Virus from Limewire ... lost desktop and start menu

Argh... Ok .. the startups are good now but after restartng Ive lost the ability to access anything like My Comp from either the Start Menu or the Desktop.

I think I will just do a fresh installl.

 

Unless you're dead set on a fresh install, try this.
Scan again with HijackThis.
You will see entries similar to the ones below.

04 HKLM\\Run [BitDefender Antiphishing Helper]
04 HKLM\\Run [BDAgent]
04 HKLM\\Run [AGRSMMSG]
04 HKCU\\Run [ARSA]

Place a check next to each of those 4 entries and click Fix Checked.
Close HijackThis and reboot to see if the Start Menu works properly again.
If it does, open HijackThis and select View the list of backups.
Locate and select one of the 4 entries then Restore it.
Reboot and check the Start Menu.
Repeat if necessary.
You'll know when you find the culprit.
Let me know which it is.

 

Okay I did that ... no change at all after rebooting.

I cannot access any folders from the start menu or the Desktop.

Whe I try to access things like My Computer or My Documents from the Start menu I get the search/find instead.

When I try to access Folders from the Desktop by double clicking nothing happens.

Ugh...

 

Download folder_open.vbs by Doug Knox. Double click it to run it and see if it fixes that.

 

Oky, excellent! I can now open the folders on my desktop.

When I try to open something from the Start Menu it says: That file doesn't have a program that can handle it...and something about the Control Panel... or something similar as that's a rough translation from Danish.

 

Download and install SubInACL from Microsoft. Save it to the desktop, double click to run it (do not change it's default installation path). Nothing will be changed yet, I just need to know that you have successfully installed it. Let me know how that goes when you post back please.

 

Ok, I downloaded it and doubled clicked and got this error message: Couldn't open a ? to windows installer. This can happen if you are using windows in safe mode or if windows installer isn't installed properly.

Remember that's a rough translation, best I can figure. I get the same message when I try to reinstall my Bitdefender after finding it no longer runs.

 

Weird... even though I couldn't get that program to run now suddenly I can open all the folders on my Desktop! I think my laptop is possessed!

 

See if you can install WindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe
If succesful, try SubInACL again after rebooting.

 

I can't get it to install... I keep trying and it sems to be running through the install but then just hangs up and stalls.

Is there a guide somewhere online detailing how to wipe the hard drive and reinstall windows?

 

How to install XP

 

Thank you ...lots of good info. I still hav a problem though. I can't use the backup utility as suggested in the articles because I can't even figure out how to get to it and if I could I wouldn't be able tounderstand it in Danish. I really can't do much of anything when it comes to repairing due to the language problem. Actually, I'm not even very good at all this in English as you may have figured out by now.

So, I have XP Pro on this laptop in Danish. I want to switch over to regular XP. If I go ahead and do that and lose all my data I'm assuming I will also lose any and all drivers that are necessary to keep this thing functioning, correct?

I really, really want to be using an English OS and to get rid of all thee problems with not being able to open folders nd get different programs working.

Any thoughts on hat my options are? I wish there was a way to just switch the language. At least then I wouldn't feel at such a loss as to what I'm trying to acomplish.

 

I'm not sure I understand your reasoning for wanting to switch to an English based operating system. XP is XP, regardlesss of what language it's in. There are a few differences in the folder naming conventions, such as Desktop vs Skrivebord, but not much else. Now as far as third party programs having language support, I'm sure you know already there are many that do not. That should not prevent them from working though. They would just be displayed in English, or whatever other language they might support.

There is every chance that you might need drivers downloaded and saved to removable media for various things ....... graphics, sound, ethernet/modem, etc.

Did I see you create another topic concerning some possible hardware issues? Is that the same machine we've been trying to sort out?

 

Nope, thats my PC and that issue is resolved.

I want to switch to an English based OS bcuse I do not speak Danish fluently enough to actually navigate using this system let alone understand error messages.

I can't open folders, I cant run my antivirus and other programs and I cant understand the error messages Im getting. I cant understand anything in the control panel or how to change any settings. Would you really like to be using an OS in a language you cant understand?

It seems its going to be a big deal to change to English though.

 

Oh, I wasn't aware that Danish isn't your first language. In that case, get your hands on an English version of XP and do a clean installation. Ebay

 

Ok, I have the XP disk and I'm ready to do a clean install. BUT, I'm assuming I will lose all the drivers I need, right?

Is there anything I can do before I do the install so I won't lose them? I was thinking of running a search with the word "drivers" and then copying all that I find to a CD. Is that way too simplistic?

Can I possibly find the drivers online after I do the install, assuming I will be able to get online?

BTW - the laptop won't connect to the internet at all now I'm writing this from my PC.

 

You should be able to get the drivers from the manufacture's website. Download them to your desktop PC and use a flash drive to move them to the laptop after installing the new operating system. You could also try backing up the current drivers with a utility named WinDrivers backup. You would of course need to save those to the flash drive after backing them up.