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Why don't I have Windows Explorer?

Posted By : daryl of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on March 20, 2006

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Dear computer expert.

Saturday i have done a restore backup and when my laptop restarted the screen came up WITHOUT any icons and NO taskbarwhatsoever, with start etc.etc.

I cannot access any of the progams,as i have NOTHING to click on.

Please advise,

Thank you in advance, as i am really stuck and can only go to a shop on tuesday.

Rolf Zeijdel

This question was answered on March 20, 2006. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.


Start your computer.

Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

On the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP page that appears, click Install Windows XP.

On the Welcome to Windows Setup page, click Upgrade (Recommended) in the Installation Type box (if it is not already selected), and then click Next.

On the License Agreement page, click I accept this agreement, and then click Next.

On the Your Product Key page, type the 25-character product key in the appropriate Product key boxes, and then click Next.

On the Get Updated Setup Files page, select the option that you want, and then click Next.

Follow the instructions on the remaining pages of the Windows XP Setup Wizard to reinstall Windows XP.

Method 2: Reinstall Windows XP by Starting Your Computer from the Windows XP CD

To reinstall Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP CD, follow these steps:

Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears on the screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

NOTE: Your computer must be configured to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive For more information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, see your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.

You receive the following message on the Welcome to Setup screen that appears: This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft

Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

There was an error either in the restore procedure or in the backup itselfwhich has damaged the system registry as a result the explorer.exe program will not start automatically as it should or may not work at all Explorer.exe is the program that displays the desktop, icons, etc You can try starting it manually:

Press Alt Ctrl Delete

Click the Task Manager button.

Click the Applications tab

Click the New Task button.

Type Explorer.exe in the box and hit enter

This may start the program However it will not fix the actual problem The only way to do that is to perform a Recovery Installation of Windows XP To do this you must have your XP CD and the CD key This method will retain all the personal files and settings you have saved on your computer

First start the computer with the XP Cd in the CD drive.

When prompted to Press a key to boot from CD, do so.

The setup program will start

When prompted press Enter to install Windows.

On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.

Follow the instructions on the remaining screens to reinstall Windows XP After you repair Windows XP, you may be required to reactivate your copy of Windows XP.

About the author

Posted by daryl of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on March 20, 2006

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