Question : Icons and Start menu disappeared from desktop, running Windows 7 Home Edition on a Dell

My computer screen went black, like it usually does prior to getting the BSOD, but never did anything further.  I did a hard restart into safe mode, ran system restore to an earlier date, and computer restarted saying system restore successful.  However, now when it starts it goes to desktop, where all of my icons are gone and my start menu, etc. are missing-- I am able to right click and make new documents/folders/etc, when i go to save new file, it looks like all of my folders are still intact--  I just do not have access to any programs.  I am running Windows 7 home edition on a Dell Dimension 9150.  I've been round and round with Dell tech support, and tried to hack this one out on different boards, but to no avail.  Any help would be so appreciated.

Answer : Icons and Start menu disappeared from desktop, running Windows 7 Home Edition on a Dell

I would recommend downloading and burning one of the following CDs:

http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-list/

This will allow you to scan the drive for viruses and hopefully resolve the issue.