Explorer Is Messing With Desktop

I tried searching for this topic but I didn't find anything, though it may be that I didn't look carefully enough. What's happening is that Windows Explorer has recently been making my desktop icons disappear, and in some cases my taskbar as well. When I open the program, particularly when I have removable media connected, my desktop icons revert to the placeholder image, and gradually the correct images return to each. It can take some time for all the icons to return to normal. Additionally, when I close Windows Explorer, the desktop icons vanish altogether, and wherever they go, the take the taskbar with them. The wallpaper remains completely untouched. Any open windows I have will remain onscreen and responsive, infact while I'm waiting for the return of my taskbar I can browse the Web to pass the time. But if I minimize a window that's it until the return of my taskbar, which usually occurs within 5 minutes or less, along with the gradual return of all the icons as described above. My system scans clean for malware, and Norton's WinDoctor doesn't find anything. Any suggestions? This is, at the very least, inconvenient, if not downright worrisome. I'd feel better if I knew whether it was even normal.