taskbar and desktop icons intermittently disappearing?

sorry, this is not a solution.... but still works for me

(and guessing that you use XP/2000)...

open the windows 'task manager' (by pressing ctrl+alt+del)... in the application tab...click on 'new task' and enter explorer.exe and press ok.

1: Check to make sure your taskbar is not auto-hiding.

to do this, right click the taskbar and click properties. make sure the "auto hide" option is not checked.

HINT: when the taskbar does dissapear, try hitting the little windows button that will bring up the start menu, then click the taskbar

2: Check to see if your icons are being hidden

to do this, right click the desktop and point to "view" then make sure the "show desktop icons" option is checked

3: Check to see if anything might be causing the command "show desktop"

There is a command that is usually featured in the Quick Launch toolbar that causes all windows, and in vista, the sidebar to dissapear. Look around to see if u might be accidentally activating it.

Move your mouse to the bottom of the screen. Does your taskbar pop back up? If so right-click on it and choose properties from the menu. Then un-check 'auto-hide the taskbar'

I have had the same problem as you, including losing simple applications like my desktop calculator. This is a glitch with the new Internet Explorer 7.0. The only way to fix the problem is the uninstall the Internet Explorer 7.0 version and go back to your original. Microsoft is aware of this problem and is trying to fix it.

This happens one on of my computers at work (Windows XP) when Java acts up. To get out of it, I use Cont-Alt-Del to open Task Manager, then select File, then New Task (Run..), and type "explorer" and press Enter.

Sounds like your computer might be infected by some spywares/trojans. Try scanning with an anti-virus/spyware removal tool. Then, reinstall windows.