explorer causing toolbar issues

i know issues with explorer in ME are common enough, but this one's got me puzzled...

recently, the toolbar has started becoming completely unresponsive if i do not use it for 5-10 minutes; the quick start icons do not highlight, the taskbar menus don't work and even the clock 'stops'. programs other than windows/internet explorer are unaffected during this time [if i try and load either explorer however, the system normally eventually blue-screens]. changing desktop background settings also causes problems after an 'attack'.

when i spot an attack, i can just press ctrl-alt-del, end task on explorer and after the display refreshes all is fine again. however, as this happens every five minutes, you can guess how annoying this is becoming.

so far, i have:

i. deactivated active desktop
ii. run windows update [the attacks started fairly soon after a previous update however...(but foolishly didn't set system restore point before)]
iii. run two separate virus scans with new dat profiles
iv. run adaware
v. run norton windows checker, repaired all registry problems that it came up with

... and it's still happening.

i'm currently using my computer heavily and really don't want to reinstall windows and all my programs unless absolutely necessary.

so that's your challenge - anyone got any ideas for quick fixes? all suggestions will be appreciated and welcomed.

many thanks in advance.

 

The way registry fixers like Norton windows checker work is that they have a database of expected registry entries and dll files based on software which they have had submitted or tested. They compare what you have to what the database expects. Anything which does not match is an "error" and it fixes them by deleting them. The problem occurs when you update windows and it now has different entries and files , until the database is updated, it can damage windows by deleting the new entries. The same applies to programs , if they are not on the list of tested programs , or if you have a newer version, then you can cause damage. You should always be very careful when running these and examine each "problem" it finds and only have it fix those you know are having problems.

If you had system restore running you could try restoring and see if that solves it. ME does not use the normal system file checker opting instead for a state manager which is part of system restore.
This makes checking for and replacing missing or damaged files difficult.

I hate to suggest th is, but it Might be time to back up your data and do a clean install.