[Wombaticus Rex]

Perhaps I'm just assuming the two problems are connected, but at first, Internet Explorer would open up, then close without a word. I've run a lot of ad-spy-malware and cleared out a ton of programs, and now Internet Explorer will open and say it's encountered an error and needs to close.

However, AIM and MSN messenger both work fine, so I had a friend send me Mozilla FireFox, which installed fine. Upon opening, it just idles --- blank screen with the icon in the upper right hand corner spinning around. This lasts for as long as the program is open.

During the course of trying to fix this, several times I encounter the following message at startup:

"Explorer.exe - Application Error

The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click on OK to terminate the application."

I'm not complaining, because with no desktop icons or taskbar, I can use Process Explorer to open Internet Explorer and get onto this forum to ask for help. Has anyone encountered this problem? Is this common?

Any help would be vastly appreciated.

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This is not common, and should not happen at all. Since you can get it working for a bit, download Internet Explorer 6 here:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/ie6.html

Even if you have it already, reinstall it. This will hopefully fix the problem. If not, we will scan for viruses and other problems. Let me know the results.

[computerwiz12890]

This is not common, and should not happen at all. Since you can get it working for a bit, download Internet Explorer 6 here:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/ie6.html

Even if you have it already, reinstall it. This will hopefully fix the problem. If not, we will scan for viruses and other problems. Let me know the results.

[Wombaticus Rex]

^^Well, I just clicked that and it told me I've got a newer version already on the computer. Also, I just got the Mozilla Firefox running, so should I just eliminate IE altogether?

[computerwiz12890]

If Mozilla works, then yes use it. It is more secure anyway. But don't uninstall IE, since other programs may require it.

Edited by computerwiz12890, 31 October 2005 - 06:16 PM.

[kd1966]

This to me sounds like some malware has affected the operation of IE....... I have seen similar problems caused by malware, but they don't affect FF or Opera. You cannot altogether "eliminate" IE from your OS, but you may be able to repair it.

[Wombaticus Rex]

So my problem is that Mozilla works because Explorer.exe didn't load. So I have fully functional internet but no desktop icons or taskbar.

[computerwiz12890]

Then it would be best if you got your computer checked out by a malware expert in the Malware Forum. After going through a cleaning process from an expert, all your problems should be fixed. Just be very descriptive and provide as much info about your problem as you can to the expert. The more info the better we can help.

[kd1966]

No, Explorer.exe is different from IE, but they are tied together in the XP OS.......... so you have a WINDOWS Explorer problem, that can be "repaired" as well. I'm reading back a bit here and it looks like your situation may require a "repair" installation to fix the Explorer.exe problem, which is why your desktop icons and taskbar are fubar'd

[computerwiz12890]

I'm inclined to agree with kd1966, since I'm not a senior member and I'm still learning. You will need a XP CD to do the repair. Insert the CD and then reboot your computer. This will allow you to choose to repair your XP installation.