Cannot open Control Panel, My Documents, Recycle Bin, etc.

[MSucena]

Hello everyone,

I am having a problem with my PC running Windows XP Home. I am unable to open items such as Control Panel, My Documents, My Pictures, Recycle Bin, etc. either by double-clicking from the desktop or through the start menu. When you select one of these items all the desktop icons disappear for a split second and then come back and the item doesn't open. I can can access these items if I run in safe mode. I have done multiple system restores, but to no avail. I have also run a full virus scan and nothing was discovered, as well as scandisk and no bad sectors were found. Any advice on my issues would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[bcastner]

Yikes!

It is a virus.

Do the Trend Micro and Panda scans from smah's FAQ: faq760-3862

Follow with the steps #2-#4 in faq608-4650

Do both of the recommended FAQ scans from "Safe Mode with Networking" by hitting the F8 key early and often during system startup.

Please post back if this does not resolve the issue you are having.

Best,
Bill Castner

 

[MSucena]

Thanks Bill, I will try these fixes when I get a chance. I will let you know what happens.

 

[MSucena]

bcastner, if you around, I know it's been awhile, but neither of the recommended FAQ scans are available. I select TrendMicro and it tells me I do not have something called House Call. There is an error message on the PandaScan page. Please let me know what I should do next. I just ran a Windows Update, to see if there was anything from Microsoft to fix my problems, and installed a whole bunch of Windows XP updates including Service Pack 1. Please get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks

Mike

 

[bcastner]

http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/ToolsQuit.htm

 

[MSucena]

Thanks for your continued assistance Bill. What do I do from that link?

 

[bcastner]

I was hoping that trying one or more direct links would resolve the issue.

I really think this is issue has a viral origin, and I am concerned that the above links failed to work for you.

 

[linney]

When you try the online scans they often require ActiveX to be enabled, make sure IE or any firewall is not blocking ActiveX or JavaScript.

As things work a bit better in Safe Mode you could try a process of elimination to see if you can find the offending process yourself.

Windows XP Professional starts logon scripts, startup programs, and services referenced in these registry subkeys and folder locations:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%windir%\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup


310353 - How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310353&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

316434 - HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316434&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

310560 - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310560&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

System Restore while a life saver on many occasions can also be the cause of reinfection. The accepted practice would be to turn it off and in doing so, purge all your restore points of any infection, then turn it back on when you are clean.