I've run into this a few times, and each time I've been forced to do a
repair install to fix it. This time, repair install isn't working, so
I'm digging deeper.
Here's the problem. On Windows 7 Home and Pro systems, occasionally
they will boot up to a desktop with no icons, but the icon labels are
visible.
When I click the start button, it depresses, but the Start Menu doesn't
appear. I can open Task Manager by right clicking the Start Menu or by
using Ctrl-Shift-Esc and then I can open a command prompt. I can open
Control Panel from the command prompt, but all the icons are missing
(although the labels are visible) and I can use the search box to open
Control Panel applets.
Here's what I've tried so far:
1)Repair install/Inplace Upgrade from the DVD. This works for the first
reboot, but after a few reboots, the problem returns.
2)System Restore - I've gone back to a known good restore point, but the
problem remains (so no icons when System Restore reboots).
3)SFC /scannow - says it has made changes, but no icons on reboot.
4)Created a new user profile - no change in that profile.
5)Boot to safe mode - no change.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Out of interest, I think the
problem may be related to Visual C++ 2013 redistributable, since on this
computer, it installed just before the problem started. I tried
repairing it, but there was no change. I'm running another SFC before I
remove Visual C++ 2013 redistributable.
T
