It was getting close to bedtime the other evening and Carolyn was getting ready to shut off the computer. I asked her to leave it on so I could check my email. She exited all her programs then got up to let me sit in front of the computer. As she did so all the icons disappeared from the desktop! I'm pretty sure I didn't tell the computer to shut down, she said.
Now I use the desktop a lot - for storing temporary files that I don't want to have to look 3 levels deep to find, shortcuts to often used programs, shortcuts to often used folders. Since the Start button and the Taskbar were visible and appeared to be intact, I was optimistic that nothing had wiped out the whole computer. I accessed Windows Explorer through the Start, All Programs menu and found that Desktop was still a top level folder and all the things that used to be there were still there.
But where were the icons? In the Windows File Explorer window, I clicked on Help and got the Help and Support Center knowledge base. Typing in "desktop icons missing" in the search window found 15 results. Entry number 3 was "Your Desktop Icons Are Missing in Windows XP" My exact problem!
About this time Carolyn says that she saw a text pop-up box which went away when she clicked it but she didn't think it could be that. Turns out it was exactly that. When you right click on the wallpaper (not an icon) you get a pop-up box whose first line asks "Arrange Icons by...." which you wouldn't normally click unless you wanted to rearrange your icons. But, if you do select that option, another pop-up box appears which has an option listed 8 lines down "Show Desktop Icons". That option is normally checked. But if you click on that option, you remove the check mark and the icons on your desktop disappear - not necessarily immediately if your computer is working hard.
Problem solved. Probably cause of problem determined. New appreciation for the Help and Support Center knowledge base gained.
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