BleepingComputer.com: my computer will not run any programs and I do not know why

My problem, quite simply, is that the computer simply will not run any programs. I've tried firefox, aol instant messenger, windows media player, microsoft word, and internet explorer, among others.

when double clicked, these programs will display on the screen, but they never resolve. For instance, Firefox will display a window on screen, but it will be unable to connect to the internet, instead showing a window saying that the server is taking too long to respond at the website i've selected.

When i double click on a WMP file, the program displays, but it is always "searching for media," and it never plays the program.

When I try to close them so that I can reopen them, then the program will not leave the display. In other words, firefox will not leave my screen; the cursor arrow simply becomes an hourglass.

If I open the task manager to stop firefox (or really any program) through the task manager, nothing happens. the program remains on the screen and the task manager shows that it is still running. If I open the program a second time, then I can at least turn that off by using the task manager, though a second display window for the program (in firefoxes case, a second firefox window) does not appear.

Does anyone have any idea as to what this problem could be?

Did you try system restore?

Yes, I did. The message I got was that Windows could not restore because "no significant changes had taken place between the restore date and today's date," or words to that effect.

Go Start>Run ("Start Search" in Vista/7), type in:
sfc /scannow
Click OK (hold CTRL, and SHIFT, hit Enter in Vista/7).
Have Windows CD/DVD handy (with Vista/7, most likely, you won't need it).
If System File Checker (sfc) will find any errors, it may ask you for the CD/DVD (rarely in Vista/7 case).

How long should this scan take?

Quote

Usually the message that is displayed after an unsuccessful attempt to restore that says no changes were made does not mean that no changes had been made prior the restore attempt, it just means that system restore was unsuccessful so no changes were made to your system by that restoration attempt.

Often times it takes trying several different dates before one finds a date that works.

This post has been edited by Stang777: 27 May 2010 - 01:34 PM