When I start my laptop (which I’m on at this very moment) the desktop doesn’t start. I know this is because explorer.exe refuses to start. When I click new task i type explorer.exe, the start bar flashes for a split second at the bottom then dissapears. To start programs I have to do it through task manager which gets long and frustrating. I know this isn’t a forum of technology and computers, but is there one of you who knows what is wrong and how to fix it, preferably without windows CDs.
What version of Windows are you running? If it’s 2000 or above, then you might find some clues in the Event Log. Otherwise, the problem seems too general to bother investigating. I’d just reinstall Windows.
It’s windows xp media center edition. Where do I find this Event Log? I’ll describe the problem in greater detail then. The computer starts up without a problem. The startup music plays, everything seems fine. Then when the desktop is about to start up, it flashes at the bottom of the screen for an instant. There are no error messages, no warnings, nothing to tell me what is wrong. When i go into Task Manager, Explorer.exe is not there, when I click new task and type explorer.exe, once again the bar flashes at the bottom of the screen then dissapears.
I’ve tried scanning for all sorts of viruses,adware, and spyware. I did remove some, but they were all not the problem. I’ve also tried starting in safe mode, same thing, I also tried the last known good configuration, explorer.exe still won’t run. And the problem is that I don’t know where my windows CD is. Would it come with the laptop or would a normal Windows XP CD work with Windows XP Media Center Edition?
If you can’t fix it quickly, then you can always replace it 
Many laptops today come with preinstalled Win, and only some of them have Windows Recovery CD included in accessories (i sell laptops besides of other stuff, and cannot remember when was the last time when i saw a full Win CD included in box). If your laptop had no Recovery CD, then it’s hidden somewhere on your hard disk, and if you could find out your manuals, then you can check out where. Usually those manuals say also, how to burn your own recovery CD from this “hidden” participation on your hard disk, so if you can fix the problem, i suggest to do so afterwards, so you can always use this recovery stuff, even if something happens with your hard drive, and you cannot reach it anymore.