My Dell laptop computer boots all right, but no icon appears,except the wall paper. Nothing works. Only the crtl+alt+Delete puts it in shut down mode.
What can be the problem?
Jake.

Refer to this site for help, post back with results to see if this information helped you
How To: Fix Missing System Tray Icons at Windows XP startup (http://www.tech-pro.net/howto_013.html)

If your icons are missing from the desktop, and you are running Windows XP, the following might be of help to you from Your Desktop Icons Are Missing in Windows XP (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330170)

SYMPTOMS

All the icons may be missing from your desktop. However, if you open your Desktop folder in Windows Explorer, you can see your desktop icons in that window.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs if the Show Desktop Icons feature is turned off.

Note If you upgrade a previous version of Windows to Windows XP, and Show Desktop Icons was turned off in the previous Windows version, this setting is maintained, and user icons appear to be missing from the desktop. The Show Desktop Icons setting is ignored in previous versions of Windows if Active Desktop is turned off. In Windows XP, Active Desktop is always turned on and cannot be disabled.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, turn on the Show Desktop Icons feature:

1. Right-click the desktop.
2. Point to Arrange Icons By.
3. Click Show Desktop Icons.