[angelica7]

My system has been running fine until now. i just upgraded to the new version of iTunes and Quicktime. System Updater indicated that I needed to restart. I clicked restart. My system booted up and presented me with my usual desktop image, but there are no icons. After a few seconds, the screen goes blue and the system tries to restart. The desktop reappeears, but no icons. I cannot click on anything because my mouse pointer does not show up. The dock is showing up, and oddly enough, as the system tries to restart the desktop the clock is functioning fine. I am running OS 10.4.11. I tried a safe boot, but the problem persists. I am a college student who just started their year. I am in dire need of advice. Thank you very much.

[reader50]

Sounds like the Finder is crashing the windowserver when it tries to start. Reapplying the latest system update would likely fix the issue - you don't mention what system version you are running.

Boot from your install DVD and fire up Disk Utility. Check the drive, then do a permissions repair. Permissions are not supposed to get messed up by installers any more, but glitched permissions could cause your issues, and the repair is a fast one.

When you boot in safe mode, it should drop you on the login screen rather than your desktop. Is the login screen OK? ie - does the problem start at the login window, or after you log into your usual account?