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Win7 Prof no desktop or icons in normal mode; safe mode okay
Lenovo Laptop
Windows starts normally, but after login displays a black screen with only cursor showing. Mouse is okay, ctrl-alt-del opens a window and task manager works okay.
Safe mode with networking works normally.
Restored from to a restore point prior to an install of "proformax Cleaner", no change to behavior.
Used task manager to take note of services running in safe mode.
Restarted in normal mode and used task manager to stop all services not running in Safe Mode.
Stopping the "Group Policy Client" caused the desktop to reappear. However on restart in Normal mode the "Group Policy Client" had the service's stop etc choices greyed out.
Running MSconfig to eliminate all startup programs and most services, the "Group Policy Client" choice rechecks the box when "Apply" is clicked.
My guess is that a virus changed a registry entry to prevent the desktop from being displayed. Any suggestions as to how to proceed would certainly be appreciated at this point.