A computer glitch problem?

I did a full re-install of the fre zonealarm and after re-starting, it came back on with no icons on the desktop. I have the background pic and a working cursor, no icons to click on. I have to pull the power source to turn it off since I have no 'start' icon. Also, as it boots up, there is not the usual Windows chime. No sound, no icons. Anybody know anything about this?