Hi Guys,
I have exactly the same problem as drunknmonkey with perhaps a few extras. Control panel won't open. Search won't open. Windows Explorer won't open. All will open in safe mode. Information about how this happened is sketchy, I'm just left to try to fix it. :-| Here's my HijackThis report. Seems like a lot of trash in there to me. Help would be greatly appreciated! Already did a repair reinstall, nothing.

Logfile of HijackThis v1.97.7
Scan saved at 9:02:54 PM, on 4/6/2004
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)
Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSetMgr.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\gearsec.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\AdvTools\NPROTECT.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\tcpsvcs.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\CCPD-LC\symlcsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\dllhost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdtc.exe
C:\Program Files\Winamp\winampa.exe
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\D-Tools\daemon.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe
C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
C:\Program Files\Roxio\Easy CD Creator 5\DirectCD\DirectCD.exe
C:\WINDOWS\BCMSMMSG.exe
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\msnmsgr.exe
C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
a:\HijackThis.exe
C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = about:blank
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dellnet.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,SearchAssistant = about:blank
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,(Default) = about:blank
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {000020DD-C72E-4113-AF77-DD56626C6C42} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\ycomp5_3_11_0.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {2B1A0B14-8B33-4B96-8E8F-9FF348CB55C0} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\ipxwuan.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-C0FB-EF60B19DA02A} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\wzhelper.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-D7E4-F660B597BF2A} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\webalize.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {BCF96FB4-5F1B-497B-AECC-910304A55011} - C:\WINDOWS\hhU.dll
O2 - BHO: NAV Helper - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Companion - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\ycomp5_3_11_0.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {866D6F83-BCDA-47CA-8D5D-646F5A4E9B78} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: WEBALIZE - {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-D7E4-F660B597BF2A} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\webalize.dll (file missing)
O3 - Toolbar: Norton AntiVirus - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {014DA6C9-189F-421a-88CD-07CFE51CFF10} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DwlClient] C:\Program Files\Common Files\Dell\EUSW\Support.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [WinampAgent] C:\Program Files\Winamp\winampa.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NeroCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\NeroCheck.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DAEMON Tools-1033] "C:\Program Files\D-Tools\daemon.exe" -lang 1033
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccApp] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Advanced Tools Check] C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\AdvTools\ADVCHK.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AdaptecDirectCD] "C:\Program Files\Roxio\Easy CD Creator 5\DirectCD\DirectCD.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BCMSMMSG] BCMSMMSG.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [msnmsgr] "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\msnmsgr.exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Gamma Loader.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Turbo Download (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Yahoo! Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: AIM (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: PartyPoker.com (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: PartyPoker.com (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Related (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Show &Related Links (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Real.com (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Messenger (HKLM)
O16 - DPF: {02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B} (QuickTime Object) - http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab
O16 - DPF: {11260943-421B-11D0-8EAC-0000C07D88CF} (iPIX ActiveX Control) - http://www.ipix.com/viewers/ipixx.cab
O16 - DPF: {166B1BCA-3F9C-11CF-8075-444553540000} (Shockwave ActiveX Control) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/s...irector/sw.cab
O16 - DPF: {19E28AFC-EAE3-4CE5-AC83-2407B42F57C9} (MSSecurityAdvisor Class) - http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...?1078892433417
O16 - DPF: {1E89F686-B78D-4C85-9EFC-3474516E3FE2} - http://directplugin.com/plugin/113097.exe
O16 - DPF: {2253F320-AB68-4A07-917D-4F12D8884A06} (ChainCast VMR Client Proxy) - http://www.streamaudio.com/download/ccpm_0237.cab
O16 - DPF: {30528230-99F7-4BB4-88D8-FA1D4F56A2AB} (YInstStarter Class) - http://download.yahoo.com/dl/installs/yinstc.cab
O16 - DPF: {33564D57-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71} - http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...22/wmv9VCM.CAB
O16 - DPF: {407F5185-3B2E-4196-982B-1E258C46F8FD} - ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/easports/patche.../en-us/nhl.cab
O16 - DPF: {41F17733-B041-4099-A042-B518BB6A408C} - http://a1540.g.akamai.net/7/1540/52/...eInstaller.exe
O16 - DPF: {56336BCB-3D8A-11D6-A00B-0050DA18DE71} (RdxIE Class) - http://207.188.7.150/08daa6f9f09f579...p/RdxIE601.cab
O16 - DPF: {5F1ABCDB-A875-46C1-8345-B72A4567E483} - http://www.dotcomtoolbar.com/toolbar_nieuw5.cab
O16 - DPF: {6B4788E2-BAE8-11D2-A1B4-00400512739B} (PWMediaSendControl Class) - http://216.249.24.143/code/PWActiveXImgCtl.CAB
O16 - DPF: {886DDE35-E955-11D0-A707-000000521958} - http://69.56.176.78/webplugin.cab
O16 - DPF: {9A54032D-31F7-400D-B184-83B33BDE65FA} (MSN File Upload Control) - http://sc.communities.msn.com/contro...UC/MsnUpld.cab
O16 - DPF: {9F1C11AA-197B-4942-BA54-47A8489BB47F} (Update Class) - http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.co...7644.879537037
O16 - DPF: {A17E30C4-A9BA-11D4-8673-60DB54C10000} (YahooYMailTo Class) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yaho...ymmapi_416.dll
O16 - DPF: {A7E84D65-E121-4855-8EF0-C96195925F82} (Retriever Class) - http://www.adsvr.net/PowerStrip/PSI.cab
O16 - DPF: {BAC01377-73DD-4796-854D-2A8997E3D68A} (Yahoo! Photos Easy Upload Tool Class) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yaho...opper1_1us.cab
O16 - DPF: {C3DFA998-A486-11D4-AA25-00C04F72DAEB} (MSN Photo Upload Tool) - http://sc.groups.msn.com/controls/PhotoUC/MsnPUpld.cab
O16 - DPF: {C8BAC37C-A8D2-425E-B7FC-80B9537FB14A} (SBFullS Control) - http://www.spyblast.com/download/SBFullSInst.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/s...sh/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {DF6A0F17-0B1E-11D4-829D-00C04F6843FE} (Microsoft Office Tools on the Web Control) - http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/Te...loads/outc.cab
O16 - DPF: {E855A2D4-987E-4F3B-A51C-64D10A7E2479} (EPSImageControl Class) - http://tools.ebayimg.com/eps/activex...trol_v1-32.cab
O16 - DPF: {F58E1CEF-A068-4C15-BA5E-587CAF3EE8C6} (MSN Chat Control 4.5) - http://chat.msn.com/bin/msnchat45.cab
O16 - DPF: {FA3662C3-B8E8-11D6-A667-0010B556D978} (IWinAmpActiveX Class) - http://cdn.digitalcity.com/_media/dalaillama/ampx.cab

Have only HJT running & fix these entries=

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = about:blank
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,SearchAssistant = about:blank
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,(Default) = about:blank
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {000020DD-C72E-4113-AF77-DD56626C6C42} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {2B1A0B14-8B33-4B96-8E8F-9FF348CB55C0} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\ipxwuan.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-C0FB-EF60B19DA02A} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\wzhelper.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-D7E4-F660B597BF2A} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\webalize.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {BCF96FB4-5F1B-497B-AECC-910304A55011} - C:\WINDOWS\hhU.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {866D6F83-BCDA-47CA-8D5D-646F5A4E9B78} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: WEBALIZE - {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-D7E4-F660B597BF2A} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\webalize.dll (file missing)
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {014DA6C9-189F-421a-88CD-07CFE51CFF10} - (no file)

O16 - DPF: {1E89F686-B78D-4C85-9EFC-3474516E3FE2} - http://directplugin.com/plugin/113097.exe
O16 - DPF: {56336BCB-3D8A-11D6-A00B-0050DA18DE71} (RdxIE Class) - http://207.188.7.150/08daa6f9f09f57...ip/RdxIE601.cab
O16 - DPF: {5F1ABCDB-A875-46C1-8345-B72A4567E483} - http://www.dotcomtoolbar.com/toolbar_nieuw5.cab
O16 - DPF: {886DDE35-E955-11D0-A707-000000521958} - http://69.56.176.78/webplugin.cab
O16 - DPF: {A7E84D65-E121-4855-8EF0-C96195925F82} (Retriever Class) - http://www.adsvr.net/PowerStrip/PSI.cab
O16 - DPF: {C8BAC37C-A8D2-425E-B7FC-80B9537FB14A} (SBFullS Control) - http://www.spyblast.com/download/SBFullSInst.cab

WOW! That was TERRIFIC! I spent all day and 3 handfulls of hair on that one (I just can't stand to let windows win), with your help it took 45 minutes from the time I first came to your site until the machine was working perfectly. You have my vote! Thanks.