no windows explorer?

[glic83]

ok i was asked to look a friends computer it was totally ****ed,all that came up on start up was a control centre (malware display) nothing else anyway eventually got rid of this with malwarebits but when the computer starts all he gets is the destop backround,no shortcuts, no start button,keyboard short cuts dont work etc to do anything you have to go into task manager and go from there,ive been in system restore and he didnt have it set up so thats that out plus the malware would probably have been in there also,can this be fixed or will he need to re install xp?

[smoggy]

if you go into task manager and select new task and open explorer.exe does it all come back as it should be

[energjia]

try to repair not to re install first

[glic83]

no mate i get nothing,it doesnt work for me there but i can work it in safe mode

[smoggy]

the symptoms appear to be similar as explorer not starting when you have booted up but if you have run it in task manager it rules that out.
as suggested by by energjia a repair may be the best option.
check here How-to repair Windows XP

but I would wait a while to see if anyone else has any better ideas

[satsmo]

I had a similar problem a while back, you can give this a go, along with the other advice given by the lads above.

Back up your registry first and then follow below:

1. Start > Run , type in 'regedit' (without the quotes of course) in the search box .

2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.

3. In Winlogon, on the right side, there should be a value called "Shell". Double click this value. Make sure only "Explorer.exe" is the value of Shell, if anything else is there, simply delete it and leave 'Explorer.exe'.

4. Restart Windows and cross your fingers.

[smoggy]

I had a similar problem a while back, you can give this a go, along with the other advice given by the lads above.

Back up your registry first and then follow below:

1. Start > Run , type in 'regedit' (without the quotes of course) in the search box .

2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.

3. In Winlogon, on the right side, there should be a value called "Shell". Double click this value. Make sure only "Explorer.exe" is the value of Shell, if anything else is there, simply delete it and leave 'Explorer.exe'.

4. Restart Windows and cross your fingers.

thats what I was going to suggest if the running of explorer.exe in task manager worked as that is what happened to me a good while ago as the registry edit is doing the same thing as far as I know

[glic83]

checked high and low,explorer.exe is no where to be seen id say a fresh install is needed,there wasnt anything in th registry satsmo,he had that control centre malware as well as a host of other viruses so ive done all i can

[satsmo]

Sorry to hear that sometimes after a bad infection a repair, (at the least), or a reformat is recommended.

Best get him a better AV and keep him away from those dodgy sites

[glic83]

,fresh start is best he has 3 kids so id say it was 1 of them but oh well cheers anyway lads

[cunny]

Sound ~~~~ed to me. I would reinstal windows or restore to previous date. Best to format as if its virus related it will ensure its gone

[thebigman26]

ok again easy fix destop icons missing? click on the desktop and go to icons then show icons or google it theres a guide there too

[glic83]

i just put a version of xp pro on it instead and did a full format of hers hard drive so its all good