Upon start up only my wallpaper shows. There are no icons, no task bar, no start menu, nothing, just a blank screen other than my wallpaper. When I right click just to get into the desktop, I select display and even that gets no response. Can someone please help me.
I too had this kind of prob...
while ON ur lap press crtl+shft+del
this finally moves to refresh the full system. it will not erase any data from ur lap.
try this it works for me... hope this will work for u too
i suggest not to shut down without closing the file or anything....so only i got such problem
Hi regarding about this problem
try this method:
1. Type Regedit on the run task, then located this path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Image File Execution Option\Explorer.exe <<<--- Delete this folder if you can see this one or
2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Image File Execution Option\Your Image File Name Here without a path <<<<--- Delete this one if you cannot find the Explorer.exe
3. Restart your PC then its ok.
Just to let everyone know.... While surfing through the internet I found someone who solved this problem and has a way to fix it. There are 2 registry keys in the registry that are causing the problem. It affects the explorer.exe and iexplorer.exe files.
Thanks so much!! Delete registry key really works for me.
By Alt-Ctrl-Dele on the wallpaper screen, enter "regedit" in the new task, click ok, bring you to registry window. Follow the route:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\explorer.exe
Thanx a lot. this "regedit" thing worked for me as well. Thaannks a lot again. I suggest this solution to everyone having similar problems. I had tried a lot of other things but only this worked
By Alt-Ctrl-Dele on the wallpaper screen, enter "regedit" in the new task, click ok, bring you to registry window. Follow the route:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\explorer.exe
Okay, so I might be really bad at this technology stuff but once you click ok the screen pops up right? And then HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\explorer.exe should be on the left hand side? Do you actually delete ALL the files within that folder? (HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, SECURITY, SAM, SYSTEM) I just want to be absolutely sure before I delete anything.
so I did exactly what you said, I got all the way to "image file execution options" but there is no "explorer.exe" or "iexplorer" does anyone have any idea why they arent there?
If the machine is clean, use this method to fix winlogon from MVP Rick
Rogers:
The shell entry may be damaged in the registry. From Task Manager, click
'new task' on the applications tab. Type regedit and click ok. Agree to the
UAC prompt, then expand the branches to reach this one:
Click on the Winlogon key, then on the right find the "shell" string. Double
click it, change the value data to read "explorer.exe" (without the quotes)
and click ok. Then close the registry editor and restart the system by
entering another new task as 'shutdown /r'.
I went into safemode, started regedit task using administrator privs, then used Wingiv's solution. Worked like a charm. I had explorer.exe C:\windows\system32\crss.exe or something else like that in the entry. I removed everything but explorer.exe and all was well again. Slick.
THANK YOU SO MUCH....THIS WORKED FOR ME!!! IT ALREADY HAD "Explorer.exe" in the value data but I changed it by making it "explorer.exe" (all small caps) and rebooted! Everything's back to normal! :)
Thank you soooooooo much!
I had no idea that I could go so deep into a computer and do these things myself!
I am blown away!
I had been trying everything.....just about to give up and take it into a repair place.
No telling how much $$$ this saved me!
Thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom.
Hey I am also having the same problem of no icons or anything. When I bring up the TASK MANAGER, and try to run "REGEDIT", nothing will happen... everything just freezes up and can't do anything, not even restart or log off of my account. Any idea what I can do?
I did this but I still have no start icon or wallpaper. ANd now when I try CTRL-ALT-DELETE, I get the following message: Logon process has failed to create the security optons......
Failure-Security Options
this was good stuff ended doing what you said, but had to also go into safe mode command prompt and running a new explorer bars loaded just fine after that. after reset and on to normal windows it all came up just fine ty for the Infor
did not work for me, I went to the regedit to find the explorer.exe file but nothing and the problem still.What I did is go to Ctrl+Del / taks manager/file /new task / just type explorer.exe and everything was back to normal . William TINOU GOMA
Well good news for me; I have fixed the problem with my machine. After hours of reading blogs and posts and getting different suggesttions from many people I decided to do what I know. I restarted my computer, upon start up I hit F8 to get into the safe mode options. I selected start in safe mode. I then went into control panel, and did a system restore to a date from last month. Once that happened, the comp restarts itself and lo and behold everything was back to normal.
I would give this option a try.
I did many things from creating a new user account, etc etc. and nothing worked. Try the system restore and that should fix the problem.
Dear administrators..
iam using windows vista home Edition
Upon start up only my wallpaper shows. There are no icons, no task bar, no start menu, nothing, just a blank screen .
desktop icons and start menu recent program icons dont display!. Can someone please help me.
I don't even see explorer.exe in Task Manager/Processes. When I typed in explorer.exe and try running it, it said that could not find/locate the file. However, the explorer.exe file is in C:\WINDOWS\
Please advise. I have tried reparing Window twice already, and have restore it to all my previous settings, but still my desktop just don't show up. Oh, I even tried using Uniblue to run registry cleanup.
Really hopeless now because I don't want to spend my whole weekends reinstalling softwares =(
I'm using Windows XP. To make a long story short, when I opened my desktop yesterday, no desktop icon appeared and there was also no START bar/menu. but my wall paper same and with only the mouse pointer (which, by the way, responds as I move the mouse ).
Oh wow, thanks bunches. The other solutions didnt really make sense to me because I they were asking me to do things when I couldnt do anything with my computer, but your solution really made some sense, and WORKS! well, the last part was a bit unclear, so, ill clarify it a bit for anyone who still has this problem. Start up your computer, and while the computer is still black and it shows you all of those numbers and stuff, press F8. Then, browse through all of the options and select starting with Safe Mode. This might take some time, so don't get discouraged. After thats done, X out of that thing that pops up, and wait for your screen to load. Then go to start -> all programs -> accesories -> system tools(im translating the option from my computer so, this might not be the exact wording) -> system restore. Then, pick a point from before you had any of this nonsense and wait for your computer to do its magic, and soon you will be free of it =D
i have same problem and I tried ur soln but in safe mode also nothing appear but black screen.if u know how to do it in safe mode with command promote pls help me
You were having a login error and I am sorry I wasn't a member a the time or else I could have helped you repair your registry/login.
Rolling back your system restore, or reverting to old settings is NOT a fix, I repeat, it is NEVER a fix. Rewinding time merely means that IF you don't repeat the same mistake (and if you never find out what the problem is, you never know the mistake to avoid) then you won't encounter a problem. It's rare that it actually solves anything permanently. Also clutters up the hard drive space. Can you say frequent defrags and hard on the hard drive?
So in the future, don't accept the old "format/system restore/rollback/reinstall" option.
There is always a better and more reliable option to permanently deal with the problem.
Thak you for your quick solution. My VISTA machine had a spyware attack and srating at safe mofe (pressing F8) and then system restore with one day old image fixed the issue!
EVERYONE THERE IS A MUCH EASIER SOLUTION!! I found that I did not have explorer.exe in the registry, and I have the same problem. When I log on, I can only see my wall paper. Here's the solution. Do a Ctrl+Alt+Delete and look in the process tab. click image name to organize it in alphabetical order. you will see explorer.exe somewhere in there. Click it and click End Process at the bottom right. If you do not see explorer.exe then skip this step. Now click the Applications tab and you will see 3 buttons at the bottom called End Task, Switch To, and New Task. Click New Task. A small window will open up that says Create New Task. In the white bar type in explorer.exe and you will have your desktop back. Sadly, you will have to do this every time you log on, if you have a system restore point before this desktop problem, then do a system restore.
i just had this same problem....NOTHING WORKED UNTIL--AND IT WAS SOO EZ (i too couldnt find explorer.exe, etc) I did what post 205 said..basically force a restore and ur back immed. then do the superantispyware clean. IM BACK!!!!!! AMEN. THANK YOU WHOEVER POSTED 205.
For Windows 7:Take out the white plug at the back of your PC. (from the monitor) There's a blue and a white one on mine. Take out the white one and your icons, your taskbar and anything else you've clicked comes back! Worked for me..does anyone know why?
You can Ctrl - Alt - Del, and under the Applications tab click "New" and type in "explorer". This will bring up your desktop. You can then try the many suggestions that you have read about.
It only took me 10 sec. to do the scan. It will ask you if you want to delete everything, I clicked yes. Just make sure that there are no other programs (including the internet) running. This just make it easier to delete the files encase there running. MAKE SURE YOU RESTART YOU COMPUTER, when it comes back on you will have you lovely computer computing for you again!!!
I understand that nothing is a guarantee, but all I see is people coming up with these crazy answers to solve this problem and their all over thinking it. It's spyware, just spyware. So try my way out its very fast and easy. Feel free to respond with any question I'll be glad to help. Good Luck!!!
I am having same prob, tried typing in "explorer" and "explorer.exe" and I get error message that "Windows cannot find 'explorer'" and I did type it correctly--any ideas?
How can you download when there is no way to access the computer. After turning on the computer the screen only shows the wallpaper. I cannot access any keys.
Wow I had the same problem and Hijack fixed the problem........its was free and really fast. Thank you so much for the help!!!!!!!!!!!!, this was beggining to get real annoying.
dude man thanks u so much for the link of jijack I did wat u said and my computer restarted and it worked perfectly agian omg im so happy thanks I waz doing so many things but nothing would work ecept this man thank THANKS!!
Hello.. thanks for your sharing.. I am getting dizzy with this problem the whole night and now I got the solution... that little piece script really work for me !!!! now my task bar, start button, and desktop icons are back... thanks a lots for this help....
Hello.. thanks for your sharing.. I am getting dizzy with this problem the whole night and now I got the solution... that little piece exe file really work for me !!!! now my task bar, start button, and desktop icons are back... thanks a lots for this help....
hey thanx 4 ur suggestion I downloaded the software and ran it but I got a message which read "windows32 does not support this file" . is there any other suggestion?
This isnt really the answer to DELETE ALL of the entrys could cause more problems than it fixes, anti virus and anti spareware programs show up in the hijack this program, if you delete everything you could stop anti virus from running which inturn could cause you alot more pronblems.
for example I run a network and I have some scripts that run when a user logs on, if I go and delete all the entrys in the hijack this log it will cause me no end of problems so please be carefull when deleting the entrys.
DONT delete anything that looks like your anti virus software or anti spyware.
i need a one soulution that prolem because I see this problem and solved it .
1) you start your pc in safe mode or normal mode.
2) Then Use Ctrl + Alt + Del Key and ten start task menager
3) Then Go To File and then New Task and then type regedit
4) and then Go To Hiky Local Mashine/ Software / Microsoft / WindowsNT / Winlogon / and then See
right side option ( Outher Entery Type For Exp :- Taskmenand above:-( recycaler234 654365\winap32.exe )
delete That entry and then see
5) Shell :- ( Explorer.exe ) is currect entry ome Outher Entry so screp it
6) Userinit :- ( C:\windows\system32\userinit.exe, ) is currect entry ome Outher Entry so screp it
7) after checking this entry Go To Same Location in Hiky Current User and find the outher Entry Poin
8) and Then Reload Explorer.exe file same window and Userinit.exe in system32 folder and then restart the window and this srep is Usfule all Window version so thankes and regards
guys just use this it is simple the other guy already said it click this link!! http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html and then scan it cheack all the boxes and delete it all!!! then restart your computer and then its all good.. try it ive done it my self
the Ctrl + Alt + Del thing can do it but it will not bring back your icons and the start button.
just want to say thank you to the guy who posted it first!!! THANKS DUDE YOU THIS IS SUCH A BIG HELP!!!!
i can click the link on this computer, but of course not on the computer which needs it . . . because . . . remember? the problem is that nothing will come up to allow clicking on anything.
WOW! I just stumbled onto a very easy solution. Turned on pc when the info window appeared (system, set-up etc) just pressed enter it took a few moments, thought I oops! may have done wrong thing it was just a black screen .. then requested my password .. YEAH!! everything came back .. icons .. update windows, email the lot
my computer with the problem no taskbar, no icon, Ctl+Alt+Del disable has been solve, after reading some of the post. here's the solutions:
1. log into safe mode with command prompt.
2. in the command prompt:
to enable Task Manager, type in this in 1 line=>
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
to enable Registry Edit, type in this in 1 line =>
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableRegistryTools /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
1. Repair system by download TweakUI. =>http://download.microsoft.com/... since taskbar is disable, u have to use Ctl+Alt+Del to run "TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe ", click ok to install
Press Ctl+Alt+Del again > File > New Task > Tweakui
at left panal, choose "Repair" at the last, choose "Rebuild Icons", and click "Repair Now", click "Ok" to exit.
Restart computer.
2. Create New User Account: Press Ctl+Alt+Del, File > New Task > explorer. go to control panel > user accounts and create a new user account. Restart Computer. Log in as the new created user.
3. Use System Restore to go back to the previous days which ur computer functions well.
4. Lastly, u may download "Remove Restrictions Tool" which will solve "folder options disable" and others restrictions problems. download here =>http://www.softpedia.com/...
In short, the proposed action plan that worked for him and seems to be
working for me follows. Jay
I read many posts related to the topic and eventually did the following:
1. booted up to windows
2. ctrl+alt+del to get windows task manager
3. File, new task, typed regedit, clicked ok
4. go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current
Version\Image File Execution Options\
5. In there I had an explorer.exe folder that I deleted (you may have an
entry in the root of the Image File folder as well.. delete them also).
6. Rebooted and everything was back to normal.
7. Breathed a sigh of relief.
You can back up the explorer.exe folder (and files in the Image File
Execution Options root if applicable) by exporting them before the deletion
process.
Hopefully this thread will save many people lots of time in the future.
Thanks to everyone for their help and happy new year!
Sean
there is also no explorer.exe folder in my registry or iexplorer folder so is there another option besides sys recovery ... also don't have a previous restore point plz help
I am having the same problem I looked up this problem on many sites and forums and have found many solutions like using ctrl+alt+del which at first was working for me now when I log on it wont even open task manager anymore I opened the regedit but found no explorer.exe nor a iexplore.exe. I also seen that it could be from deleting a spyware which changed the userinit.exe which is not my problem either. I operate a windows xp. if you can help please email me!!
That worked like a charm. I was having the same problem with Windows XP. When I booted up I would get to the desktop screen, but there were no icons. The mouse moved fine but nothing to click. When I pressed ctl-alt-del and deleted the explorer folder and rebooted everything worked fine. Thank you thank you thank you.
hey jay can u help me out a bit more..there is no explorer.exe folder in the image file execution options folder..if its another folder do tell me please..
SearingWolfe suggested the following for those that cannot find explorer.exe in the registry. I do not know if it works or is an appropriate solution. Good luck.
EVERYONE THERE IS A MUCH EASIER SOLUTION!! I found that I did not have explorer.exe in the registry, and I have the same problem. When I log on, I can only see my wall paper. Here's the solution. Do a Ctrl+Alt+Delete and look in the process tab. click image name to organize it in alphabetical order. you will see explorer.exe somewhere in there. Click it and click End Process at the bottom right. If you do not see explorer.exe then skip this step. Now click the Applications tab and you will see 3 buttons at the bottom called End Task, Switch To, and New Task. Click New Task. A small window will open up that says Create New Task. In the white bar type in explorer.exe and you will have your desktop back. Sadly, you will have to do this every time you log on, if you have a system restore point before this desktop problem, then do a system restore.
__________________________________________________
To reply to the message of SearingWolfe Please click on the link below:
i did everthing like you said but it gave me an error message that saids: ONLY PART OF A READPROCESSMEMORY OR WRITEPROCESSMEMORY REQUEST WAS COMPLETE. what can I do from here please help.thank you.
I just wanted to say thank you thank you sooo much I was going crazy because my computer was my life. when that happend I was realy upset and I did what you wrote and it worked thank you soo much!:)
My computer won't let me use ALT, CTRL, DEL. and it will freeze up if I try to use safe mode. I tried to reinstall windows, it freezes during the process. any ideas?
Been cleaning viruses for two weeks now. Each time I think the viruses are gone, but they come back.
Now when I boot up, windows xp only shows the wallpaper. Booting in safe mode gives the blue screen of death. Ctrl Alt Del does not launch anything. I can't right click, left click, get into DOS, see or do anything.
Hello - First let me say this is a great forum. Thank you everyone who has offered advice. Unfortunately, I am having similar issues that have been reported.
When I start my Windows XP machine, I am able to login. It starts to login and then quickly logs me out. Upon the 2nd try, I can see my wallpaper with no icons, start menu, task bar, etc. Like others have reported, CTRL ALT DEL, CTRL SHIFT ESC, Function Keys, Right Clicking, etc. has no action. No matter what keys I press, I am stuck looking at my wallpaper.
I have tried to reboot in safe mode, but I receive the dreaded "blue screen of death".
FYI...I recently had several spyware viruses that I removed with McAfee, SpywareTerminator, SuperSpyware and Malware Bytes. I tried running the vundo fix and the Sricam fix, but neither found any issues. I ended up needing to clean my registry because at the time, none of my executables worked. 2 days after resolving all of that mess, this new issue started. I'm guessing it is also virus related.
I don't have the ability to download anything or access the registry, so I am afraid that nothing I have read on-line thus far will help me.
Does anyone have any advice for me? I would really prefer not to reload XP, as I don't have my original MS Office install CD anymore.
I'm sure you are sick of replying to this thread and I appologize if I am overlooking the answer that will help my particular situation. I would appreciate any help that can be provided. Thank you for your support! **
I have read this whole blog, and at first Crl, alt, del wasn't working, I finally got task manager to come up, and then tried starting new task "explorer" and explorer.exe and nothing is happening. I also tried the regedit idea and nothing came up. Is there anything else I could try?
A friend's laptop experienced the problem with no icons after starting up with her desktop wallpaper. I tried all the different solutions here and none worked. Got to Ctrl-Alt-Del bringing up the task manager and tried most if not all the solutions and nothing worked.
What finally worked for me, not sure if will work for others but I used the new task to run bring up a command prompt. Type cmd in the run field. In the cmd prompt went to c:\Windows, found the Explorer.exe file and deleted it. Figured if I was already to the point of giving up and just reformatting and reinstalling Windows XP, would do something harebrained. Anyway, after deleting the Explorer.exe, I went back to the run command and typed explorer. Using del Explorer.exe in the command window.
The screen at first brought up the System Restore but it had no restore points it could use, then after closing the System Restore screen, the icons started back up. I've restarted the system and it boots up fine. Only thing I can guess at is that the Explorer file was either corrupted or whatever and the system replaced it.
May work for those that get the explorer error message or not.
explorer.exe - bad image
the application or DLL C:\WINDOWS\system32\UxTheme.dll is not a valid Windows image. Please check this against your installation diskette.
You seem to be the life saver on here so I hope you can help. Last time I was able to open my computer I had a trojanSP/LX (?) virus. I'd run scans with McAfee and they finally showed that they saw this virus & wanted to restart my computer & run a scan. Once it was restarted I only had my wallpaper. I did a hard boot and then the same thing, only the walpaper. I tried cnt,alt, delete but it originally said that my task manager had been disabled by the manager or something. I kept trying and now that doesn't do anything. We've hit F8 and tried opening in so many ways, safe mode, last known configuration that worked, & I don't even know what else. Nothing works. I really don't want to pay Best Buy 200.00 that we don't have to fix my computer but I'm starting to lose my mind & dont' know what else to do. I'm not good wiht computers, I can navigate the internet & do all sorts of computer programs but when it comes to problems with a computer I'm a total idiot!! My husband's a little better off than me but he can't figure it out either. Help me!!! Please
My take on this and recent experience is in message 225. If you can't even open Task Manager with ctrl-alt-del then it looks like another variation of this problem. Before giving any advice I would need to know your level of expertise, no point in telling you change the first boot device in your BIOS to the CD or DVD drive if you don't know how to get into the BIOS etc. Sent me a PM and I might be able to help.
DEAR FRIENDS I FACED THIS PROBLEM & I FOUND A PERFECT SOLUTION JUST CONSIDERING VIRUS IS THE ONLY REASON OF THIS PROBLEM AND ONLY SOLUTION IS TO RESTORE WHICH CAN SIMPLY BE DONE BY CLICKING CT-ALT-DL AND IN NEW TASK BAR JUST WRITE msconfig WHERE U GET THE OPTION OF RESTORE JUST DO THE RESTORE AND RUN A GOOD ANTI VIRUSE AFTER RESTORING AND DELETE NEW RECENT DOWNLOADED SUSPICIOUS DATA ...CHEERS
That would be all well and good but when I did that it told me that system restore had been disabled by the administrative group, whatever that is. Also it said I did not have administrative privileges to make changes and I am the only one on this computer. I couldn't figure out how to log in as administrator when there is nothing on my deskktop. Calgon take me away !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't have an explorer file either, so I deleted the entire Image_File_Execution_Options key. Worked like a charm for me, your mileage may vary.
Good Luck!
everything was understood until you got to "had an explorer.exe file in folder that you deleted". If you deleted it , how can you see it? and what is an entry in root of image file?
Thank you Jay for the fix. I went to regedit, and followed the steps. Deleted explorer.exe file, restarted and all my icons, toolbar, and start menu appeared.
Hi, Your previous email said you could not found image... folder. I could not find it either. How do you fix the problem? Did you find the folder at different ways. Many thanks! Norman
Thank you very much for the information. I have tried to overcome this problem for a week, and I tried almost everything which did not solve the problem. Now I got the problem solve . Thanks again.
I am also having the problem of no icons on the desktop except for the background wall paper. I thought your answer would work, when I typed regedit in the new task it brings up a new window saying windows can not open this file. What do u want to do ? use the web service to find the appropriate program or select from the program list.
Any help would be appreciated.
I am also having the problem of no icons on the desktop except for the background wall paper. I thought your answer would work, when I typed regedit in the new task it brings up a new window saying windows can not open this file. What do u want to do ? use the web service to find the appropriate program or select from the program list.
Any help would be appreciated.
Hey Jay, Thank you very much...it worked..after 4 hours of reading blogs,this finally worked. Anyone looking to fix this problem try this it worked for me.....and I can't say this enough...THANK YOU JAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jay, you have saved me so much time with this how to fix, my PC is back to normal! I had to re-image it some time before, because of a spyware issue, but this trick I did not know. THANK YOU!!!
Jay,hey thank u very much from three days I got so much tensed of my pc then I did the steps mentioned that have been mentioned above once again THANK YOU
u did not mentioned how to fix I am saying (hey everyone the posted fix works, you have to go to safe mode in order to do it though.
system boot press f8. Then do the steps mentioned.)
Ok this is for those of you who can access task manager through the Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Go to the file tab, new task (Run...) and type "explorer.exe" with the quotation marks. If explorer.exe is already there end the process and restart explorer. This should get your desktop and icons back, but keep in mind this is only a temporary fix. I've done research and found that this is a spyware that hijacks your antivirus and uses it to delete files. That means that any other program won't recognize it as a problem. I have at least 10 spyware and antivirus programs, and none have found anything wrong with my computer. I stayed up all night scanning my registry and optimizing my computer until I'm at 100% with everything and that helps allot, but it only last for so long. I would suggest the newest version of Fix-It Utilities. It helps allot, but for those of you who can't access anything I can't help you. Try a system restore or format your hard-drive.
Removing the explorer.exe key from the windowsnt directory in the registry worked perfect for me as well. Windows starts fine now. Run a system scan with your spyware/virus software to make sure all is well once completed.
I have the solution. I spent 5 days until I found a solution to this Trojan Virus problem. Each time you boot up and click on one of your software icons ALL the icons and control bar on the bottom of the screen disappear. I tried all the leading anti-virus software and none worked. I got on a Microsoft blog site and kept seeing the same software mentioned as a solution. I used SUPERAntiSpyware 4.21 to clear the Trojan out and then Uniblue "Registry Booster 2" to fix the registry problems caused by the virus.. This Trojan virus is a very difficult virus to kill, but this SUPERAntiSpyware did the trick.
Another unrelated problem that I had on ALL of our computers that Microsoft could not solve, but our staff did.... When we installed SP3 all of our windows xp systems were stuck in a continuous boot-up loop after rebooting. Once we re-booted the system after the SP3 installation the computers were stuck on the "Windows XP graphic" on the screen with a continuous scroll bar. THE SOLUTION: Get rid of all firewire cords on external devices and replace with USB cords if the drive or components can use USB. Windows xp with Service Pack 3 will not boot up completely with firewire cords attached to the computer. Microsoft spent 3 hours trying to solve the problem and finally told me it was a driver problem with WD USB drives. This was not the case.. INCORRECT. Just remove the firewired compents... You do not need any new drivers for you hard drives.
Also, tut tut to the response that suggested "go buy a MAc etc etc." I agree that whilst Macs may suffer from less issues than PCs, this is a forum where people are asking for help with specific problems. "Go buy a Mac" isn't the most constructive advice (isn't really helpful at all!)
ran hijackthis after and found some nastys, was a variant of the XP 2008 Antivirus software
had to get spyboat and adaware also on the machine to try tidy it up otherwise it would come back
they was a twest.exe file which was making the reg entry to stop explorer running
I turned on my computer and a message about explorer having problems came up after that the problem began... all the icons went away , and even though I tryed loging in as a diff user and turning off/on , restarting, etc nothing seemed to work.
I found this page and followed this advice i'm descriving below (which I got from some one here :) ) (thank you so much) hoping that if someone have the same problem they can get help.
At first I saw the "download a free spyware thing" but I usually dont trust those...anyways they are gonna do what I did manually and then stay in your computer. Who knows how "good" or "bad" are they anyways.
Well.... once I restarted my computer and while the machine was in the process of doing so I pressed F8 and ran windows in save mode, then press ctrl shift delete to get task manager and then the following:
solution that worked for me: (from the ones listed here)
Alt-Ctrl-Dele
File>New Task
type in: regedit
this will bring up the registry window
Follow the route:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\explorer.exe
ONce I did that I saw two items and I was able to erase one of them. the other one I was not. but after I finished my machined worked , then I restarted it again and it was running as usual. at some point you are asked if you want to reset it some days back to which you say yes.
while ON ur lap press crtl+shft+del
this finally moves to refresh the full system. it will not erase any data from ur lap.
try this it works for me... hope this will work for u too
i suggest not to shut down without closing the file or anything....so only i got such problem
Helped many of us having the same problem.