Desktop blank and apps deleted.

Anonymous
2013-04-02T03:19:12+00:00

After I log in this morning in my account, the computerct act like it was for the first time started and after that I discover that all the apps and my desktop was deleted.  When I try to pop up my desktop i got erorr.  "C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable. It could be on a hard drive on this computer, or on a network. Check to make sure that the disk is properly inserted, or that you are connected to the Internet or your network, then try again. If it still cannot be located, the information might have been moved to a different location.."

Please help me.

Thank you

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Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2013-04-02T19:07:35+00:00

Hi Marius,

  • Were there any recent changes made on the computer prior to the issue?

Here are few methods that you may follow to fix this issue.

Method 1:

a. Open "C:\users[your user account]" folder. If you see two Desktop folders with one blank and the other with your Desktop items you need to delete the blank one.

b. Copy the desktop folder with your desktop items from “C:\Users[your user account]\” folder to “C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\”

c. Restart the computer.

Method 2: Create a new user account and check.

Create a user account

If the issue does not persists in new user account then, try to fix the corrupted profile.

a) Press Windows and X together and select Windows Explorer.

b) Click on View tab and Click on Options at the top right corner.

c) Click the View tab, and then click Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

d) Uncheck the box which states Hide protected operating system files.

****e) Click Yes to confirm, and then click Ok. ****

f) Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and Old Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.

g) Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:

•Ntuser.dat •Ntuser.dat.log •Ntuser.ini

h) Right click and Select Copy.

i) Locate the C:\Users\New_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and New Username is the name of the new user profile you created.

j) Right click inside the folder and select Paste.

k) Restart your computer and check.

Method 3: Restore your PC to an earlier point in time and check.

http://windows.microsoft.com/is-is/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc

Note:  Do not Reset or Refresh the PC.

Please post back with the results and we will be happy to assist you further.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-09-14T19:50:40+00:00

    Yep, started getting it last week sometime, can't pinpoint the exact day. It goes through the whole Setting Up Windows process and finally kicks me to a blank desktop with this error. I then restart it and the problem goes away. It happens when windows tries to update or something from what it seems like.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-11T21:44:19+00:00

    I have the same problem. It started after upgrading to Windows 8.1. At first, it only occurred when Windows Updates were installed and the system was restarted. Now, I get it with almost every boot. What I do is select 'Sign off' from the shutdown options and then simply login again. Usually, this helps. I have copied the 'Desktop' folder from 'Username' to 'System32\userprofile' and will see if that does anything.

    In reply to the above: I recently uninstalled the AV program F-Secure and am now using Defender. The problem occurs with both AV programs, so, IMHO, the AV program has nothing to do with the problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-09-11T01:20:57+00:00

    Looks like ESET anti-virus might have been the problem, combined with particular Windows Updates.

    I re-installed Windows 8.1 cleanly, didn't install the virus scanner for a while.

    Installed ESET, was still fine for a week.

    Let Windows update itself shortly after and got the "Desktop not available" problem again.

    Uninstalled ESET, haven't seen a problem in a week at least...

    Looks like others may have found this as well, according to this board about ESET products:

    http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/eset-causes-desktop-to-not-load.343426/

    Turning off some of the features of ESET may fix the problem.

    Would like to know if others that are having this problem are in fact using an alternate virus scanner (other than Windows Defender)

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