Lost Start Menu..etc...
 

I've been trying to rid a friends computer of several viruses/spyware/adware!!
Using several utilities(Ad-Aware, HJthis) and info on the regedit files from Symantec I've followed the instructions (I thought carefully). The computer seemes to do better and I no longer found the "elite.." nor the "Oxqrn" running in task mgr. A good thing. Today when I turned the computer on I no longer have a Start Menu, cannot run task mgr, and several of the anti-virus programs won't start now!! I've also noticed that when I open files/folders their are no longer boxes around the folder name descriptions and the majority of the upper menu ie., file, edit, view... are all gone! I tried to do a restore with a created point before all the scans and fixes but it won't do a restore to any point! Please help.

Re: Lost Start Menu..etc...
 

If you saved a copy of the HijackThis log before you made any changes, please post it here along with the results of a current scan.

Did you back up the Registry before making any changes to it?

Re: Lost Start Menu..etc...
 

Yes, I saved a copy of the log to notepad but haven't found it yet. Created a restore point several days before any changes were made and cannot get it to restore to that point. No actual backup to the registry! I obviously need more training....eh! I'll try to find the log and copy it here. If I can't find it, then what,....up a creek?

Re: Lost Start Menu..etc...
 

Go ahead and post a new log; it just may have been helpful to know what has already been changed.

For future reference, you should always backup the Registry before making changes... System Restore usually works but, as you found out, not always. Here's how to do it:

If you plan to edit the Registry, you should create a backup before making any changes. At the top of the Registry window, click on the Registry menu, click Export Registry File. In the Export range panel, click All, then save your registry as Backup. Then, if the operating of your PC is affected, you have a way to restore it.

Re: Lost Start Menu..etc...
 

The Last time I saw this we had to do a complete re-install of XP on the machine. I would suggest getting a backup of important data before you do this.