Solved blank desktop with ONLY edge and recycle bin icons

i just setup a computer with a beelink mini, w11pro i think

Beelink Mini PC, Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake- N95(up to 3.4GHz), 16GB DDR4 RAM 500GB PCIe x1 SSD, Mini S12 Desktop Computer​

setup was easy. i wanted to setup a local account and was expecting to go through the process to bypass microsoft login acct. it didn't happen. i was immediately greeted by the "i have no internet" option and proceeded from there. it was quick and fast

once in i had the typical desktop with it's taskbar defaults and control center. i thought "great" and logged out. i did not set up any security logins like facial or anything. just a simple id/pd.

the next time i went in,,,10 minutes later, there was NOTHING on my desktop except the microsoft edge and recycle bin icons. THERE WAS NO TASKBAR AND NO MICROSOFT CENTER or whatever you call that central control with all the stuff

i shut the computer down. booted again 10minutes later. this time i got the microsoft fun facts wallpaper screen. i signed in. however again,,,THERE WAS NO TASKBAR, NO CONTROL CENTER. only the edge and recycle bin icons.

also i cannot right click on the desktop

i don't even know what os i have but i think beelink outfits this computer with w11 pro. i dont think it's 10. 10 has the control center to the left, yes? this one HAD the control center in the middle. i did not have a chance to fiddle with settings all i did was create a local acct

that's it

Hi @miltk, welcome to the Eleven Forums.

Can you do the following to start, please? (If it works)

Press the Windows logo key + R on your keyboard, type winver in the Open box, and then select OK

antspants said:

Hi @miltk, welcome to the Eleven Forums.

Can you do the following to start, please? (If it works)

Press the Windows logo key + R on your keyboard, type winver in the Open box, and then select OK

Click to expand...

w11 pro...ver.21h2(os build 22000.918)
as you can see, something else happened. i was skimming the windows 11 info box with my cursor and got a right click menu. and as you can see im in settings. i'm staying here - i don't want to lose it

THERE IS STILL NO CONTROL CENTER OR TASKBAR

Win Key + i will open settings. That's a pretty old Windows versions.
We've passed 22H2 and are now on 23H2. Yours is pretty dated.

Other members might have a better idea, but whilst you're in settings, go to windows update, what do you see when you check for updates?

Go for broke, do an update. There are more qualified members watching this that might have an understanding as to why your windows is bear, but I'd update

Or you could do this


Or download the ISO and do a fresh install (actually not sure which would be better?)



Can you browse the net on your phone? Search for Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts. Win key + E will open windows explorer when you need it.
The Win key should open your Start menu to access everything you need; Browser, explorer, apps…

antspants said:

Or you could do this

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it...

www.elevenforum.com

Can you browse the net on your phone? Search for Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts. Win key + E will open windows explorer when you need it.
The Win key should open your Start menu to access everything you need.

Click to expand...

antspants said:

Go for broke, do an update. There are more qualified members watching this that might have an understanding as to why your windows is bear, but I'd update

Click to expand...

yeah ,,,,i started updates a few minutes ago

Cool. Sorry I updated that post a little late. Your start menu should open with your Win key on your keyboard to access everything you need for the time being.

miltk said:

yeah ,,,,i started updates a few minutes ago

Click to expand...

windows key = nothing
windows key + e = blank window, as in window with nothing in it

antspants said:

Cool. Sorry I updated that post a little late. Your start menu should open with your Win key on your keyboard to access everything you need for the time being.

Click to expand...

i have no start menu, no cotrol center, no taskbar, no nothing
all i ahve are the edge and recycle bin icons

miltk said:

i have no start menu, no cotrol center, no taskbar, no nothing
all i ahve are the edge and recycle bin icons

Click to expand...

LET ME AMEND WHAT I HAVE SAID.....i do have a taskbar,,,but there's nothing in it

Hello miltk,

Does restarting the explorer process like below restore them for you?

Brink said:

Hello miltk,

Does restarting the explorer process like below restore them for you?

Restart Windows Explorer.exe Process in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to restart the explorer.exe process as needed in Windows 11. The explorer.exe process is the user shell for Windows, and is used by such items as the desktop, File Explorer, Start menu, notification area, and taskbar. Restarting the explorer.exe process is to...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

well right now,,,i don't have to because, EUREKA, the updates brought everything back. i now have the taskbar and control center!!!!!!
that being said i certainly will look into your post,,,and if there is anyone out there who has an explanation of what was happening, i would love to be told. being the aquarian i am i always have to know what's going on. so even though i have the taskbar et al i'd like to know what happened.

thx guys

Great news.

Hopefully, it was just a temporary glitch that caused the process to end/crash.

miltk said:

well right now,,,i don't have to because, EUREKA, the updates brought everything back. i now have the taskbar and control center!!!!!!
that being said i certainly will look into your post,,,and if there is anyone out there who has an explanation of what was happening, i would love to be told. being the aquarian i am i always have to know what's going on. so even though i have the taskbar et al i'd like to know what happened.

thx guys

Click to expand...

Glitches aren’t always explainable.
Glad you got it working.