[DWatson1225]

When I boot up I can't open any icon programs (explorer, winword, etc). I also try and go to start, then control panel and it won't start either. I was able to run Norton and no viruses were found. I look at processes in Window Task Manager and it shows iexplore.exe using 90+ of CPU. The system is very slow. Where do I start?

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Hi DWatson1225...

Click Start, then Run, type regedit and click "Ok". Does Registry Editor open?

If it opens, in the left pane, expand (click +) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SOFTWARE, then Microsoft, then Windows NT, then CurrentVersion, and click on Winlogon.

In the right pane, scroll down to Shell. Is the value (under the Data column) Explorer.exe?

[wannabe1]

Hi DWatson1225...

Click Start, then Run, type regedit and click "Ok". Does Registry Editor open?

If it opens, in the left pane, expand (click +) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SOFTWARE, then Microsoft, then Windows NT, then CurrentVersion, and click on Winlogon.

In the right pane, scroll down to Shell. Is the value (under the Data column) Explorer.exe?

[DWatson1225]

Yes , it shows value of explorer.exe.

It takes a while to open regedit as it did with msconfig.

[wannabe1]

Ok...let's check another one.

In Registry Editor, expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and click on .exe

The values in the right pane for this key should be as follows:

(Default) = exefile

Content Type = application/x-msdownload

Is this what you find there?

[DWatson1225]

Yes, both of those entries match as you asked.

[DWatson1225]

One thing I just tried - I was able to open Excel from Start , All programs menu but it took awhile to open and it took awhile to close.

[wannabe1]

Download and run HiJackThis. Save a log and attach it here for me. If you have problems attaching it, copy/paste it to the reply and I'll attach it. I'd like to see whats running on the machine...this will help me determine this.

[DWatson1225]

I can't open explorer to download hijackthis. I have been updating this log thru another computer.

[wannabe1]

Can you download it on the working machine and transfer using a floppy, cd, or flash drive?

[DWatson1225]

Made some progress. I can now open Explorer and Control Panel. Here is the Hijackthis log:

Attached Files

•  HJTlog.txt   9.2KB   130 downloads

[wannabe1]

Ouch!

Not what I was looking for, but you have a malware infection going on in there. We need to get that taken care of first off. It may even be the source of the problem.

Please go to the Malware Forum and follow the instructions found there.

That will give you several steps that will help you clean up 70 percent of all problems by yourself...then post a hijackthis log in THAT forum. Be patient, the Malware Forum is a very busy place and a two or three day wait is not unusual. DO NOT REPLY TO OR BUMP YOUR OWN LOG. If it shows a reply it may be overlooked as one that is being worked on.

If you are still having problems after getting a clean bill of health from the malware expert, please return to this thread.

wannabe1

[DWatson1225]

Thanks for your help. It will take me a few days as I will be traveling so I can't get to it until I get back but my daughter can at least use it now. I'll be in touch.

Thanks