Explorer.exe corrupted (I think)

  • Thread starter Thread starter don1500
  • Start date Start date
D

don1500

Have Windows xp home edition 200G HDD abd 1G RAM
Ran Disk clean and Explorer went funny - asked for application to open with,
and opened with Notepad.
Since then opening desktop screen is blank - no icons or tray. Task manager
shows Explore.exe not running and won't run under New Task - says cannot find
Explorer.exe.
Firefox starts ok
Any ideas??

Thanks
 
don1500 said:
Have Windows xp home edition 200G HDD abd 1G RAM
Ran Disk clean and Explorer went funny - asked for application to open with,
and opened with Notepad.
Since then opening desktop screen is blank - no icons or tray. Task manager
shows Explore.exe not running and won't run under New Task - says cannot find
Explorer.exe.
Firefox starts ok
Any ideas??

Thanks
Click to expand...

Try System Restore to an earlier Point?
Did you run a through scan for malware/viruses on your machine lately?

1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the None/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit or you can send them here in your next
post) and click [OK] to confirm your Changes.
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256

Click on Advanced Tab and scroll down under the browsing option and uncheck
this box:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) and click Apply
then OK to close your IE Properties.

Scan for malware from here:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm

Comodo BOClean : Anti-Malware Version 4.27
http://www.comodo.com/boclean/boclean.html
download Hijackthis and send me the log.
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php)
Send me copy to my address is : to_you_ross(at remove this and repalce with
the
obvious)yahoo.co.uk

( _ is underscore)
HTH
nass
 
Hard to follow suggestions as I don't have a START button or any access to
Windows.
As for Spyware I have Adaware realtime scanning, run Spybot weekly and have
Caantivirus realtime.
I really need to get Win Explorer.exe working again.
Thanks

nass said:
don1500 said:
Have Windows xp home edition 200G HDD abd 1G RAM
Ran Disk clean and Explorer went funny - asked for application to open with,
and opened with Notepad.
Since then opening desktop screen is blank - no icons or tray. Task manager
shows Explore.exe not running and won't run under New Task - says cannot find
Explorer.exe.
Firefox starts ok
Any ideas??

Thanks
Click to expand...

Try System Restore to an earlier Point?
Did you run a through scan for malware/viruses on your machine lately?

1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the None/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit or you can send them here in your next
post) and click [OK] to confirm your Changes.
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256

Click on Advanced Tab and scroll down under the browsing option and uncheck
this box:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) and click Apply
then OK to close your IE Properties.

Scan for malware from here:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm

Comodo BOClean : Anti-Malware Version 4.27
http://www.comodo.com/boclean/boclean.html
download Hijackthis and send me the log.
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php)
Send me copy to my address is : to_you_ross(at remove this and repalce with
the
obvious)yahoo.co.uk

( _ is underscore)
HTH
nass
Click to expand...
 
don1500 said:
Hard to follow suggestions as I don't have a START button or any access to
Windows.
As for Spyware I have Adaware realtime scanning, run Spybot weekly and have
Caantivirus realtime.
I really need to get Win Explorer.exe working again.
Thanks
Click to expand...


Try to log into safe mode and do a system restore to an earlier working point!

Or Press the windows Key on your Keyboard to get the start menu.
Or Take the machine to local repair shop to fix for you.
HTH,
nass
 
don1500 said:
Have Windows xp home edition 200G HDD abd 1G RAM
Ran Disk clean and Explorer went funny - asked for application to open
with,
and opened with Notepad.
Since then opening desktop screen is blank - no icons or tray. Task
manager
shows Explore.exe not running and won't run under New Task - says cannot
find
Explorer.exe.
Firefox starts ok
Any ideas??
Click to expand...

It *sounds* very like the problem I had (see thread "Task Bar has
disappeared").

No icons and no taskbar and no way of making the taskbar or Start button
appear. The explanation turned out to be a nasty Trojan that had somehow
corrupted Explorer.

Do ctrl+alt+delete and select Task Manager, New Task and browse to your
antivirus program, update its definitions, then run it for as long as it
takes to analyse your entire disk. Or use the aforesaid method to open
Firefox and go to housecall.trendmicro.com and run that. Be patient and wait
for it to finish.
 
Thanks Todal

Have updated anti virus and spyware and run - all I got was a few cookies.

Tried Trend Micro which tried to download over night but got stuck on
"Preparing".
Anyway I can get most Windows apps working thru Taskmanager, except Control
Panel - any ideas?
I think I am really looking for a Microsoft diagnostic and repair site if
one exists.
I think Diskclean did something to Windows explorer [not Internet explorer]
So let me know if you have any ideas, or I'll keep searching for a while
before I call in a techo.

Thanks again
 
nass said:
Try to log into safe mode and do a system restore to an earlier working point!

Or Press the windows Key on your Keyboard to get the start menu.
Or Take the machine to local repair shop to fix for you.
HTH,
nass
Click to expand...

Hi Nass

Sorry for delay but work gets in the way
Anyway using Taskmanager I can get email. videos playing, Excel, Internet
explorer - I think Diskclean messed up Win Explorer - everything behind it
works fine, and definitely no virus.
- I tried to restore thru BIOS - no good
- Windows key doesn't work
I think Diskclean wrecked Windows Explorer [explorer.exe] as won't run thru
taskmanager. Is it possible to repair this/these files? Does someone have a
diagnostic tool to check and repair these problems?
Last suggestion of repair shop could be end result but I want to look around
for a while - really learn a lot doing this.

Is there anyway to bring Control Panel up - that would be really useful.

Thanks again
 
Is there anyway to bring Control Panel up - that would be really useful.
Click to expand...

Yes - do "new task" or "run" and just type "control panel" (without the
inverted commas).
 
don1500 said:
Thanks Todal

Have updated anti virus and spyware and run - all I got was a few cookies.
Click to expand...

I had the same experience, but a computer consultant used a virus checker
that found the offending Trojan. I don't know which checker was used.
Tried Trend Micro which tried to download over night but got stuck on
"Preparing".
Anyway I can get most Windows apps working thru Taskmanager, except
Control
Panel - any ideas?
I think I am really looking for a Microsoft diagnostic and repair site if
one exists.
I think Diskclean did something to Windows explorer [not Internet
explorer]
So let me know if you have any ideas, or I'll keep searching for a while
before I call in a techo.

Thanks again
Click to expand...

You could also give System File Checker a try.

You will need your Windows XP installation disk. Run cmd so that you get the
black window with the command prompt. Type sfc /scannow and follow the
instructions (close the command prompt window and you'll find a window has
opened underneath). I have to say it didn't help when I did it, but your
problem might be slightly different from mine if no virus/trojan is
involved.
 
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