 Explorer will not Start,WIN ME |
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 Mar 25 2008, 02:10 PM
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 33 Joined: 8-December 06 Member No.: 100,240  |
QUOTE(raw @ Mar 24 2008, 07:34 PM)  You'll need a boot floppy (if it has floppy drive) At the command line type: scanreg /restore and you should be able to restore to an earlier point. Aside from that Windows might just be too corrupt and needs to be re-installed (does he have the ME install disk?) Maybe a good time to give a Linux LiveCD a shot and look through the Windows system logs. HTH I am having a similar problem on my ME operating system computer where Explorer won't start on initial boot up. It will after power down and restore, but the operating system automatically triggers a scan disk first. Sounds like a similar related problem to me, don't you agree? Why would a reinstall of the ME operating system work? Wouldn't that erase everything, including my saved data on the hard drives? You mention the Windows system logs. What are these and where do I find them on the computer? richie |
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Mar 25 2008, 05:39 PM
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#2
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 Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 243 Joined: 25-January 07 Member No.: 108,272 |
QUOTE(richie78 @ Mar 25 2008, 07:10 PM) I am having a similar problem on my ME operating system computer where Explorer won't start on initial boot up. Explorer starts when Windows starts on all operating system. For a quick check Run: Msconfig and look in the Startup tab, it shown say Windows Explorer, C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE. If it doesn't then its been removed from the registry. To put it back in the registry Run: Regedit goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run You should see an list of all applications that run when Windows starts up. Right-click on a blank area on the right-hand pain and select New String Value and name it Windows Explorer. Now double-click on Windows Explorer and add C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE into the Value data and click OK. Do a restart and see what happens. 
-------------------- Keith
http://www.martin2k.co.uk/forums I've been programming with VB for 12 years. Started with VB4 16bit Pro, VB5 Pro, VB6 Pro/Enterprise and now VB3 Pro. But I'm no expert, I'm still learning. |
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Mar 25 2008, 06:01 PM
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 Bleeping Hacker Group: BC Advisor Posts: 1,859 Joined: 14-April 04 From: Texas Member No.: 151 |
Windows has the ability to reinstall itself and
just overwrite the OS files while leaving all your "stuff". Of course your programs such as Antivirus and such will need to be reinstalled also, but the existing files will still be there. Log files are in C:\ Bootlog.txt Detlog.txt -------------------- |
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Mar 25 2008, 07:13 PM
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 33 Joined: 8-December 06 Member No.: 100,240 |
QUOTE(raw @ Mar 25 2008, 07:01 PM) Windows has the ability to reinstall itself and just overwrite the OS files while leaving all your "stuff". Of course your programs such as Antivirus and such will need to be reinstalled also, but the existing files will still be there. Log files are in C:\ Bootlog.txt Detlog.txt Thanks for the info. I became a little confused when I spoke to a technician GEEK at the local Best Buy. I must have misunderstood hime when he explained that I would loose all my data if I reloaded my ME Operating System. I don't know if reloading the ME OS will do any good in correcting my current frustrating problems. Any thoughts about the effectiveness of a reload? Richie |
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Mar 25 2008, 09:01 PM
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Bleeping Hacker Group: BC Advisor Posts: 1,859 Joined: 14-April 04 From: Texas Member No.: 151 |
My thoughts are this:
A reload will usually fix the OS problems, but if they were caused by something (malware, virus,etc) it will still be on the drive and most likely resurface and cause more problems. Another suggestion is this: Download a Linux LiveCD version (I use PCLinuxOS) and use it to backup all your important files (pics,docs, whatever) and do a complete reformat and reinstall of Windows. If you decide to go that route you get help in the Linux section of this board. -------------------- |
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Mar 25 2008, 11:38 PM
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 33 Joined: 8-December 06 Member No.: 100,240 |
QUOTE(raw @ Mar 25 2008, 10:01 PM) My thoughts are this: A reload will usually fix the OS problems, but if they were caused by something (malware, virus,etc) it will still be on the drive and most likely resurface and cause more problems. Another suggestion is this: Download a Linux LiveCD version (I use PCLinuxOS) and use it to backup all your important files (pics,docs, whatever) and do a complete reformat and reinstall of Windows. If you decide to go that route you get help in the Linux section of this board. I remembered that ME has a restore function and I tried that. Successfully restored to a point about a week ago when everything was working right. Right now everything is working the way it's supposed to. You could be right about the problem being in a file of malware, a virus , or such, that is stored on the harddrive as a file of some sort. And my problems could resurface. I hope that isn't going to be the case, because I don't want to have to go thru the process you describe, because there really is no way that I'd be certain that the malware isn't imbedded in one of the data files that I choose to backup. Oh well,,,, richie |
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Mar 26 2008, 08:11 AM
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#7
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Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 243 Joined: 25-January 07 Member No.: 108,272 |
QUOTE(richie78 @ Mar 26 2008, 04:38 AM) You could be right about the problem being in a file of malware, a virus , or such, that is stored on the harddrive as a file of some sort. And my problems could resurface. I hope that isn't going to be the case, because I don't want to have to go thru the process you describe, because there really is no way that I'd be certain that the malware isn't imbedded in one of the data files that I choose to backup. Thats the beauty of using Uninstall Manager  but in your case its a bit too late because you don't know what files that have been installed without your knowledge. I've been using it for 5 years its the best app you will ever install for Windows, and it doesn't cost much. Which virus checker are you using?
-------------------- Keith
http://www.martin2k.co.uk/forums I've been programming with VB for 12 years. Started with VB4 16bit Pro, VB5 Pro, VB6 Pro/Enterprise and now VB3 Pro. But I'm no expert, I'm still learning. |
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Mar 26 2008, 01:25 PM
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#8
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Member Group: Members Posts: 33 Joined: 8-December 06 Member No.: 100,240 |
QUOTE(Keithuk @ Mar 26 2008, 08:11 AM) QUOTE(richie78 @ Mar 26 2008, 04:38 AM) You could be right about the problem being in a file of malware, a virus , or such, that is stored on the harddrive as a file of some sort. And my problems could resurface. I hope that isn't going to be the case, because I don't want to have to go thru the process you describe, because there really is no way that I'd be certain that the malware isn't imbedded in one of the data files that I choose to backup. Thats the beauty of using Uninstall Manager but in your case its a bit too late because you don't know what files that have been installed without your knowledge. I've been using it for 5 years its the best app you will ever install for Windows, and it doesn't cost much. Which virus checker are you using? Hello Keith, I just got AVG running on the computer this morning. and I'm glad I decided to do it. Apparently I've been infected with a Trojan Horse, whatever that is. AVG is still running and I'm doing a complete scan, so I don't know the full infection yet. And I'm even more puzzled about what to do about the Trojan Horse. Any suggestions??? I noticed that the reference you gave has an entension of ".url". I've begun to notice that some downloads also have this extension. Just what is it and what does it do? richie |
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Mar 26 2008, 04:10 PM
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#9
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Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 243 Joined: 25-January 07 Member No.: 108,272 |
QUOTE(richie78 @ Mar 26 2008, 06:25 PM) And I'm even more puzzled about what to do about the Trojan Horse. Any suggestions??? Well a Trojan horse or just Trojan is the context of computing and software, a Trojan horse, or simply trojan, is a piece of software which appears to perform a certain action but in fact performs another such as a computer virus. Contrary to popular belief, this action, usually encoded in a hidden payload, may or may not be actually malicious, but Trojan horses are notorious today for their use in the installation of backdoor programs. Simply put, a Trojan horse is not a computer virus. Unlike such malware, it does not propagate by self-replication but relies heavily on the exploitation of an end-user (see Social engineering). It is instead a categorical attribute which can encompass many different forms of codes. Therefore, a computer worm or virus may be a Trojan horse. The term is derived from the classical story of the Trojan Horse. In the field of computer architecture, 'Trojan Horse' can also refer to security loopholes that allow kernel code to access anything for which it is not authorized. QUOTE(richie78 @ Mar 26 2008, 06:25 PM) I noticed that the reference you gave has an entension of ".url". I've begun to notice that some downloads also have this extension. Just what is it and what does it do? I'm not sure what you mean by ".url" extension? The link I posted was http://www.samsunsegman.com/um/ so where is the url? Uninstall Manager scans your hard drive for a list of its contents, file wise. The next time you run it, it will tell you what extra files have been added and tell you the file, location, date and time. So have to decide if you want to keep these files or send them to the Recycle bin. You can set it to forget certain folders that are constantly been updated e.g. Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, Recent Documents etc This way you will notice what as been installed without your knowledge while you have been surfing. You can also do a System Restore. As I said its a bit late in your case because you don't know what as been installed without your knowledge. Just do a full virus check and see what it picks up.
-------------------- Keith
http://www.martin2k.co.uk/forums I've been programming with VB for 12 years. Started with VB4 16bit Pro, VB5 Pro, VB6 Pro/Enterprise and now VB3 Pro. But I'm no expert, I'm still learning. |
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Mar 26 2008, 08:57 PM
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#10
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Member Group: Members Posts: 33 Joined: 8-December 06 Member No.: 100,240 |
QUOTE(richie78 @ Mar 26 2008, 06:25 PM) I noticed that the reference you gave has an entension of ".url". I've begun to notice that some downloads also have this extension. Just what is it and what does it do? Keith, you answered: "I'm not sure what you mean by ".url" extension? The link I posted was http://www.samsunsegman.com/um/ so where is the url?" Must have mixed up my messages about the ".url", Keith. But I've noticed a number of files that I've downloaded have that type extension added to the file, ie, XXXX.exe.url. When is see these files that I want to save, I have been just erasing the ".url" and saving the file as an".EXE" file. I don't know if this matters much at all tho, because the programs seem to operate all right. richie This post has been edited by richie78: Mar 26 2008, 09:03 PM |
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Mar 27 2008, 07:47 AM
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#11
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Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 243 Joined: 25-January 07 Member No.: 108,272 |
QUOTE(richie78 @ Mar 27 2008, 01:57 AM) Must have mixed up my messages about the ".url", Keith. But I've noticed a number of files that I've downloaded have that type extension added to the file, ie, XXXX.exe.url. When is see these files that I want to save, I have been just erasing the ".url" and saving the file as an".EXE" file. I don't know if this matters much at all tho, because the programs seem to operate all right. A file with a url extension is a web link, internet short-cut but you don't see the url extension if you look at the files in your Favorites. When you download any file of the web it knows the file type and it will give its own extension, zip, exe, jpg or what ever. If it says its a zip file don't give it an exe extension and visa versa.
-------------------- Keith
http://www.martin2k.co.uk/forums I've been programming with VB for 12 years. Started with VB4 16bit Pro, VB5 Pro, VB6 Pro/Enterprise and now VB3 Pro. But I'm no expert, I'm still learning. |
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