Topic: The Case of the Hidden Desktop

[Wizer22]

Hey there, just recently my computer started to behave very badly.  When arriving at the desktop after booting, all there is is the wallpaper and nothing else.  No icons, no taskbar, I can move the mouse pointer around but that is all.  Would anyone be able to help me solve this mystery?

Aside from that, there are other symptoms of a problem.

For example, in Device Manager under Network icon there are 6 NIC drivers, 1 of them is a Linksys driver that I need in order o use my cable internet but the others I have never seen before.  Up until 2 days ago I had no idea that they existed on my computer.  The names of the other NIC drivers are WAN IMPORT(PPTP), WAN IMPORT(IPX), WAN IMPORT(IP) etc.  

One other thing, in Task Manager it shows that my CPU Usage is 100%-which indicates a major malfunction with the system, particularly the CPU.  However, I am still able to launch programs from Task Manager>New Task so I don't think the CPU is in major damage.

Please, if anyone has any ideas as to what is going on I would appreciate the input.  Thank you.

Jason

[greenking]

Hi Jason  

I'm afraid all the techie ones have gone to bed but i'm sure one of them will sort your problem out in the morning.
They always sort mine out and I have more problems than most    
In fact i'm only still here because care in the community isnt working  

Rest assured you've come to the right place  

[Adept]

Hi Jason

A question first of all. Can you tell us what operating system you are using?

The WAN MINIPORT drivers usually only appear when the PC is started in safe mode. It seems to me that something is preventing your PC starting in normal Windows mode. The 100% CPU utilisation would suggest that a rogue program is running, potentially a virus of some kind. Do you have access to an up-to-date virus scanner?

My guess is that a virus is preventing the Explorer program from working correctly - hence no desktop.

It may also be worth checking your hard drive for errors. How you do that depends on which operating system you have.

[Wizer22]

Hi,

Greenking: I certainly hope so =]

Adept:  I am using Windows2000 professional.  I don't have a virus scanner at the moment.  What are your suggestions?

[Sandra]

Hi Jason, Do you get the option to use the Recovery Console before it boots into 2K ?
If so what happens after you try that ?

[Adept]

OK from Task Manager choose File | New Task and enter CMD in the "Open" dialog box that appears, overwriting anything else in that box. Press OK and the command prompt appears.

At the command prompt type chkdsk c: /f and press ENTER

Code: [Select]

<br />The type of the file system is NTFS.<br /><br />Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another<br />process.  Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first.<br />ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID.<br />Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N)<br />
Type N

Code: [Select]

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another<br />process.  Would you like to schedule this volume to be<br />checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
Type Y

When you reboot your PC, scandisk (chkdsk) will run before Windows boots, letting you know if you have any hard drive problems.

As for anti-virus software, I usually recommend AVG 6. There are other free a/v products available. Have a look in the "Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam & Firewall software" section of the forum for more reccommendations

[Wizer22]

Well, it seems that my nightmares have come true.

My computer is infected with a virus called win32 something.  The other day I downloaded a demo virus scanner and deleted some files and moved some others.  Needless to say, ALL of my programs are gone.  They weren't too important and at least my files are intact but I'm not sure where to go from here.  My computer seems to operating normal right now but I still haven't gotten rid of the virus yet.

[Adept]

If you can tell us the virus' exact name, we should be able to  give you some removal instructions

[Reno]

well i guess im a little more drastic. If all your progs are gone or disabled yet all your files are intact. Chances are your os is probably seriously corrupted by this point and theres the obvious possiblity theres more than one virus floating around. save as much as you can, find a win98 bootdisk, repartician and format. Don't forget when you get around to reinstalling windows make sure theres an antivirus prog on the machine when you reconnect to the net.