Desktop loadup problem...

A few days ago I tried to boot up my computer. I had used it the previous night and it had been working perfectly and I shut it down correctly when I had finished with it. When the desktop loaded I immediately noticed that the majority of my desktop icons were missing. I checked in 'My Computer' and all the programmes were still there and seemed to be working fine. I shut the computer down and restarted it in 'Safe' mode and in this mode all the desktop icons were there but when I again tried booting up 'normally' the same icons and folders were missing again. I've also now started having problems with my monitor not working on the first boot and having to shut down and reboot to start it although this doesn't happen every time. My system is….. AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor 3200+ 2.01 GHz 143GB Windows XP Home Vers. 2002 Service Pack 3. I would be grateful for any advice.Thank you. Regards. Late news. Through the day the computer has been progressively getting worse .It now takes several attempts to even get it to boot up at all. It stops at a black screen after the Bios information and I have to switch it off and try again.Plus my 'System Restore' has stopped working.

Sounds like possible hard drive failure occuring.

The next time you get the system to boot, click start -> run -> type cmd and press ENTER.

At the command prompt type chkdsk /r and press ENTER.

Answer [Y]es to schedule a scan during the next reboot. Shutdown and reboot your computer until it is able to perform the chkdsk function. It will scan your hard drive for file and physical damage. Be patient. It takes a while. Messages about bad clusters are bad news.

If it isn't bad clusters you have a bad connection some where. Possibly on the RAM or hard drive.
If the hard drive does pass its test you can read HERE to resolve memory issues and bad connections.


The next time it doesn't boot all the way, wait several minutes and see if an error message comes up signaling you as to what failed.

Thank you for your reply. I'll get onto everything you suggest. Regards

appleoddity.As you said I had a hard drive problem. Everything is sorted now so thanks very much for your advice. Regards.