[Ohtar2000]

Now I've done it. I tried downloading a Star Trek LCARS desktop theme, and it seemed to work fine for a day or two, then the screensaver seemed to cause a lock up, so I had to power down, restart the computer... then.. I seemed to have a problem with a full boot of the system (or it seems to me). It appears that what ever is making my start/task bar operate is not. I just get the background picture to show. I cannot get the menu to appear pressing the 'windows' key on the keypad, the task bar is not "hidden", nor can I right click on the desktop to get the change desktop functions. In order to run programs, I must ctrl-alt-del to get task manager to appear, and use the "run" function to locate a program and launch. I have tried using the OS CD to reinstall Windows XP Home Edition first using the "repair" option. When Windows launched, it was still the same except I could no longer launch Outlook. So I tried the OS CD again, this time "installing" XP with the "upgrade" option. This cause me to need to input the key code, but for some reason, it would not recognize/validate my keycode, so I had to call Microsoft to have them provide me with some other code to activate Windows. The missing taskbar problem still existed, but it did allow launching of Outlook once again.
So.... what can I do now?

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Could you post a screenshot of your problem (missing taskbar, so on) - to do so, use the Prt Scrn button on your keyboard to take an exact picture of the way your desktop looks like at the moment, open up MS Paint through All Programs - Accessories - Paint, choose Edit and Paste, go to File and choose Save As..., name your picture and save as type JPEG in a location of your choice. Attach the file to a new message.

Where did you download your desktop theme from? Most desktop themes/wallpapers/screensavers come with some pretty nasty form of malware hidden in them, even those downloaded from known 'safe' websites such as download.com.

You can try doing a System Restore as a temporary means to get back your taskbar, although this definitely won't be fixing your problem if it does have something to do malware. Go to All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore, and choose a restore point before you downloaded your desktop theme.

After that, go here, and follow the instructions listed carefully.

[cassykins]

Could you post a screenshot of your problem (missing taskbar, so on) - to do so, use the Prt Scrn button on your keyboard to take an exact picture of the way your desktop looks like at the moment, open up MS Paint through All Programs - Accessories - Paint, choose Edit and Paste, go to File and choose Save As..., name your picture and save as type JPEG in a location of your choice. Attach the file to a new message.

Where did you download your desktop theme from? Most desktop themes/wallpapers/screensavers come with some pretty nasty form of malware hidden in them, even those downloaded from known 'safe' websites such as download.com.

You can try doing a System Restore as a temporary means to get back your taskbar, although this definitely won't be fixing your problem if it does have something to do malware. Go to All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore, and choose a restore point before you downloaded your desktop theme.

After that, go here, and follow the instructions listed carefully.