[forgotten username]

I'm getting a problem on my computer running windows 98 SE. The computer hangs whenever I boot it up after I log in. The desktop comes up, I see the start menu and right around the time I'd expect programs to start loading all I get is nothing. I can check the task manager and the only visible process running is explorer, which is not responding..

Just before this started happening I had run a virus scan and detected (and deleted) r.exe - not sure if it's part of the cause of this.

I can boot in safe mode but I can't use explorer to search around my machine or I get the same problem there. I can use AVG antivirus, which I've done. I can use regedit which I have to clean up the remnants of spyware I can find. I can boot to the command line to handle file deletions and the like. But every time I try to boot up normally, I continue to get the same problem.

Any help?

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try run > explorer.exe. anything?

[dsenette]

try run > explorer.exe. anything?

[forgotten username]

From what, safe mode?

I see the explorer task running when I boot into safe mode normally.
I just tried running explorer.exe from the run option in the start menu (from safe mode) and I don't see a difference in the task manager but it for all intents and purposes the system is now hung. I got the cursor+hourglass mouse icon when I hovered over the task bar and I just right clicked on a desktop icon and now I have an hourglass over the desktop as well.

:?

Edited by forgotten username, 26 July 2005 - 12:06 PM.

[forgotten username]

... and after letting it sit like that for a while, the task is now showing as [Not Responding]

[Tyger]

Do you have System Monitor and can you see what the processor is doing? Is it running at 100% or is it frozen? Sysmon shoud be in system tools.

[forgotten username]

I can't run sysmon. Well, booting up normally, I can't run anything. If I try from safe mode I get the same behavior as I did trying to run explorer.exe.

[forgotten username]

So is there just nothing I can do short of reformatting?

I was actually going to upgrade my system anyway; was planning on cannibalizing this one for parts but there's still a few things I wanted to backup before I wiped the drive. Nothing too terribly important, so I can live with a reformat, but wanted to check here before I did anything like that.