Icons disappearing

  • Thread starter Thread starter ilyaz
  • Start date Start date
I

ilyaz

I have Windows XP Home and SP2 installed. Also I have AdAware, Spybot,
Search and Destroy, MacAfee virsusscan and MS AntySpyware...
Yesterday and today, I noticed that several icons on my desktop changed to a
generic white square... Even as I'm writing this message, two more
changed... What's going on? How to stop icons from changing?
 
ilyaz said:
I have Windows XP Home and SP2 installed. Also I have AdAware, Spybot,
Search and Destroy, MacAfee virsusscan and MS AntySpyware...
Yesterday and today, I noticed that several icons on my desktop
changed to a generic white square... Even as I'm writing this message,
two more changed... What's going on? How to stop icons from changing?
Click to expand...
Are you the same person with all the problems on the eMachine? If this
is the same machine, I would say you have some hardware failures. Here
are general hardware troubleshooting steps, but from your other posts
(if you are the same person), I would say your best bet is to take the
machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigStoreUSA). I don't say this to hurt your feelings, but
someone who doesn't know how to check if the hard drive shows up in the
BIOS is going to have a tough time doing hardware troubleshooting.

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power
supply can be faulty.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Malke
 
Malke,
thanks for the detailed message! You did not offend me at all. To the
contrary, I appreciate your discussion and comments.
Yes, you're right, I'm the same person, who had problem with hardwire a few
days ago. However, as I mentioned it then (I think I mentioned it!), I have
two different desktop eMachines and two different monitors. Speaking about
the old problem, it is no problem anymore: the hard drive failed and now I'm
looking for a new one. Also, I'm a person, who do not use a repair shop
(unless it's a car garage), I like and try to fix everything while having
fun. But if I cannot fix it, I go and get a new toy.
Now about the new problem - disappearing icons. I just looked in the All
Programs and found 10 blank icons from MS Access to MS Messenger... To me it
looks like an attack on MS Programs. But strangely, as far as I can see, the
programs still work. Don't now for how long, though...
Any suggestions about this new problem?
Thanks again for your assistance.
Ilya
 
ilyaz said:
Malke,
thanks for the detailed message! You did not offend me at all. To the
contrary, I appreciate your discussion and comments.
Yes, you're right, I'm the same person, who had problem with hardwire
a few days ago. However, as I mentioned it then (I think I mentioned
it!), I have two different desktop eMachines and two different
monitors. Speaking about the old problem, it is no problem anymore:
the hard drive failed and now I'm looking for a new one. Also, I'm a
person, who do not use a repair shop (unless it's a car garage), I
like and try to fix everything while having
fun. But if I cannot fix it, I go and get a new toy.
Now about the new problem - disappearing icons. I just looked in the
All Programs and found 10 blank icons from MS Access to MS
Messenger... To me it looks like an attack on MS Programs. But
strangely, as far as I can see, the programs still work. Don't now for
how long, though... Any suggestions about this new problem?
Thanks again for your assistance.
Click to expand...

Good, I'm glad I didn't offend you because of course that wasn't my
intention. Certainly there is nothing wrong with trying to fix things
yourself! That's how I got started in computer repair/tech support many
years ago. Besides, it's fun.

Now, this is a different machine entirely. I'm going to assume you know
that your machine is virus and malware-free. You've got all those
antivirus/spyware programs so presumably you used them in Safe Mode. If
you didn't scan in Safe Mode, go ahead and update your programs'
definitions and do the scans again in Safe Mode. I'm not sure why your
icons should be losing their file associations, but here are a few
suggestions. Try one thing at a time and test after each change.

Delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet files. Run Disk Cleanup:
Start>Run>cleanmgr [enter]

Test the RAM and hard drive. You should be good at this by now!

Make sure you have enough room on the hard drive.

Do some clean-boot troubleshooting to see if you have anything running
in the background that could be causing this:

Clean Boot - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=310353
and How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Let me know what happens.

Malke
 
Malke,
I love your detailed instructions! Just today, run McAfee Virusscan
(updated) and found a Trojan Exploit-ByteVerify. According to McAfee, it's
not too serious, and seems it could not be causing file disassociation...
<Delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet files. Run Disk Cleanup:
Start>Run>cleanmgr [enter]> - done yesterday. Now I'm going to try your
other suggestions.
Thanks.
Ilya

Malke said:
ilyaz said:
Malke,
thanks for the detailed message! You did not offend me at all. To the
contrary, I appreciate your discussion and comments.
Yes, you're right, I'm the same person, who had problem with hardwire
a few days ago. However, as I mentioned it then (I think I mentioned
it!), I have two different desktop eMachines and two different
monitors. Speaking about the old problem, it is no problem anymore:
the hard drive failed and now I'm looking for a new one. Also, I'm a
person, who do not use a repair shop (unless it's a car garage), I
like and try to fix everything while having
fun. But if I cannot fix it, I go and get a new toy.
Now about the new problem - disappearing icons. I just looked in the
All Programs and found 10 blank icons from MS Access to MS
Messenger... To me it looks like an attack on MS Programs. But
strangely, as far as I can see, the programs still work. Don't now for
how long, though... Any suggestions about this new problem?
Thanks again for your assistance.
Click to expand...

Good, I'm glad I didn't offend you because of course that wasn't my
intention. Certainly there is nothing wrong with trying to fix things
yourself! That's how I got started in computer repair/tech support many
years ago. Besides, it's fun.

Now, this is a different machine entirely. I'm going to assume you know
that your machine is virus and malware-free. You've got all those
antivirus/spyware programs so presumably you used them in Safe Mode. If
you didn't scan in Safe Mode, go ahead and update your programs'
definitions and do the scans again in Safe Mode. I'm not sure why your
icons should be losing their file associations, but here are a few
suggestions. Try one thing at a time and test after each change.

Delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet files. Run Disk Cleanup:
Start>Run>cleanmgr [enter]

Test the RAM and hard drive. You should be good at this by now!

Make sure you have enough room on the hard drive.

Do some clean-boot troubleshooting to see if you have anything running
in the background that could be causing this:

Clean Boot - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=310353
and How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Let me know what happens.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"
Click to expand...
 
ilyaz said:
Malke,
I love your detailed instructions! Just today, run McAfee Virusscan
(updated) and found a Trojan Exploit-ByteVerify. According to McAfee,
it's not too serious, and seems it could not be causing file
disassociation... <Delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet files.
Run Disk Cleanup: Start>Run>cleanmgr [enter]> - done yesterday. Now
I'm going to try your other suggestions.
Thanks.
Ilya
Click to expand...

And for the Byte Verify cr*p, empty your Java cache. Go to the Java
applet in Control Panel. You'll see a place where you can press a
button to clear the cache.

Malke
 
Did as instructed! Cleared the Java cache. Manually restored most of the
icons, but several in the All Programs. The Change Icon button is grayed and
I have no idea how to bypass it...
Thanks for your help.
Ilya

Malke said:
ilyaz said:
Malke,
I love your detailed instructions! Just today, run McAfee Virusscan
(updated) and found a Trojan Exploit-ByteVerify. According to McAfee,
it's not too serious, and seems it could not be causing file
disassociation... <Delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet files.
Run Disk Cleanup: Start>Run>cleanmgr [enter]> - done yesterday. Now
I'm going to try your other suggestions.
Thanks.
Ilya
Click to expand...

And for the Byte Verify cr*p, empty your Java cache. Go to the Java
applet in Control Panel. You'll see a place where you can press a
button to clear the cache.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"
Click to expand...
 
ilyaz said:
Did as instructed! Cleared the Java cache. Manually restored most of
the icons, but several in the All Programs. The Change Icon button is
grayed and I have no idea how to bypass it...
Thanks for your help.
Ilya
Click to expand...

Are you talking about icons in the All Users Start Menu? Try deleting
the current icons and making new shortcuts to the programs. Does this
keep the correct icon now?

Malke
 
This I don't understand, Malke... In the Start> All Programs there are about
10 MS programs - MS Access, MS Excel, etc. I can right click on each of them
and delete their entries and icons (as I said, I cannot change the icon
because this option is grayed), but how do I get them back in the list?
Sure, the programs are on my hard drive, I'd delete the icons only, but how
do I re-list programs in the All Programs? May be it is a simple and
standard procedure, but I never heard or used it...
Ilya
 
ilyaz said:
This I don't understand, Malke... In the Start> All Programs there are
about 10 MS programs - MS Access, MS Excel, etc. I can right click on
each of them and delete their entries and icons (as I said, I cannot
change the icon because this option is grayed), but how do I get them
back in the list? Sure, the programs are on my hard drive, I'd delete
the icons only, but how do I re-list programs in the All Programs? May
be it is a simple and standard procedure, but I never heard or used
it... Ilya
Click to expand...

Right-click on the Start button and choose "Explore All Users". This
will give you the familiar two-paned Explorer interface with every user
account's Start Menu, including All Users. All those entries are just
shortcuts to the programs. What I'm suggesting is that you delete the
shortcuts and make new shortcuts. For instance, delete the shortcut for
Word. Now on the right-side pane navigate to winword.exe in the MS
Office folder in Program Files. Right-click and drag to the All Users
Start Menu on the left. When you let go of the right mouse button,
you'll get a context menu and will be able to choose "Create Shortcut".
Do that and see if the icon is the proper "W" for Word.

Malke
 
Well, Malke, I started to implement your suggestions and realized that
yesterday I was doing the same, but in rather awkward manner, however
getting the same results. Unfortunately, your method does not work on those
stubborn MS programs and their blank icons... It was easy to remove one of
the programs in the list. But then I run into a problem. There are two
problems, actually. First, dragging the exe file and <Create shortcut>
option does not produce link (or places anything) in the Program folder of
the Start menu. Second, the icons of those affected programs are white blank
squares in the first place... So, I think, first I have to find a way to
restore the original icons for all those exe files (and there are quite a
few, for example, in the Menu, Works has blank icon, in submenu - whole
bunch of other associated applications has the same icon). To do it manually
will take the rest of my life, so I need some sort of automation... If you
don't know about it, forget it. I don't want to waist your time on this
subject anymore. But rest assured that I greatly appreciate all the help and
advice you provided me with.
Thanks a lot.
Ilya
 
ilyaz said:
Well, Malke, I started to implement your suggestions and realized that
yesterday I was doing the same, but in rather awkward manner, however
getting the same results. Unfortunately, your method does not work on
those stubborn MS programs and their blank icons... It was easy to
remove one of the programs in the list. But then I run into a problem.
There are two problems, actually. First, dragging the exe file and
<Create shortcut> option does not produce link (or places anything) in
the Program folder of the Start menu. Second, the icons of those
affected programs are white blank squares in the first place... So, I
think, first I have to find a way to restore the original icons for
all those exe files (and there are quite a few, for example, in the
Menu, Works has blank icon, in submenu - whole bunch of other
associated applications has the same icon). To do it manually will
take the rest of my life, so I need some sort of automation... If you
don't know about it, forget it. I don't want to waist your time on
this subject anymore. But rest assured that I greatly appreciate all
the help and advice you provided me with. Thanks a lot.
Ilya
Click to expand...

Bless your heart, you haven't wasted my time. I just wish I could get my
hands on your machine so I could *see* what is happening. At this
point, I honestly don't know why you are having such strange troubles.
I really think at this point you would be well-served to take the
machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigStoreUSA) and have them look at it. I know you like to
fix things yourself, but there is no shame in getting a professional
diagnosis. A hands-on examination may be able to pinpoint the issue(s)
immediately where I just can't get a handle on it in a newsgroup.

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to solve your problem. If you do find out
what it was, let me know. If you can think of anything else I can do,
let me know, but I really really think you should take the machine to
someone local.

Best regards and good luck,

Malke
 
Malke, if I will ever figure out what happened to these icons and how to fix
them, I, certainly, will let you know. I think, this is a software problem,
not hardware, as it was with the old machine.
Thanks again.
Ilya
 
Back
Top