Why is nothing working after a normal boot?

[Windows Central Question]

I boot like normal, enter my password and then my desktop has no icons and the task bar is unresponsive (I get a loading cursor and can't click on anything). I can't open task manager and when I press the Windows key, the screen goes black for a second and nothing happens. After booting in safe mode, I still can't open task manager or use the Windows key.

 

[Ryujingt3]

It sounds like some service or startup program is being slow to start, so everything is waiting for it. How long ago did this start? Did you install any software or Windows updates?

 

[Golfdriver97]

Welcome to the forums. How old is the PC? The drive that the OS is on may be corrupted and a refresh might help.