No desktop icons

[luapnosneb]

when i boot up my laptop 2 out of 3 times all that's displayed is the desktop background. no icons or toolbars. then the 3rd time everything is displayed. i'm new to this site and a rank pc amateur compared to all you guys so be gentle with me. any suggestions?

 

[raybay]

With Windows XP, a new Start menu is enabled by default. Under certain conditionos, when a new Start menu is enabled, the My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places icons disappear from the desktop. To restore them: Right-click the desktop then click Properties; Click the Desktop tab; Click Customize desktop; Click the General tab, then click the icons that you want back on the desktop; then click OK

On older systems, you could boot, go to Start -> Run -> then put a period "." in the run and run the period. That would put you back at the default screen with Icons, But I have not tried that recently.

 

[luapnosneb]

icons

will the same procedure work if i've lost every icon i have, not just the ones you mentioned?

 

[raybay]

Hard to say. Usually.
There is free software available online with a Google search. Look for Restore desktop. Restore Toolbar, Restore Icons. I cannot remember where and which names, but have used several with good results.
With these free software packages, if the Icon is hidden somewhere on the computer, and they usually are, you can restore them.

 

[Blind Dragon]

Would still be a good idea to run through preliminary removal instructions. Many smitfraud variants will also cause desktop corruption

Prelim. Removal -> https://www.techspot.com/community/...lware-removal-preliminary-instructions.58138/

attach here the requested logs and C:\rapport.txt from step 10 tool 1

Run it with option 1 which can be done from normal mode. then if infected we can do option 2 from safe mode.