Resolved Win7 won't fully boot

I think that the computer is having a problem starting explorer.exe on start up as I get the wallpaper but no desktop icons. I also get the taskbar and can click on the start button to reveal the menu but clicking on anything is fruitless.

The computer is not connected to the wireless network either.

I have remotely started it from LogMeIn (after physically starting it) and it will load the desktop and connect to the internet eventually but, it takes quite some time.

It's a ThinkPad E430 - Win7 Pro x64 - i5 - 4GB RAM - Fully updated

MalwareBytes and MSE full scans show a clean system.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks

 

Have you tried using Windows' "System Restore" to roll Windows back to a previous state when your computer was functioning correctly? It allows you to undo system changes without affecting your personal files, such as e-mail, documents, or photos.

• Windows 7

 

Thanks, but I see that SR is not enabled. I haven't touched it since it was purchased so I can only surmise that it was delivered like that. I never thought to enable it

 

Have you tried a Startup Repair?

Does it boot up okay in Safe mode?

What happens if you right-click the Taskbar, select "Start Task Manager ", click "File" > "New Task (Run...)" type in:

explorer.exe​

and then press [Enter]? Do the Desktop icons show up?

 

Starting task manager allows me to start explorer but on the next restart, it reverts

I am going to back everything up and do a repair install - will see what happens. Worse comes to worse, I will do a clean install. It's no biggy

 

Here's hoping the repair install works.

 

Thanks

 

Post back with your results, cspgsl.

I am fairly new to Windows 7, and I would like hear your first-hand experience with the repair function.

 

Will do although it will be a week or so as I am away for this time

 

I got to have the machine for 3 days during which, it started normally every time it was booted. I did some minor windows updates but cannot see any reason why it was experiencing the problem. The user has it back now and has reported nothing out of the ordinary.
Thanks for the suggestions - I'll be back if it presents problems again.