Desktop Icons and Taskbar Are Missing in Windows 98 or Windows Me

Affected Products: Software, System CDs
Affected Operating Systems: Windows® 98 , Windows® 98 SE, Windows® Me

ISSUE: After starting Microsoft® Windows® 98 or Windows Me, the taskbar is missing and there are no icons. When starting Windows, the taskbar may flash on for a brief second and then disappear. The only display visible is the background wallpaper and the mouse cursor. Pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE brings up the Close Program dialog box, but selecting End Task on the items on the list may not have an effect. When the computer is started into Safe mode, the issue still occurs. Running Scanreg /Restore does not resolve the issue.

There have been several reports that the issue occurred when restarting the computer after receiving a dialog box that displays "Virus/spyware found. Do you wish to remove?" or "Do you want to install Spyware Monitor?" The dialog box only has Yes or No selections, and selecting either can cause the issue. There is no X to close the dialog box, however pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE to bring up the Close Program dialog box lists a "Remove found spyware?" entry, which can be end tasked.

RESOLUTION: If available, use a Norton Rescue disk or a Norton AntiVirus CD to scan the computer for a virus.

Note: The following steps may cause some data loss in order to get Windows functional again.

Method 1: Use GoBack to restore to a previous date.

Note: When using GoBack to revert your hard drive, all personal files -- such as pictures, music, and documents -- that were created after the restore date and before today's date will be lost permanently.

  1. As the computer is starting up (and shortly before Windows begins loading), a screen appears, which displays "If you are having PC problems, press the space bar now." Press the SPACEBAR. This screen appears for five seconds.

  2. On the screen, click Revert Drive to revert the drive back to a previous load.

  3. GoBack reverts the drive back to a time when the computer was idle. Select a time to revert back to. This should preferably be three to five days in the past. Click Revert to continue.

  4. GoBack is ready to proceed. Click Yes to continue.

  5. Files copy to the computer.

  6. When GoBack has successfully reverted the drive, click OK to end.

  7. Once back in Windows, the issue may reoccur if the "Virus/spyware found. Do you wish to remove?" or "Do you want to install Spyware Monitor?" dialog box displays again. Gateway recommends that if you see one of these suspicious dialog boxes, press the CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys to open the Close Program dialog box. Choose End Task for the entry. Do not click Yes or No, as this may trigger the issue to occur when the computer is restarted. Gateway also recommends updating your antivirus software, and then performing Windows Update to install a new version of Internet Explorer.

Method 2: Restore shdocvw.dll from a backup.

  1. Shut down the computer.

  2. After the computer has been shut down, turn on the computer and begin pressing the F8 key in one-second intervals. If you complete this step successfully, the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu is displayed. If no menu is displayed and Windows starts up normally, repeat this step.

  3. At the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu, use the ARROW keys to select Command prompt only, and then press the ENTER key.

    Note: If the Command prompt only selection is not available, a startup disk or a bootable CD is required to get to an MS-DOS prompt.

  4. At the command prompt, type: cd windows\system. Press ENTER.

  5. At the C:\windows\system prompt, type: copy shdocvw.bak shdocvw.dll. Press ENTER. If entered successfully, the screen should display 1 file copied.

  6. Press CTRL_ALT+DELETE to restart the computer.

  7. Once back in Windows, the issue may reoccur if the "Virus/spyware found. Do you wish to remove?" or "Do you want to install Spyware Monitor?" dialog box displays again. Gateway recommends that if you see one of these suspicious dialog boxes, press the CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys to open the Close Program dialog box. Choose End Task for the entry. Do not click Yes or No, as this may trigger the issue to occur when the computer is restarted. Gateway also recommends updating your antivirus software, and then performing Windows Update to install a new version of Internet Explorer again.

Method 3: Restore the previous version of Internet Explorer.

  1. Shut down the computer.

  2. After the computer has been shut down, turn on the computer and begin pressing the F8 key in one-second intervals. If you complete this step successfully, the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu is displayed. If no menu is displayed and Windows starts up normally, repeat this step.

  3. At the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu, use the ARROW keys to select Command prompt only, and then press the ENTER key.

    Note: If the Command prompt only selection is not available, a startup disk or a bootable CD is required to get to an MS-DOS prompt.

  4. At the command prompt, type: edit c:\windows\system.ini. Press ENTER.

  5. In the C:\windows\SYSTEM.INI file, locate the line of text under the [boot] section that lists Shell=Explorer.exe. This is typically the third line in the file.

  6. Edit the Shell=Explorer.exe line by deleting the Explorer.exe text and replacing it with Winfile.exe. Example: the line should list the following: Shell=Winfile.exe

  7. To save the changes, press the ALT+F keys.

  8. A menu displays in the upper left corner of the screen. Press the X key to exit.

  9. Press ENTER to save the changes and return to the command prompt.

  10. At the command prompt, restart the computer by pressing the CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys. Once Windows has restarted, it starts into the Windows File Manager.

  11. In the File Manager window, double-click progra~1 in the left hand window to open the Program Files folder.

  12. Double-click intern~1 in the left hand window to open the Internet Explorer folder.

  13. Double-click setup in the left hand window to open the Setup folder.

  14. In the File Manager window, double-click Setup.exe in the right hand window to launch Internet Explorer setup.

    Note: If the setup folder is not available, Internet Explorer has not been updated and a previous version of Internet Explorer cannot be restored. Go to Method 3, Step 13.

  15. In the Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Tools Setup window, click OK.

  16. In the Setup Message dialog box, click Yes to restore the previous version of Internet Explorer.

  17. Internet Explorer setup removes components.

  18. In the Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Tools - Restart Windows dialog box, click Restart Windows.

  19. When the computer is restarting, begin pressing the F8 key in one-second intervals. If you complete this step successfully, the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu is displayed. If no menu is displayed and Windows starts up normally, repeat this step.

  20. At the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu, use the ARROW keys to select Command prompt only, and then press ENTER.

    Note: If the Command prompt only selection is not available, a startup disk or a bootable CD is required to get to an MS-DOS prompt.

  21. At the command prompt, type: edit c:\windows\system.ini. Press ENTER.

  22. In the C:\windows\SYSTEM.INI file, locate the line of text under the [boot] section that lists Shell= Winfile.exe. This is typically the third line in the file.

  23. Edit the Shell=Winfile.exe line by deleting the Winfile.exe text and replacing it with Explorer.exe. Example: the line should list the following: Shell=Explorer.exe

  24. To save the changes, press the ALT+F keys.

  25. A menu displays in the upper left corner of the screen. Press the X key to exit.

  26. Press ENTER to save the changes and return to the command prompt.

  27. At the command prompt, restart the computer by pressing the CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys

  28. Windows starts to a blue screen, but will still be accessing the hard drive for a period of time. When finished, Windows is on the desktop with icons, but an older version of Internet Explorer is installed.

  29. Once back in Windows, the issue may reoccur if the "Virus/spyware found. Do you wish to remove?" or "Do you want to install Spyware Monitor?" dialog box displays again. Gateway recommends that if you see one of these suspicious dialog boxes, press the CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys to open the Close Program dialog box. Choose End Task for the entry. Do not click Yes or No, as this may trigger the issue to occur when the computer is restarted. Gateway also recommends updating your antivirus software, and then performing Windows Update to install a new version of Internet Explorer again.

    Note: For additional information, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article 249191.

Method 4: If none of the above methods work, Windows may need to be reinstalled to resolve this issue.