Desktop does not display.

Hello,

I am facing a very redundant problem with my laptop lately and I don't think that it is a virus that is the source of this as I have made several scans before. Well here is the deal: my laptop will switch on perfectly, but all but the items on my desktop will be displayed. That's really annoying as I have the tendency to save some urgent files on it, but all that I see in front of me as the laptop switches on is the wallpaper. The connection is really slow, and it takes ages to access the folders found in the document section. And yeah, I am using a Vista OS (I have heard before that they have some bugs) and I have a Dell laptop.

Can someone help me please!