I went online to find a solution and ended up at annoyances.org.. and this
is what I found.. not sure explorer is the one crashing or my desktop.. any
help always appreciated.. thanks Rainy
How do get the taskbar and desktop back if Explorer crashes
Intended For
Windows XP
Windows 2000
From time to time, Explorer (the application responsible for the taskbar,
desktop, and Start Menu) will crash, and the taskbar and all your desktop
icons will disappear. Now, there's a built-in safeguard for this that
relaunches Explorer automatically if such a crash is detected, but it doesn't
always work as it's designed. For example, if you have a separate Windows
Explorer window open and the Launch folder windows in a separate process
option (in Control Panel -> Folder Options -> View tab) is enabled, and the
taskbar disappears, Windows will mistakenly open another Windows Explorer
window instead of reinstating your taskbar and desktop. Here's how to get
your taskbar and desktop back:
a.. Close all visible Windows Explorer windows. Other running applications
can be left alone.
b.. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del, and then click Task Manager.
c.. In the Windows Task Manager application that appears, select New Task
(Run) from the File menu.
d.. Type Explorer and click Ok.
Note: so far, a cause for the frequent crashing of Explorer in Windows 2000
and Windows XP hasn't been found, but when it has been discovered, a
solution will be posted here at Annoyances.org.