Win Explorer (not IE), Search abruptly Quits.

[Me]

Win XP Pro, Win Explorer (not IE), Search, Quicken, and
other made for XP applications. abruptly Quits without
any error message (no message at all), no warning of any
type and no dump file.

I have been working with MS tech support but we have not
been able to correct this issue. I have check for
viruses, bad drivers and devices, memory chips, etc.

If you have any resonalbe advice, I am willing to try it!

 

[cquirke]

Win XP Pro, Win Explorer (not IE), Search, Quicken, and
other made for XP applications. abruptly Quits without
any error message (no message at all), no warning of any
type and no dump file.

I have been working with MS tech support but we have not
been able to correct this issue. I have check for
viruses, bad drivers and devices, memory chips, etc.

If you have any resonalbe advice, I am willing to try it!

Could be malware that has hi-jacked the .exe -> exefile
association (tho why IE should be spared is an od question).

I know there's a recent malware that fakes an error when
you run apps it disapproves of (such as Regedit). If you
can run Regedit, look at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and see that
..exe points to exefile, and that exefile command line is
just "%1 %*" (it will have extra quotes around one of the
two, can't remember which; the important thing is no file
name or command before the "%1")

The other possibility that crosses the mind is a deranged
av (try Safe Mode) that scans the code file before it is
run, but goes nuts and aborts the run. Not something I've
ever seen in practice, but could happen if something (such
as malware) disrupts the av.