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Windows 2000 Misc.

Desktop and Explorer Disappearing?

SUMMARY: How to get back your Windows 2000 Desktop and Explorer in case of a Windows 2000 program crash.

Although Windows 2000 is more stable than previous versions of NT, in some situations, strange things can happen. If, for example, Explorer crashes, most of your desktop, including the "Start" button, disappears.

To bring back Explorer without rebooting your Windows 2000 machine, press CONTROL-ALT-DELETE. When the "Windows Security" dialog box appears, click the "Task Manager" button. If the "Windows Task Manager' dialog box appears as it should, select the "File" menu and then "New Task (Run)". When the "Create New Task" dialog box appears, just type in "Explorer" and press the "OK" button. Windows Explorer should then reappear, complete with the "Start" button.