Windows XP Startup HELP!!!!!!

[Sangokyu]

When I start windows, it goes to the 'select profile' screen. I then select any profile. It then takes me to the profile, but only a blank screen with the desktop background on it... no start menu, icons, or anything. My brother was the last one one, I think he goofed. I'm typing this from Firefox, which I opened up from the "New Task" button on the Task Manager. Please HELP!

[Sangokyu]

It seems to be fine now... but I'm still watching it.

[Myrsilus]

Sorry, I don't think anyone knew what to do. :D

No hablo computer.

[Bobbybirdtree]

Did you try a system restore?

EDIT: Actually you wouldn;t be able to get there. Is the explorer.exe running? You need that to see icons and bars and such.

[GenoSV]

try running explorer.exe by using the New Task button (the one you used to start firefox. Just type "explorer.exe" (without the " ") and press OK.
That should bring up the start menu and the desktop icons.
Although this sound like some error in windows or some virus/malware.
You can try Pandas free virusscan if you don't have another virusscan already ( http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan ) and also get a spyware/malware remover (for example ad-aware on download.com).

Also, try a system restore.
Restart you computer, and right after the boot screen disappears (the screen that shows a logo or various info about you computer) press the F8 key on your keyboard.
You should then get a list of different stuff to do (start windows normally, run in safemode etc). Find "restore last good configuration" or something like that (my windows isn't in english so I don't know the exact term, sorry), and press ENTER. Then you'll see a list of installed OS:es (probably just one) and select your windows and press ENTER again.
That should fix the problem. Although try virus and spyware scan first.

oh, when you press F8 after boot you might not see the list of options directly, but instead a list of OS:es. Just select your Windows (default is selected already) and press F8 again. Then you'll see those options.

Hope this helps.
//geno

[Jay]

Safe Mode for the win.

[DJEvan]

2 things u might want to see.

1: right click on the desktop, if you have active desktop turned on, check if the show icon options is checked as well.

2: bring your mouse all the way down to the bottom, see if the cursour changes to one with 2 arrows pointing up and down. if it does, click and pull. your brother might have just pushed the taskbar down.

[Jay]

2 things u might want to see.

1: right click on the desktop, if you have active desktop turned on, check if the show icon options is checked as well.

2: bring your mouse all the way down to the bottom, see if the cursour changes to one with 2 arrows pointing up and down. if it does, click and pull. your brother might have just pushed the taskbar down.

Yeah, well done. Sometimes the worst mistakes (ie formatting because of something silly) come from the most fundamental of fuck-ups.

[DJEvan]

*shrug* its a common thing for people to do it sometimes. I do it on a regular basis whenever my customers want to check for dead pixels or whatnot on their new laptops.

[Spy]

Sounds if anything like you need to go to the System Properties>>Hardware>>Hardware Profiles and delete all the additional profiles that aren't the primary (although I'm not sure of your configuration so only delete those that make no damned sense...i.e. on my computer the main and only profile is "profile 1"). Also, have you tried using a password to login so your younger sibling can't do shit to your system?

[Sedated]

I'd say it was a user profile issue, which happens all the time in corporate networks.