Icons disappear, Outlook barfs

When I reopen from docking the XP desktop window in PD5, my desktop icons frequently disappear leaving me with wallpaper only when I reopen. There appears no way to retrieve the saved desktop without restarting. This has started happening only recently and for no reason I can ascertain.

Coincidentally, about the same time, my Outlook crashes and restarts every every couple of minutes. Most annoying when in the middle of creating the perfectly phrased email. I reinstalled Outlook, but that didn't help.

Any help greatly appreciated!