Member Avatar for mapzilla

All the other programs on my family's laptop work fine, except for the most crucial, Windows Explorer. Whenever I try to bring up a window (ex. My Computer), there is a 2 second pause where everything on the desktop disappears except for the screensaver. Then everything comes back but no window.

My cousin did recently pickup some spyware while surfing. Later, when I pressed crtl+alt+del I noticed over 50 processes running (including explorer.exe). I am hoping this a simple settings issue and not virus related. Again, all other programs work fine. But without Explorer, the laptop is almost worthless. Any ideas?

Windows XP
2003 Dell Laptop

  • 3 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 123 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by JANINE

Dani AI

Generated

This looks like the shell (explorer.exe) is crashing or being interfered with rather than a simple UI setting. The fact that icons vanish, the screensaver stays, and you saw 50+ processes running (including explorer.exe) makes malware or a badly behaved shell extension/startup item a likely cause. Below is a prioritized, safe checklist to isolate and repair the problem.

First, a fast test and quick recovery: open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), find and End Process for explorer.exe, then use File > New Task (Run...) and type explorer.exe to restart the shell. If that temporarily fixes things you likely have a startup item or shell extension problem. If Explorer will not stay up, reboot into Safe Mode (press F8 at boot) and see whether Explorer behaves there.

If Safe Mode works, narrow the cause with msconfig (selective startup) by disabling non-Microsoft services and startup items, then reboot repeatedly to isolate the offender. Check Event Viewer (Start > Run eventvwr.msc) for explorer or application errors. Create a new user account to test whether the problem is profile-specific. Carefully check the registry value at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell — it should read explorer.exe; back up the registry before any edits.

Because and flagged spyware, perform thorough malware checks while in Safe Mode with Networking. Use reputable on-demand scanners (for example, Malwarebytes and the Microsoft removal tool) and consider a rootkit/boot-rescue scan if malware persists. If scans fail to fix corruption, try sfc /scannow (XP requires the install CD), System Restore to an earlier clean point, or a Repair Install. Back up important data first. Avoid running unknown "antispyware" utilities that look like scanners but are rogue software.

If none of the above isolates the fault, copy user data from Safe Mode or external boot media and prepare for a repair install or clean reinstall. Proceed carefully when editing the registry or removing programs; document each change so you can reverse it if needed.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

you should go to the security section of this website for spyware removal .
Security

Member Avatar for JANINE

use microsoft antispyware tool available from microsoft website. its good and its fast.:)

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.