Cannot get the start menu

I am using Parallels 5 with Windows 7 installed. I can no longer view the start menu. I have restarted my computer several times but that doesn't help. I don't have a clue what to do about this. Can anybody help me, or at least have some suggestions?

To be more clear about this issue, when I go to View on the Parallels menu bar and select View Menu nothing happens - absolutely nothing. It is as if I had never selected View Menu. Also, there is no task bar.

 

Update on inability to view the start menu

I have worked many hours with support on this issue and am having to give up on Parallels. The issue came down to the fact that my Windows 7 operating system was corrupted. I reinstalled it and they had it working. It worked for about one week and then the same thing happened, only the OS was so corrputed that it wouldn't even come up at all. Of couse dear old Microsoft won't help me at all because I bought it at Staples and not from the Microsoft website.

Maybe I could try installing a different OS but I would have to purchase it and if it didn't work I would just waste more money.

In the process of all this I lost the backups to my Quickbooks (the last year of backups). Parallels support can view them on the computer but can't retrieve them. Even when I reinstalled Winows 7 I couldn't get those files because they are on a different partition.

I will probably end up having to reformat my computer or have remote support remove Parallels and the virtual machines and everything in them.

It was wonderful having Parallels for the short time that I was able to use it, and even then I couldn't use all the features. But, IF it would work properly it would probably be very good. IF is really a very big word...