hey all....

Installed kali Linux in vm workstation 10
Installed vmware tools 9.6.1
rebooted - all good
(same effect with vm workstation 9 & vmware tools 9.2.3)

both pairs of software, i performed:

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
apt-get dist-upgrade

reboot. not all good

Both VMs:

I lost my desktop icons(still on HD, just not visible)
I cannot right-click on the desktop.(does nothing)
I click on places, computer(or any folder for that matter), it states Opening .... down below on the taskbar, like normal, BUT.... then goes away... poof!
it wont open up. no file/folder windows desktop manager.
Ive tried installing, uninstalling, reinstalling gnome desktop manager, nautilus, dolphin...
at this point im lost. what happens after upgrading that i lose my desktop environment.

Can anyone please help me with this one? im kinda stuck ... thanks