576 x 1932).

"mikeyhsd" wrote:

> what kind of picture (jpg, png, tiff, etc...) and how large.
> there have been reported other kinds of problems with LARGE pictures in other parts functions of vista.
>
>
>
> mikeyhsd@comcast.net
>
>
>
> "Scott from Scotland" <Scott from Scotland@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:A224A083-2C71-4341-85E2-051D7100D60C@microsoft.com...
> Recently started to use Windows Vista HOme Premium. I have changed my
> desktop picture and, on doing so, the whole task bar and start menu
> disappeared. This has happened twice and the only way I can get it back is
> to restart the system. I have tried the windows button on my keyboard,
> ctrl-alt-del, task manager, right clicking to change the picture again (this
> does not bring up any menus either) etc. It seems as though the full desktop
> has disappeared and frozen. I can bring up programs through the task manager
> but unless I restart the system I am pretty much stuck. Any assistance or
> recommendations on this (other than not to change the picture!!!)???