Desktop Missing Icons and Taskbar? Here’s How to Fix It

If you’re not alone and if your Windows desktop loads without icons or a taskbar, then you’re not alone. These problems are still happening, because although Windows has become more stable, it’s still buggy. With a little effort, the following will quickly resolve this issue.

Windows desktop with the taskbar and icons

1. Restart the Graphics Driver

Sometimes graphics driver doesn’t load properly. Here’s how to restart it:

  1. Press Win + Ctrl + Shift + B.
  2. It’s normal and it’ll flicker and go black for a brief moment.
  3. If it works, update your graphics driver. If not move to the next step.

2. Restart Windows Explorer

If the desktop is unresponsive, you can try restarting Windows Explorer:

  1. To open Task manager, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and choose Task Manager.
  2. Go to task manager and look for Windows Explorer.
  3. If you need your system to restart, right click and choose Restart.

3. Run a Clean Boot

To disable startup apps that might be causing conflicts, try this:

  1. In Task Manager go to the tab Run new task.
  2. Type MSConfig and press OK.
  3. Go to Services tab and check Hide all Microsoft services.
  4. Disable all by clicking it, then Apply, then OK.
  5. Restart your computer.

4. Boot into Safe Mode

If the problem persists, boot into Safe Mode to fix it:

  1. Reboot and hold Shift on the Reboot.
  2. If you can’t get the troubleshooter to run, then press Ctrl + Alt + Del > Run new task > cmd.exe and type reagentc /boottore, restart.

To boot into Safe Mode from the Recovery Environment:

  1. Select the option available from the menu Go to ‘Advanced Options’ > ‘Troubleshoot’ > ‘Advanced Option’ > ‘Startup Settings’.
  2. Then choose Restart and press F4 to enter Safe Mode.

5. Perform Windows Boot Repair

If you’re in Safe Mode, follow these steps:

  1. Next go to Settings > System > Recovery.
  2. In the Advanced Startup section, click Restart now.
  3. Head to the Windows menu, select Advanced Options, Troubleshoot, Startup Repair.

If none of these methods work, it’s possible your RAM is the culprit.