Desktop, explorer.exe Wil Not Load and Not Internet

[blauvvy]

Hello, newbie blauvvy here.

I'm running XP Pro SP2 on a Dell 8300 desktop machine. Unit powers up and presents the Windows logon screen and I am able to logon as normal. At that point the wallpaper loads (after a long pause) but nothing else. Specifically, there are no desktop icons, no explorer.exe, no task bar, etc. I can launch Task Manager, and can actually see that my files are still there. I can even launch apps such as MS Word, bring up documents, etc. I CANNOT launch anything that uses an internet connection, including iexplore.exe.

If I tried to launch explorer.exe from the Task Manager, it "flashes" the Windows start button and taskbar briefly, but then goes away.

Things I have tried (and would do again if deemed prudent):
-- ran Avast pro4 virus scan complete: no problems detected
-- ran Windows Defender scan complete: no prolems detected
-- ran chkdsk, fixmbr, fixboot and other utils from "console" on original Win XP cd-rom, nothing appeared detected.
-- ran complete "repair" from Win XP cd-rom: no change in behavior.

Lastly, based on 'Stein's sticky post in this forum, I loaded and ran the avgas spyware program. I DID detect a bunch of tracking cookies, and 3 adware programs listed as "medium" threat, and successfully quarantined these. I'm sorry to say I misread the post, and repaired before saving the log file.

Other clues to the crime:
-- prior to this total failure, my machine had been locking up on startup (just after logon) for an EXTREMELY long time (>15 minutes) but then seemed to be just fine.

HJT Dump is below.

Any help is greatly appreciate, and I promise to close the loop in this and report back as things progress!

Thanks in advance!

blauvvy

HERE is HJT dump (if I messed the format, please advise!!):

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 7:22:04 AM, on 8/31/2007
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)
Boot mode: Normal

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\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cisvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\inetsrv\inetinfo.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\tcpsvcs.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\snmp.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\mqsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\mqtgsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\WgaTray.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\taskmgr.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.yahoo.com/
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - blank (file missing)
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar3.dll
O2 - BHO: AcroIEToolbarHelper Class - {AE7CD045-E861-484f-8273-0445EE161910} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - C:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\2.0.301.7164\swg.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {FDD3B846-8D59-4ffb-8758-209B6AD74ACC} - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Money\System\mnyviewer.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Adobe PDF - {47833539-D0C5-4125-9FA8-0819E2EAAC93} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar3.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MSConfig] C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\MSConfig.exe /auto
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [!AVG Anti-Spyware] "C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\avgas.exe" /minimized
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NVMCTRAY.DLL,NvTaskbarInit (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\RunOnce: [RunNarrator] Narrator.exe (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NVMCTRAY.DLL,NvTaskbarInit (User 'Default user')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\RunOnce: [RunNarrator] Narrator.exe (User 'Default user')
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Search - http://edits.mywebsearch.com/toolbaredits/menusearch.jhtml?p=ZNxdm824DOUS
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {CD67F990-D8E9-11d2-98FE-00C0F0318AFE} - (no file)
O9 - Extra button: MoneySide - {E023F504-0C5A-4750-A1E7-A9046DEA8A21} - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Money\System\mnyviewer.dll
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @xpsp3res.dll,-20001 - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O16 - DPF: {01A88BB1-1174-41EC-ACCB-963509EAE56B} (SysProWmi Class) - http://support.dell.com/systemprofiler/SysPro.CAB
O16 - DPF: {0E5F0222-96B9-11D3-8997-00104BD12D94} (PCPitstop Utility) - http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/PCPitStop.CAB
O16 - DPF: {17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700} (Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=39204
O16 - DPF: {A8F2B9BD-A6A0-486A-9744-18920D898429} (ScorchPlugin Class) - http://www.sibelius.com/download/software/win/ActiveXPlugin.cab
O16 - DPF: {BCC0FF27-31D9-4614-A68E-C18E1ADA4389} - http://download.mcafee.com/molbin/shared/mcgdmgr/en-us/1,0,0,21/mcgdmgr.cab
O16 - DPF: {C52439A0-2693-4E40-B141-9F9AD5257241} (Lexmark eDiagnostics Class) - https://ediagnostics.lexmark.com/serval.cab
O16 - DPF: {E856B973-45FD-4559-8F82-EAB539144667} (Dell PC Checkup Installer Control) - http://pccheckup.dellfix.com/rel/41/install/gtdownde.cab
O16 - DPF: {E8F628B5-259A-4734-97EE-BA914D7BE941} (Driver Agent ActiveX Control) - http://www.driveragent.com/files/driveragent.cab
O23 - Service: AVG Anti-Spyware Guard - GRISOFT s.r.o. - C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
O24 - Desktop Component 1: Intelligent Explorer[ieplugin.com] OnScreen Portal - http://active.ieplugin.com/active/?17543332

--
End of file - 5482 bytes

[gerbil]

Iexplore won't run, huh? Okay, cos you have an active desktop I would remove that [O24], remove all the Google BHO's [uninstall google desktop and fix the google O2's and O3]].
I'm just guessing tht one of your browser addons has killed your browser and hence your active desktop.
Clean up these entries while you are at it:

O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - blank (file missing)
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Search - http://edits.mywebsearch.com/toolbar...p=ZNxdm824DOUS
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {CD67F990-D8E9-11d2-98FE-00C0F0318AFE} - (no file)

Actually, of all your O2 and O3 entries, this is the only one I would keep:
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_02\bin\ssv.dll

Say how you get on...

[blauvvy]

AWESOME! Kudos to you gerbil. What you suggested worked like a charm and my system is restored. You transformed 10 days of suffering in isolation to a 10 minute fix. Thank you so much.

There was one little wrinkle. After performing the fix exactly as you had suggested, the desktop and task bar came back just fine, but when I tried to launch Internet Explorer, it hung just like it had been doing before my total system failure.

Being impatient, I decided to run the built-in "Diagnose Connection Problems..." command from within Internet Explorer. That process reported a problem with Google Desktop, but fixed the problem for me automatically, and all was FINE. I have included the log file from the IE diagnostic tool below, in case it is of interest to others.

QUESTION: Am I correct in thinking that ALL of this problem was caused by Google Desktop??? Is this program known to be failure prone, and should I avoid it in the future? If this is a topic addressed in other forum(s) please advise. I would be interested in learning more.

Thanks again! I think this one should be marked SOLVED.

[IE DIAGNOSTIC LOG ATTACHED AS A TEXT FILE]

[gerbil]

Heh... glad you're flying again.....
Google desktop? I don't know if it is any better or worse than others, but personally speaking, Google is just a search engine website to me, I can go there with a button press when I wish, apart from that simplicity rules and I don't want any part of it or other helpers in my sys. I know where my stuff is, I don't need another search tool to find files.
I DO know that a corrupted BHO can present seemingly weird symptoms..... like yours for example. And yes, that was the root cause in your case.
Google is big, monolithic, sometimes immovable. -their web accelerator for example works by caching on their servers copies of a multitude of webpages that are commonly used, the software you install issues you with a URL to one of their servers. It once was a case that one of those links was broken or incorrect, but G would not budge in fixing it. Result was many ppl had ....umm... less-accelerated web experiences.
But it's a great search engine.