I have a HP laptop with Windows XP home. It will not turn off. And no icons or anything will show up but the desktop background. what should I do?

If the system is running then right click any open space on the background and choose to show icons or desktop.

it might hav eto do with your OS

Try holding down the Power button for a long time (up to 20-30 secs.)
Then restart the laptop in Safemode. Press either F2 or F8 on startup to get boot options. Don't go into the Bios or Computer setup unless you know what you're doing. The boot options clearly give safemode as an option on the menu before the operating system begins to boot. You should see your icons in safe mode but all drivers like CD driver and Wi F will be disabled. Re-booting normally after shutting down may allow windows to "cure" itself.