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FinneasHayes's avatar
FinneasHayes
Iron Contributor
Aug 21, 2025

All desktop icons have disappeared and Task Manager cannot be launched.

Hello everyone, all the icons on my computer desktop have disappeared, and the task manager won't start at all. The hard drive is working fine. What should I do?

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2 Replies

  • Glennsy's avatar
    Glennsy
    Iron Contributor
    Aug 28, 2025

    Even though the desktop is gone, you might be able to do this if you can access a command prompt.

    Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete. This security screen often works even when the desktop is broken.

    Select "Task Manager" from the menu. If it actually opens, great! If not, proceed to step 3.

    If Task Manager doesn't open from there, look for an option called "Sign out". Signing out and back in will restart all your user processes, including Explorer, which often fixes the issue temporarily.

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