Why isn't my second monitor only showing the desktop?

I am running software for my business on a Toshiba laptop running XP. I would move to Win 7, but even in capability mode, the software doesn't run right. (explaining why still on xp) Sometime back, 3-4 years ago, the monitor on the laptop began to misbehave, so I started using a secondary monitor. All was fine until today. Today, the secondary monitor fired up okay, but as soon as I logged into Windows, it would only show the desktop. None of the active windows were showing. The screen saver runs okay when it time activates. I attached a different monitor, by regular monitor cable. The first monitor is USB. It too, only shows the desktop.
If I run a remote computer application to access this computer, I do see it as it should be seen. But not every customer I work with (at their location) has wireless inteet that I can use that way.
I have updated the drivers. I am at a loss. I need another WinXP computer, but meantime, any suggestions?

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