My computer folder won't load + other problems

Hey guys, new to the forums here. I am sorry for bypassing the introductions et al. but I have a tremendous problem here and I need urgent help. I have (duh) Windows 7.

I have a fairly old laptop that has never given me any issues, however, tonight, I tried utilizing VLC to convert a video file from .MOV to an apparent .asf. I cancelled the conversion mid-way due to the fact that I was unaware of how the process was undergoing. After this, I did it again and though the convertion was "finished" VLC crashed and the program had to be terminated.

Now these .asf files are giving me issues. The primary issue however is that onyl after these files were converted did these problems start, but I have no idea how they are related.

1. I cannot delete these files. Not only this, but if I do try to even interact with them in any way short of simply clicking on them, they trigger the problems below:
2. My computer folder won't load. And by extension, windows explorer seems to be messing up overall. Upon reboot, everything is fine for a while, but eventually the problem will surface and not only does "My Computer" not load, but other folders stop loading. I cannot open any other folders and little magnifying glass icons display over the "Documents" and "Libraries" folders on the left-hand menu, which is what has replaced my libraries/recent folders/computer menus.

And that is about the gyst of it. Thankfully it does not seem to have anything to do with my hard drive as all my files besides the .asf files open properly with no issues. I have done what was specified in this thread which is disabling all non-microsoft services, and as of the making of this thread everything seems to work in order, but I'd like to know if any of you have any idea what this problem might have been caused by. I have had zero issues with this computer up until this point and I would hate to have to force an upgrade due to this event, which could not have come at a worse time.

Thanks to all of you for your help.

 

Hi dantelop, Welcome to WindowsBBS. I can only suggest trying a System Restore for your problem and see if you can redo your work without interruption as you said you stopped the task halfway and this may be the cause. Neil.