Resolved Windows File Manager Inoperative

Last night I installed a new Logitech G502 gaming mouse. Had to download the driver & update to get it to work plus spend over two hour looking thru articles to find any information pertaining to game profile setup.

While I was setting it up, I decided to undo one of the games & deleted the profile. When I went to use file explorer to delete the old game, it was inoperative. The window showing all the files would not open. Opened task manager & it showed an instance of windows explorer running. Used task manager to end the task, then clicked file and start a new instance of file explorer.
This restarted file explorer successfully, but it was still inoperative. Downloaded & installed Altap Salamander file manager to navigate about the files & disks.

I then deleted the mouse driver and tried to use a restore point. Found out that my restore points disappeared. Going thru the troubleshooting options revealed that windows could not find my backup image which Salamander revealed was on a separate HD where I saved it. Then tried going into a safe boot, but the machine just shut off.

As far as I can tell, windows is still working. Games & programs are functioning. Wordpad is inoperative, but notepad & notepad ++ are operational. Windows defender found no threats other than what it removed around Feb 26. No suspicious activity at time of incident.

Came here to get proper guidance on repairing this problem and am glad I did. I was about to use the MSconfig safe boot option until I read he warning in the tutorial. Thanx for the heads-up.

Up to this point I ran the DISM/Online/Cleanup. It reported as completing successfully. Alas, file explorer & safe boot still are inoperative. (Log files available if needed). I did not try accessing repair disk.

Considering I cannot use safeboot, I am in need of professional guidance.

I apologize if this is posted in the wrong forum. I read in the tute that this could also be caused by malware. Could a moderator place this in the proper forum if warranted.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated....

Quick update:

Found another way into system restore. Made two attempts. One restore point dated 3/7 & the other 2/28. Both failed. It could not access a file with an unspecified error (0x80070005). Defender was turned off.
At approximately the same time as the problem appeared windows update created two restore points for ms visual C ++ 2013 redistributable (x86 & x64) on 3/8 around 10 pm.

Have exhausted all my options & will await further instructions........

 

Hi OleGreyGhost, This suggests Malware may be the problem. https://support.microsoft.com/en-nz...indows-update-when-you-try-to-install-updates

 

Thank you for the for pointing me in the right direction. I double checked my updates & restore points. It seems when I installed the mouse & driver a restore point was not created. I also remembered some critical updates from mid February during my analysis of the problem.

I went back through the restore app & found the set of critical updates of ms visual c ++ that were installed. Initiated the restore process from this time period.

When I rebooted the machine, voila, everything was back to normal. Explorer was displaying the files & drives plus word pad would now function.

Ran the update process to re-download any updates & sort everything out. Also, re-installed the mouse & driver. As a final test I had defender perform one more full scan which showed, as before, there weren't any threats found in the system.

So far, everything appears to be functioning normally. So, barring any re-appearance of the problem, I will mark this as solved.

Regards.....

 

Good to know you're back in business. You'll see quite a number of us use MBAM to keep an eye on Malware.
Might be worth considering. Free Cyber Security & Anti-Malware Software

 

That is a part of my regimen also. Picked that up from senior member posts.

Usually it entails a daily AV quick scan, weekly full scan, monthly adware (spybot) scan & quarterly is for MBAM. Prudence suggests an early scan just to be on the safe side. Will only return to this post if any problems are found.

Thanks again.......