[mamasa]

my wife tried to install software for a vr3 digital photo keychain into our dell desktop, running xp. the computer locked up, and when she restarted it, the desktop only had our wallpaper on it, no icons or bottom taskbar was visible. after hitting ctrl-alt-del, the task manager came up showing no applications running, but some processes were. we restarted in safe mode, and ran an anti-spyware/virus program. we used system restore to set it back, and it came back working ok. then, overnight, the computer must have restarted itself, because the next morning, the icons were gone again. i couldn't find all of the software installed, but tried to remove the "PHOTO VIEWER" program that the installation guide mentioned. In the control panel, when i clicked remove for that, it said that the windows installer could not remove the program- being in safe mode..... i can't remember the rest, so i couldn't remove the program. any help is sincerely appreciated!! i am posting this from my laptop, not sure if i can use email in safe mode from my desktop to email HJT logs to this computer to copy into here, but i'm more than willing to try.

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Try this:

Boot the computer normally. Open Task Manager and in the 'Applications' tab click on 'New Task'.

Type in "explorer.exe" without the quotes and click OK.

If the desktop icons and taskbar appear, try rebooting. If the icons and taskbar are again missing examine what else is loading at Startup that might be interfering with explorer.exe loading at boot.

Perform clean boot troubleshooting.

http://support.micro....aspx/kb/310353

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

Edited by Kniht, 28 April 2008 - 08:48 AM.

[Kniht]

Try this:

Boot the computer normally. Open Task Manager and in the 'Applications' tab click on 'New Task'.

Type in "explorer.exe" without the quotes and click OK.

If the desktop icons and taskbar appear, try rebooting. If the icons and taskbar are again missing examine what else is loading at Startup that might be interfering with explorer.exe loading at boot.

Perform clean boot troubleshooting.

http://support.micro....aspx/kb/310353

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

Edited by Kniht, 28 April 2008 - 08:48 AM.

[mamasa]

Can I do this in safe mode? when i boot it in normal mode, i don't have a start menu, or anything at all. I can't even do a contol/alt/delete and get any info.

I will try this when i get home and see if anything happens. thank you so much for the tip!!

[Kniht]

When you boot normal can you bring up 'Run' by pressing the Windows key + r? If so, type "msconfig" without the quotes and click OK. Follow the instructions on the links from there.

If the Windows key + r don't work in normal boot you can access msconfig in Safe Mode.

[mamasa]

when i did the ctrl-alt-del it came up and i entered the explorer.exe in new app, but nothing happened. i am in regular mode now, trying the windows r trick. so far, nothing is coming up.

[mamasa]

ok., as soon as i try to type anything on the keyboard, it locks up and i have to turn off the pc and restart.

when i restart, the first screen that comes up says keyboard failure. i have an old keyboard, should i try that one? we haven't had keyboard problems before this.

i can get the boot device menu, can i do anything from there?

i can get to safe mode, but it won't let me online or type anything.

[Kniht]

Go ahead and try the other keyboard. Try booting normal with the other keyboard. When changing keyboards be sure the PC is off.

May want to read this:

http://www.pcguide.c...rrGBER33-c.html

[mamasa]

i switched keyboards, didn't work. i still came up with nothing on the regular start.

i only get that keyboard failure if i try to boot in safe mode. maybe that's why? i don't know.

i am in regular mode, can get the task manager to come up, ran ctrl-alt-del and tried to enter explorer.exe as a new task, and it doesn't do anything. explorer.exe is on the process tab though.

the windows button with R does nothing at all.

i'm going to try to restart in safe mode, and try to get online again. it wouldn't let me last time, but it seems to have a mind of its own, and works sometimes and sometimes not at all. system restore has worked twice, but took three or four times of failing first.

i can't type anything with either keyboard, it locks up as soon as i try, in safe mode. it won't let me get to run in regular mode.

Edited by mamasa, 28 April 2008 - 12:51 PM.

[Kniht]

Boot into Safe Mode with networking.

[Kniht]

While in Safe Mode right click on My Computer and select 'Properties'.

Select 'Hardware' tab.

Click on 'Device Manager'.

In Device Manager look for a black exclamation point on yellow or red x. (possibly keyboard).

Double click on the device that has the exclamation mark to open the Device Properties.

Under 'Device Status' look for an error code and a description of the problem.

[mamasa]

there isn't anything next to any of the items on device manager. I am running a ccleaner - it found a lot of files in the cleaner and the registry. now i am doing another system restore......

well, scratch that. it lockd up as soon as i tried to type. had to shut down and start over. it seems like i can't do anything, even in safe mode, if it involves the keyboard. just started a system restore but it takes a long time to get it to work.

Edited by mamasa, 29 April 2008 - 02:06 PM.

[mamasa]

it just keeps getting worse! now i can't do a system restore, it said that it is turned off and to turn it back on in normal mode. i actually got it to that screen in normal mode, but then when i do it, nothing happens. so it still wont system restore.

i did get to type msconfig in normal mode, and in safe mode, using the onscreen keyboard. but i don't know what to do once i get there. you said to follow the links, but it comes up with several tabs on the top, and i'm not sure what i should do.

thanks again for the help!!!

[happyrock]

once you type in msconfig...click on the start tab...then uncheck everything...reboot...
no joy...
Running chkdsk on your Windows XP or 2000 system can repair minor Windows problems

There are several different methods that can be used to run chkdsk
start with this one.....

1. Click the Start button then... Run
2. In the Run window's Open box... type in ... cmd
3. Click OK and an MS-DOS-style black screen will appear in a new window
4. Run chkdsk by typing one of the the following commands where the cursor is blinking...
chkdsk c: /f /r and then press ...ENTER...

typing chkdsk c... /f /r will both fix errors and recover lost data. Running chkdsk with both the /f and /r options can often take a considerable amount of time depending upon the size of your hard drive and the amount of data stored on it

OR
chkdsk c: /f and then press ...ENTER...

Typing chkdsk c: /f will only fix errors that are encountered but its much faster


5. With either command, a message will appear that says...chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? <y/n>"
6. Type y (for "yes") and then press ...ENTER...
7. A message will appear that will say...This volume will be checked the next time the system restarts
8. Type exit and then press ...ENTER...
9. Reboot the computer as you normally would and chkdsk will automatically begin running after your reboot... While chkdsk is running you will see a light blue window with a dark blue band at the top and bottom. Chkdsk will display the specific stage it is checking as well as the percentage of completion of the stage.
You cannot do anything else on your computer while chkdsk is running. When chkdsk is finished, it will automatically reboot your computer.

[mamasa]

i tried that, it didn't do anything when it was finished.

i tried to reset it to let me do a system restore, but it locks up when i get to the point of restarting after telling it to enable system restore.

anything else i can try? thanks!

[happyrock]

i tried that, it didn't do anything when it was finished.

is this after running chkdsk..or after unchecking everything in the startup tab using msconfig..

please tell us what you try and what the results are...and be clear

can you borrow a usb keyboard to make sure its not the PS/2 keyboard port thats bad