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Lost desktop windows 7 restore. How to restore the desktop on a laptop? Step-by-step instruction

16.04.2022

The most common reason for the disappearance of the desktop with all graphic elements in Windows is malware that has entered the system due to user inattention or improper functioning of the antivirus program. To fix this problem, you will need to restore the virus-damaged file that is responsible for the graphical shell of the OS and scan the computer for viruses.

Ways to revive the desktop

The performance of the graphical shell of the desktop in Windows is controlled by the explorer.exe application, which is located on the system partition in the Windows folder. If you change its properties specified in the registry, or if the executable file is damaged by a virus, the screen will be absolutely clean after the computer boots up.

There are several ways to restore the desktop in such cases:

  • forced launch of the explorer.exe utility;
  • system recovery;
  • through the registry
  • replacing the explorer.exe utility.

Forced launch of explorer.exe

The easiest way to restore the table in Windows 7 is to manually run the explorer.exe executable file.

The procedure will be as follows:

If the executable file is not damaged, then after performing these steps, the desktop should be restored. In this case, you should immediately scan the entire system for viruses with a reliable antivirus program. If this did not happen, or when accessing the task manager, a message pops up like “It is impossible to access the Task Manager due to blocking by the administrator”, which is also one of the signs of a virus attack, you can try to restore the desktop by other methods.

Using System Restore

You can start system recovery through safe mode or using the boot disk with the operating system. In the first case, you will need:


You can also start the Windows desktop recovery procedure through the installation disk with this OS. At the same time, its assembly should not differ from the one that is on the computer.

In this case, you need to do the following:


If this did not help to restore the desktop settings, you can try resuscitation from the command line (the Windows DVD must be installed in the drive):


Working with the registry

The executable graphic file is launched through a specific branch in the registry. When a PC is infected with a virus, instead of initializing explorer.exe, the virus program is activated. To restore the desktop using the registry, you must:


Replacing the executable explorer.exe

All of the above methods of reviving the desktop in Windows 7 are suitable when the explorer.exe file itself is not damaged. Otherwise, you will need to change it to a working one, which can be copied from the operating system DVD.

The information required to restore the table is in the image with the .wim extension. To read it, you should download and install the 7-Zip archiver program, which is absolutely free. When downloading this utility, you need to pay attention to its bit depth (32 or 64 bit). It all depends on the bitness of the system used on your computer.

To restore the desktop, you will need:

  1. Install the 7-Zip utility. The installation procedure is the same as in other programs.
  2. Install a disk with Windows 7 OS of the required assembly into the DVD drive, and a USB flash drive into the USB connector.
  3. Having entered the root directory of the boot disk, go to the sourses folder and copy the install.wim file from it to any folder on your computer. For these purposes, it is better to make a new folder.
  4. We turn on the archiver, go to the folder with the file we just copied and start the extraction procedure using the "Extract" button.
  5. Go to folder 4 (Maximum OS build).
  6. We go into the Windows folder, select the explorer.exe file and transfer it to the USB flash drive.
  7. After that, we restart the PC without removing the disk and USB flash drive, and we get into the window for choosing OS installation options. Click "System Restore" and open "Command Prompt".
  8. In the command window, enter notepad, after which a regular notepad opens.
  9. Using notepad, go to the USB flash drive and copy the explorer.exe file.
  10. Through the same explorer, we go to the system disk (in the recovery environment, the names of the disks are different).
  • Missing Windows desktop, but appears along with all folders and shortcuts if you boot in Safe Mode. What do you think the admin, what could be the matter? My problems began with active Saturday surfing on the Internet, I was looking for a disk image with to my laptop (I touched my own somewhere). I found the desired image on one of the sites, but decided to open and see the screenshot of the disk, located on another site - image hosting. And at that moment, he suddenly got alarmed and issued a warning that there was a virus in the C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp folder and cleaning was impossible, then the computer hung, I had to force restart. After the reboot, an absolutely empty Windows desktop awaited me, without folders and shortcuts, instead of my permanent splash screen there was another one, and even with such an image, it’s better for you not to tell. I tried to start the Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Del, but after it the screen turns black and so on ad infinitum.
    I have been reading your articles for a long time, I immediately tried to boot into and successfully, there is a desktop along with folder shortcuts in place. Unfortunately, I can not apply, it is disabled for me. I launched and scanned the entire C: system partition with it, three viruses were found, then it booted into the system and, interestingly, the alien splash screen disappeared, but the desktop was still empty. I also have an anti-virus at the ready, so I think it came in handy. Booted from the disk, after a full scan, another virus was found, but during a normal boot, the desktop still did not appear. Are there other options for me besides ? Sergey.

Missing Windows desktop

Friends, very often I had to deal with this problem, at first glance, readers asked me two identical questions, but they are solved in different ways. Let's analyze the first case first, since it is much more serious, because it concerns the infection of Windows with a virus.

First of all, in order to successfully deal with this problem, you need to know which system file the virus modifies and which registry settings it changes, then it will not be difficult for you to quickly fix everything. I propose to analyze all possible ways to solve this problem and start with the simplest and fastest.

  • If all else fails, be sure to try the latest method in this article, it's called If nothing helped, it often helps me when the desktop disappears.
  • Of course, you need to apply antivirus curing utilities, then fix the registry and (we will analyze this), but you can solve the problem in an easier way. I'm sure if our first reader had System Restore turned on, which can be perfectly applied in safe mode, then the problem would be solved in five minutes. First of all, in such cases, you need to remember about the restoration, it was invented for a reason.

So, if when we boot Windows on the desktop, it’s empty like in a wallet before a salary, we try immediately (without restarting the computer) to type the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Del, Task Manager should open, then File -> New task,

We enter explorer in the input field and OK, the desktop should appear with all the shortcuts and folders.

It is the Explorer.exe file that is responsible for launching the Windows graphical shell,

which is the desktop, start menu, toolbars and explorer. If the Explorer.exe system file does not start with the operating system, then the desktop will not start. The explorer.exe file is located in the C:\Windows folder.

You can ask me: - Why didn't the Explorer.exe file start by itself and you need to force it to run. You can answer like this: - We were lucky friends, yes, yes, we were lucky - the malware only changed some important registry settings that are responsible for launching the Explorer.exe file (but did not change the file itself). Instead of the Explorer.exe file and the desktop, a malicious application was launched, the process of which can be seen in the Task Manager. How to fix a corrupted registry and make Explorer.exe run by itself? Of course apply System Restore, this is the easiest method. Apply system restore.

Important note: Friends, sometimes a malicious program modifies or deletes the Explorer.exe file itself. If this article does not help you, read another, it describes how to pick out the explorer.exe file from the Windows 7 distribution and replace the faulty file with it.

Exactly in half of the cases, the problem will be solved and at the next boot you will see your desktop, then you can check the system for viruses. By the way, you can immediately call System Restore in the Task Manager - File -> New task, enter rstrui.exe in the input field, but this is in Windows 7 and 8. In Windows XP, you need to type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Safe mode If the task manager does not open in normal mode, boot into safe mode,

In most cases, you will see your desktop. We apply system restore, roll back a day ago.

If in safe mode there is also an empty desktop, but system recovery is enabled, then you can type Ctrl + Alt + Del, the Task Manager will open, then File -> New task, enter explorer.exe in the input field, the desktop will appear or enter immediately command rstrui.exe, system restore will start, roll back and check the computer for viruses. It is also desirable to restore Windows system files.


Safe mode with command line support

In safe mode with command line support, we type explorer.exe on the command line, the desktop opens, then we start system restore, edit the registry, and so on.

We can immediately start system recovery with the command rstrui.exe

In Windows XP, type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

System restore fails for some reason

If in all modes system restore does not work and does not solve problems, and the desktop is still empty during normal boot, then we go to the registry and correct the parameters changed by the virus with handles.

Special mention in our entire story, as I said, deserves the Explorer.exe application, it is it that is responsible for launching the Windows graphical shell, which is the desktop, start menu, toolbars and explorer.

It is the Explorer.exe file that, in our case, is attacked by viruses and, with luck, modifies it, as a result of this modification, the Explorer.exe file infected with a virus and the lifeless Windows desktop. But in some cases, viruses do not touch the Explorer.exe file, but change some registry settings. As a result, the operating system, when loaded, does NOT refer to the Explorer.exe file, but to a completely different virus file. As a result, the Windows graphical shell does not load again. How to fix the registry if system restore did not work for us?
AT safe mode, run the registry - Start -> Run, type in the input field regedit ,

The registry will open. If in safe mode you will also have an empty desktop, then try the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Del, the Task Manager will open, then File -> New task, enter regedit in the input field.

First of all, you need to look at the problem in the registry branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon look at the line " shell"It should have the value" explorer.exe». And in our case, instead of explorer.exe, there is a value c:\users\your username\appdata\local\temp\2lfg38m0.exe

This means that instead of the Windows desktop, the 2lfg38m0.exe virus will be loaded from the temp folder.

If at this time we manage to start the task manager, then instead of the Explorer.exe system process we will see some kind of malicious process, in our case 2lfg38m0.exe .


In the same branch, we look at another line “Userinit" It should have the value "C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe", there should be nothing after the comma. In our case, the value c:\users\Username\appdata\local\temp\2lfg38m0.exe is again present

All this needs to be removed and the registry brought back to normal. We fix both values ​​​​in the registry.

We look at another branch of the registry
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, if the parameter is present: NoDesktop , then its value should be 0 , but in no case 1. In general, the NoDesktop parameter can be removed.

By the name of the virus 2lfg38m0.exe, I search the registry and find another modified value. Branch

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ shell parameter contains the full path to the virus file
c:\users\Username\appdata\local\temp\2lfg38m0.exe, delete all this, there should be nothing at all here.

Shell parameter must be empty

Explorer.exe

All this is good, but we have considered the solution to the problem on the one hand, that is, the Explorer.exe file is not infected, and the virus has made malicious changes to the registry. We performed a system restore, scanned our Windows with antivirus utilities and removed viruses, then fixed the registry, that's basically it, the problem is solved, and after booting into normal mode, we have a desktop.

But the problem may be different, the Explorer.exe file may be infected or deleted altogether, and with all the desire, even with a normal registry, we will not be able to load the Windows desktop. Therefore, if you get an error when loading the operating system - an explorer.exe error or explorer.exe application error and sometimes it's just a black screen.

So, you need to enter safe mode or safe mode with command line support and execute system file recovery. How to do it?

Select safe mode with command line support.

Type sfc /scannow on the command line.

Windows system files are checked and restored, sometimes the system may ask you to insert a Windows installation disk into the drive. Our file - Explorer.exe will be restored.

AVZ Utility

At the end of the answer to the first letter, I want to cite the well-known AVZ utility as an example. If all that is said above does not help, you can use this utility.
We go to the website of the utility developer - Oleg Zaitsev.
http://z-oleg.com/secur/avz/download.php
Downloading the utility

Here attention, many users make a mistake when starting the utility. Press CRTL + ALT + DEL, the task manager appears, click File-> New task, in the field that opens, type the full path to the avz.exe file. For example, my avz.exe file is located in the folder C:\Users\Username\Desktop\avz4\avz.exe

So we type C:\Users\Your Username\Desktop\avz4\avz.exe

The main program window opens

We update the AVZ utility. File –> database update

File->System Restore

We put a checkmark on paragraph 9. Remove system process debuggers" and 16. Restore the Explorer launch key, then click "Perform marked operations."


Reply to second letter

Quite recently I had a similar case. A friend of mine in the screen settings found, in addition to the main Samsung monitor, something unknown to him Display device to: VGA. He became interested and he made it the main screen, then clicked Apply.

After that, the monitor screen turned black, restarting the computer did not help, the Ctrl + Alt + Del key combination also did not appear - the task manager did not appear. And this is what helped, when you booted the computer, you had to press F-8, the troubleshooting menu opens, in which you need to select Loading Last Known Good Configuration and that's it. You could also enter safe mode and apply system restore.

The other time was quite funny. The guards in our organization decided to connect two monitors to one system unit at night and did something there, probably played. Turned off the computer in the morning and disconnected the second monitor, then turned on the computer, and there was an empty desktop. I was the first to come to work, they run to me, they say help, otherwise everything is gone in the computer, and soon the authorities will come.

I go to help and think what is still missing there. I sit down at the computer and say - what's missing? And they show me in the monitor with their hands - look, there is nothing.

I tried Ctrl + Alt + Del, the task manager did not appear, I look, and the mouse pointer is on the desktop, then I right-clicked on the desktop without much hope and a menu appeared, selected Screen resolution, I see two monitors in the Screen settings, made it the main active monitor and Apply, the desktop appears.

If nothing helped

There is another little-known way to restore Windows 7 boot after a crash, and I'll tell you about it. At first glance, it will seem difficult to many, but nevertheless it often helps me out.
The fact is, friends, that a very large part of the problems due to which you cannot boot Windows 7 lies in registry errors. And Windows 7 wouldn't be Windows 7 if it didn't have a mechanism to protect registry files. Such a mechanism exists and creates archive copies of the registry in the RegBack folder every 10 days, regardless of whether you have system restore enabled or not.

If you can't fix problems booting Windows 7, you should try to replace the existing (and apparently corrupted) registry files from the Config folder with archive files from the RegBack folder. To do this, we will have to boot the computer from the Windows 7 installation disc or the Windows 7 recovery disc.

Boot into the recovery environment, select the command line

and we type in it - notepad, we get into Notepad, then File and Open.

We go into the real explorer, click My computer. Now we need the C: system drive, attention, the drive letters here can be confused, but I think you can recognize the C: system drive by the Windows and Program Files system folders inside.

We go to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder, the current registry files are located here, we specify the File type - All files and we see our registry files, we also see the RegBack folder, in it every 10 days the Task Scheduler makes a backup copy of the registry keys.

So, we will replace the existing registry files from the Config folder with backup registry files from the RegBack folder.
So, first of all, let's delete the SAM , SECURITY , SOFTWARE , DEFAULT , SYSTEM files from the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder, which are responsible for all registry hives,

and in their place we will copy and paste files with the same names, but from a backup copy, that is, from the RegBack folder.

Note: You cannot delete the SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE, DEFAULT, SYSTEM files all together, delete them one by one. Then copy the same files from the RegBack folder in their place.

Problems loading the desktop in Windows happen during the startup of the operating system or when exiting sleep mode. This issue can be easily resolved using one of the following methods. Any user will be able to personally follow all the instructions and restore the desktop. It does not require any additional knowledge or skills. Let's take a look at each method in detail.

The process responsible for loading the desktop explorer.exe. If this task does not work correctly or does not start, the issue in question occurs. It is solved by manually starting the process or changing registry settings. Before performing all the manipulations, you should make sure that the display of shortcuts is enabled. You just need to right-click on a free area of ​​the desktop, select the tab "View" and check the box next to "Show desktop icons".

Method 1: Manually start the explorer.exe process

Sometimes the OS has problems that cause File Explorer to stop responding, stop, or not load at all. In certain cases, Windows itself restores its activity, but it happens that you need to start it manually. This is done very simply:

Thanks to such a manipulation, the Explorer will be opened. In cases where this did not happen, you should check the correctness of the registry settings and try to start the process again.

Method 2: Modifying registry settings

If the launch of Explorer was unsuccessful, or after rebooting the system, the desktop disappeared again, you will need to edit the registry settings, since very often the problem lies precisely in file configuration failures. Follow the instructions below and you will be able to do everything right:


Method 3: Virus Cleanup

Often the cause of Windows system failures is infection with malicious files. This can also apply to the work of the desktop. If the above methods did not bring any result, scan and remove the found threats on your computer in any convenient way. Read about the fight against viruses in our article at the link below. In it you will find the necessary instructions.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in restoring the desktop. We have detailed three ways in which this task is accomplished. It is enough for the user to follow the recommendations and everything will definitely work out. It is only important to carefully perform each action.

If one day you turned on your computer or laptop, but during the usual boot of Windows XP, 7 or 8, all shortcuts, icons, even the start menu, and the taskbar disappeared on the desktop. This can also happen due to viruses, or accidental deletion of system files or registry data. In this article, we have collected the main ways to solve the problem of restoring the display of shortcuts on the desktop.

Solution:

1. Missing explorer.exe file

The fact is that the explorer.exe process is responsible for the external display in Windows, and if you press CTRL + ALT + DEL, or CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to launch the task manager, it is not in the “processes” tab. This could be due to the action of viruses. In the event that you try to start the task manager, but no reaction occurs, try restarting the computer in safe mode (F8 key during Windows boot) and try again.

To solve the problem, the first step is to determine whether the explorer.exe file is left in the system at all so that it can be launched. This can be done without Explorer, using the command line.

In the task manager, click "File - New Task" and enter "cmd" there; In it enter the command:

C:\Windows\explorer.exe

if your OS is installed on another drive, then instead of C: \ enter the drive on which your system is installed).

If you do not know on which disk the system is installed, then enter the command line:

%windir%\explorer.exe

in this case, the system itself will substitute the desired disk on which it is installed.

If as a result all the icons on the desktop and the taskbar appear, then the explorer.exe file has not been deleted from the computer and most likely it will be enough for you to fix a few registry files.

If you see an error message that such a file does not exist, then you will need to copy the explorer.exe file to the Windows system folder yourself. If the error was generated by explorer.exe itself, then delete it:

DEL C:\Windows\explorer.exe

2. Check icon display function

Let's start with the simplest. You need to check the option that disables the display of icons on the desktop:

For Windows 2000

  1. In the menu that opens, select the item "Desktop Active Desktop";

For Windows XP

  1. Right click on the desktop;
  2. In the menu that opens, select the item "Arrange icons";
  3. In the expanded submenu, next to the item "Display desktop icons" there should be a checkmark. If there is no checkmark, then click on this item.

For Windows Vista and 7

  1. Right click on the desktop;
  2. In the menu that opens, select the "View" item;
  3. In the expanded submenu, next to the item "Display desktop icons" there should be a checkmark. If there is no checkmark, then click on this item.

3. There is an explorer.exe file on the computer

To launch the Registry Editor again click "file->new task" in the task manager and type "regedit". Next, you need to do the following:

  • In the Registry Editor select: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. Then look at the right panel. The value of the Shell parameter must be Explorer.exe. If it's not, change it to Explorer.exe.
  • Trying to find: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options. If there is a subsection explorer.exe or iexplorer.exe, delete it (right-click -> Delete).

After that, restart your computer. If this still does not help, then explorer.exe is probably damaged and it still needs to be replaced.

4. The file explorer.exe was not found on the computer

If you have your Windows installation disk, you can find the explorer.ex_ file in the i386 folder right there, rename it to explorer.exe and use it. You can rename it in any file manager, or you can go to the control panel, select folder properties -> view, and uncheck the box next to “hide file extensions”. If not, then you will have to find a computer with the same Windows as yours and copy the file from there from the Windows folder.

We copy the resulting file, for example, to the root directory of your flash drive and paste it into the broken computer. Again, run the cmd command line on it. We consider what kind of media the inserted flash drive is (this will be the last available disk). We enter there the command "E:", or "F:", or another ... (depending on which disk the flash drive is). Next, if explorer.exe is in the root folder, enter the command:

copy explorer.exe C:\Windows

copy explorer.exe %WINDIR%

As a result, it should say that 1 file was successfully copied.

Restart your computer - everything should work.

These are the most basic simple ways to solve this problem. If it does not work out, then you can also try to restore the system, but the most effective way is, of course, to reinstall Windows.

5. System recovery

If in method No. 2 an error occurs that the explorer.exe file was not found or the problem persists after rebooting, then you should try to do a system restore:

  1. In the Start menu, open in sequence: "Programs" - "Accessories" - "Utilities"
  2. From the System menu, click on System Restore. Note. If there is no such item, then follow these steps: in the "Start" menu, select "Run". In the open field, type the command %SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe and click the "OK" button;
  3. In the "System Restore" window in the right part of the window, select the "Restore an earlier computer state" item and click the "Next" button;
  4. In the calendar, select a day that has a checkpoint, such days are in bold. Choose a day on which your computer worked normally, i.e. if you remember that three days ago the computer started normally, then choose a point three days ago. If there are no checkpoints, then most likely you have disabled the option to create checkpoints and you will have to go to method #4.
  5. After selecting the day, click the "Next" button;
  6. We listen to the advice written in the window (written in red) and click the "Next" button;
  7. We are waiting for the completion of the process;

6. Registry Fix

If system restore did not help, then you will have to climb into the system registry:

  1. On the keyboard, press and hold the Ctrl+Alt+Delete buttons;
  2. In the "Windows Task Manager" window, go to the "Applications" tab;
  3. On this tab, click the "New task ..." button;
  4. In the "Create a new task" window in the "Open" field, type regedit and click the "OK" button;
  5. In the "Registry Editor" window on the left side, expand the registry keys one by one up to the "Image File Execution Options" section: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Image File Execution Options/
  6. Expand the "Image File Execution Options" section and look for the "explorer.exe" and "iexplorer.exe" subsections. If any of the subsections is found, then it must be deleted.
  7. We click on the subsection with the right mouse button and in the menu that opens, select the "Delete" item;
  8. When asked to confirm the deletion, click the "Yes" button;
  9. Now let's check the launch options of explorer.exe, for this we expand the registry keys to the "Winlogon" section: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon/
  10. We left-click on the "Winlogon" section and in the right part of the registry editor window we find the "Shell" parameter;
  11. Right-click on this parameter and select the menu item "Edit";
  12. In the "Change string parameter" window, in the value field, explorer.exe should be written and nothing else, if this is not the case, then correct it;
  13. Click the OK button, close all windows and restart your computer

7. Restore Hidden Shortcuts on the Desktop

The "hidden" attribute may have been set on all folders and files on the desktop. To check if this is true or not, go to "Start -> Control Panel -> Folder Options", open the "View" tab, go to the end of the list of options and set the "Hidden files and folders" switch to "Show hidden files and folders" .

If after that the contents of the desktop began to be displayed, then in order to restore the display of your shortcuts, files and folders, you need to remove the “hidden” attribute from them. This can be done in the following way:

Go to "Start -> Run", write "cmd" there and click "Ok" - the command line should start.

Remove the "hidden" attribute from all files and folders on the desktop shared by all users with this command (this may require administrator rights):

attrib /D /S -h "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%/Desktop/*"

Now make all files and folders on your desktop unhidden with this command:

attrib /D /S -h "%USERPROFILE%/Desktop/*"

Just in case, click on an empty spot on your desktop and press F5 to refresh your desktop.

If the previously missing icons, files and folders from the desktop are no longer pale in color, then they are no longer hidden and you can set “Do not show hidden files and folders” in the “Folder Options” window.

Working with a computer is based mainly on interaction with the desktop, on which the most commonly used programs and folders are located. But what if the Windows 7 desktop is missing? Where to look for the lost folder?

Launching the folder

Explorer.exe- the process responsible for displaying the desktop on Windows. If this process fails while working on the computer, the entire interface disappears and only the picture remains (sometimes even a black screen). The reasons for this behavior of the system can be both normal problems and serious failures. In any case, the problem is solved quite simply.

The desktop is an ordinary folder, the work of which is initiated by the explorer.exe process. Therefore, the answer to the question of how to restore the Windows 7 desktop is obvious - you just need to start the process.

This method is relevant only if the folder and the path to it are not damaged, otherwise explorer.exe will not work correctly.


There are two ways to restore a process:
  1. Through the task manager;
  2. Through the command line.

First way

For it, you need to call the task manager with the combination Ctrl + Alt + Delete and click on the "File" control panel:

Select "Create a new task" and type explorer.exe into the window that appears. After this action, the desktop should appear. If this does not happen, then we use the second option.

Second way

To implement process recovery through the console, you must run a command prompt with administrator rights. To do this, press WIN + W and enter "Command Prompt" in the search bar. Right-click the manipulator and select "Run as administrator":


In the console without any commands, enter explorer.exe. The program will automatically start the process, if successful, all desktop icons will reappear:


Recovery Tool

If the above method did not help, or Windows boots to a black screen where no action can be performed, then you will have to use the recovery tool to return the desktop:


In this case, you can choose to run Last Known Good Configuration. However, the method is not reliable if the computer is infected with a virus program.


We start the device in safe mode and call the Task Manager again . We repeat the algorithm, launching a new process through a modal window. But in this case, we need the rstrui.exe command:


This command will launch the system restore utility, which will allow you to select a rollback point, which will return the state of the computer to the date and time the point was created.

It is not necessary to create rollback points yourself. Windows does this automatically as soon as the user installs programs that affect the system, updates drivers, and so on.


The rstrui.exe process, similar to explorer.exe, can also be launched through command line with administrator rights.

This method allows you to restore the desktop even when the explorer.exe file is damaged/deleted/modified.

After the rollback, be sure to check the system for malware, as there is a high probability that the problem lies precisely in them.

Working with the registry

Registry is a database of all parameters assigned to the system. It is here that all viruses are first registered, changing values ​​and rewriting paths. Of course, you can load the last known good configuration or roll back the system, but if the device starts up normally, but without a desktop, then it's faster to check everything yourself:



As a precaution, before manipulating the registry, it is recommended to make a backup copy on a third-party medium (flash drive or disk). So, if the values ​​are changed incorrectly, you can easily restore the previous copy and start all over again.

Final computer cleaning

As soon as Windows has booted up and the desktop has not disappeared, you can start cleaning up the system, which will finally get rid of such an incident:
  • We load an antivirus with a new database on external media;
  • We are looking for a file on the Internet called explorer.exe, download and upload it to a USB flash drive where the antivirus is located;
  • Using the latter, we check the computer and remove all suspicious utilities and files;
  • We are looking for explorer.exe on the computer (the search is carried out in the section where the operating system is installed) and change it to a file downloaded from the network (after checking it with an antivirus);
  • We reboot the device.

It is possible that Windows Remote Desktop is not working due to a video card failure. Don't forget to update your video and audio drivers after restarting.

Video instruction for restoring the desktop

The video shows the main recovery methods in case the remote desktop does not work:


Restoring the desktop process is not difficult and fast enough. The most difficult procedures will be to find the cause, how to solve them, and the final cleaning of the computer manually or with special utilities.