[deathscyth]

hello all i need help with a computer problem it seems that i cant ctrl alt delete in order to get the task manager

my desktop comes up but i cant see icons or task bar

i would post a screen shot but cant considering the computer wont work

so if you have any idea on how to fix this problem it would be great thx

[Jato]

Hit it

[John]

alt+ctrl+del
new task
explorer.exe

[jawfin]

alt+ctrl+del
new task
explorer.exe

Or if you can get a web browser on that PC you can access it directly: -
[url]file:///C:/windows/explorer.exe[/url]
Copy/paste that text into the address bar. Fix the path if that's not your Windows folder.

Also note that all OS's still have the default Windows 3.0 feature behind all the modern OS stuff that double clicking the desktop launches the Task Manager - this only happens if the modern interface (explorer.exe) isn't running.

If you can see the task bar you can right click that too.

If none of this works, then please answer: -
What Operating System is it?
Can you right click the desktop for it's context menu?

[deathscyth]

i cant see the task bar i cant click on anything and im running xp i cant even ctrl alt delete all i get is the desktop thats it nothing else shows up

[jawfin]

Can you boot up in safe mode? When the computer is turning on keep hammering the F8 key until you get a menu. On that menu try safe mode.

[deathscyth]

yes i can use safe mode but the icons are still gone

[John]

if you can access stuff in safe mode try doing a system restore.

[deathscyth]

cant do anything

[Tricky]

sounds like something pretty gross happened to your PC.

you can try hitting the windows key + r, and see if the run prompt comes up. from there, type explorer. it may just open an explorer to browse the file system, but that's better than nothing.

at this point, it might be wisest to find some way to backup your files to an external drive of some kind and then do a re-installation of the OS over your old one.

[deathscyth]

dont have a disk for xp anymore

[Sentreth]

Did you try ALT + TAB?

[LumberWolf]

If you right click, does the menu pop up?

If it does, go to a customization option. Once there, click help, which will open up a help menu. When the menu is open, it will have a search. Type "restore" in the search box. Click to topic "What is System Restore?" and scroll down. There will be a link to open System Restore after the last paragraph.

That's a route I had to go on a while ago.

Side note: did you install any antivirus updates lately?

[Jato]

Hit it

[deathscyth]

no i havnt installed anything

alt tab doesnt work

[LumberWolf]

Would that go around that I suggested work?

[mrdjsilva]

dont have a disk for xp anymore

If you still have your serial key,an a spare computer use it to download windows xp then burn it to a disk and use your serial key only use the serial key that you brought

[Midgetathlete]

Hit it

If that doesn't work, hit it harder.

[jawfin]

lol, I know its as a joke, but my computer repair technicians rank themselves from the height they drop the box in their efforts to repair it.

By the by though, your operating system is dead, re-install from a CD ROM regardless of how you attain one. There are ways of getting XP boot disks, and ways of registering the OS too - its abandonware anyway.

[deathscyth]

ok thx is there a way to get a boot disk or somethign to do this on a usb drive and then boot it form the system or no?