Missing "Start" Button, bar & Desktop after creating a new BOOT Drive

[VernCrawford]

Hi, I am brand new to TecSpot, have explored revelent forums here and searched for my specific problem without success.

The old hard drive, 80 GB, in my HP desktop was maxed-out, so I have replaced it with a new 250 GB Maxtor. After copying and setting up the new drive using MaxBlast4; de-powering; swapping cables out and then re-booting, all goes well EXCEPT that my desktop contains no icons, and there is no "START" button or task bar.

I am able to use the computer to browse the net, join this forum, and post this problem by:

(Control+Alt+Delete) to bring up the Task Manager,
then clicking "New Task"
then "Browse" to access "My Computer" "Program Files" "Mozilla Firefox" to finally Select the executable program and tell Task Manager to open.

It would be great to again be able to go to the "Start" button to access "All Programs" etcetera. Having spent the past hour or so looking and searching the forums here, I'm confident that someone will be able to tell the simple setting that I should know by now, but seem to have forgotten...

Thanks,
Vern

 

[tdeg]

Does <CNTL><ESC> do anything?

How about if you create a new user account (if you are using 2000 or XP) and try logging in with it?

 

[Nodsu]

What happens when you choose to run "explorer" from the new task dialog?

 

[VernCrawford]

Thanks Nodsu & tdeg,

Through the "new task" work-around I am able to access the file Explorer structure, and virtually all other functions if I remember the proper run command , or navigate through the explorer file structure to find the desired program.exe file.

For the moment, after almost 3 solid days of fighting migrate the disk image, to a new larger replacement BOOT drive, I have resorted back to the maxed out origional 80 GB drive. I have bought a bit of time (and space) by deleating the D: HP Recovery partition, and using Partition Magic to recover that 5+ GB by enlarging the C: partion.

At some point in the near future, after I catch up on some of the work I am now behind on due to this attempt to upgrade, I'll swap cables around again and try the "new account" possibility. It might work, but as I recall, logging on as "administrator," or "owner" both produced the same desktop MINUS Start Button, Task Bar or desktop Icons. Nor would the special "Windows Key" open the start menu.

However, starting in Safe Mode would display all of the missing stuff, and also allowed fucctioning of the special "Windows Key," so I am inclined to think that some setting(s) somewhere is(are) off. I have used "msconfig" to try every change that I can think of with the same ultimate results.

I certainly appreciate both of your replies, and will post the results of my (to be resumed in a few days or weeks) ongoing persute of the elusive missing Start Button...

Vern

 

[just_a_nobody]

Why not, just use your new 200 gig HDD, as a slave, to store all that stuff, that you really don't need, on the 80 gig HDD? That is the way I would do it, and your computer will run faster too.

 

[just_a_nobody]

I just thought about something, when you deleted that partition, was that your recovery partition? Gee, I hope you have an original install disk, for your system, or at least ghosted that partition onto the 200 gig HDD, because, if that was your recovery partiton, you may have made a big mistake. I hope it isn't so.

 

[VernCrawford]

Hi again Just_A,

I currently have three copies (on the two 160 GBs and one 250 GB drive) that I have migrated/copied the origional drive images to. When I put this computer into service, I made a double set of recovery DVDs so that one resides in the packet with the computer manuals and such, and one resides in my file of backup disks.

So lets see; a total of 5 copies of that image on 5 seperate media, so I'm OK. But, my challenge is to solve the underlying glitch that is causing the OS desktop to not work correctly.

I try to be careful about recovery and back-up. As I mentioned, twenty-five years of living with computers may not have taught me much, but it has taught me that redundancy is the only way to survive without deep wounds.

I do not want to resort to using one of those five "Recovery" images unless this drive craps out on me before I have solve the problem of properly preparing it's replacement drive. As Darwin taught us, to survive we must be able to reproduce ourselves with smarter, faster, stronger and healthier components. Otherwise, PCs running Windows could become extinct, and only Apples and Penguins will survive to populate the desktop landscape.

Thanks,
Vern

 

[just_a_nobody]

Wew! Good work Vern, I was just worried, as I have my recovery partition, on a seperate drive, stored in a padded box, for safe keeping. Didn't you say the 80 gig HDD works fine? If so, why not just use your 200 gig, as your slave (storage) drive, and the 80 gig as your OS drive? With the OS on the smaller drive, rather than, on the big drive, your system will run much faster. Unless, of course, you have one of them new tech HDDs with the smaller platters.

 

[Iona]

Maybe using one of the "imaging " programs to copy small drive to larger