[WINDOWS PROBLEM] No programs are opening

[SOLVED] (Windows problem) No programs are opening

PROBLEM RESOLVED

Thanks to everyone who has contributed.I couldn't have moved an inch without your support:

dashing.sujay
Neuron
Tech&ME
s18000rpm
MatchBoxx
Sam
mithun_mrg
Liverpool_fan
Zangetsu
TheMost

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ORIGINAL POST

I just ran a virus scan, Avast, and it did a second "reboot scan" or something like that. After that when I booted my PC, I found that I could't open chrome, soon I realised I can't open any other program be it firefox, itunes, utorrent, garena client, vlc videos, WM Player or any program for that matter.

However IE is working for some reason. Also I can open jpg files. I am really worried as I don't remember doing a system restore point and also haven't backed up my files to do a clean install again.

During the virus scan, I selected "delete" for the files that had been detected. I am not sure if this was the reason. There were about three such files needing deletion.

:-(

Anyone?

Well, deleting virus infected-files should not be responsible for your problem. Before doing anything I'd suggest you to do a full scan with any good AV such as Kaspersky or Eset. If you are unable to install them, download Kaspersky's bootable cd and scan with it by booting from it. I guess the problem is due to some virus only which your AV, avast couldnt remove due to some reason. Once i came across a virus which disabled Kaspersky and i was in a condition like what to do :-?

So first do a boot time scan with it and see what happens.

I don't remember doing a system restore point

PS- What do you actually mean by it? You don't remeber how to do or...? :-?

Even system restore failed. It says the anti-virus needs to be disabled for that. But I can't even open the AV now.

Also the bottom right row of icons has suddenly reduced to just the bluetooth, realtek audio, and win update. The rest of the icons in the tab are missing.

hmm I guessed sys restore wouldnt work. Anyways, but I'd really recommend you to try the kaspersky boot cd scanning. I have came across some viruses which dont let me open any single file, neither to install!! So, give it a try.

Hmm what exactly is kapersky boot cd scan?

I have a copy of kapersky from a friend. Now what do I do next?

you mean kapersky rescue disk? I am DLing it right now.

kaspersky rescue disk

Yeah. I'm suggesting it becoz Kaspersky has got one of the highest detection rate for viruses. And if Kasprsky can't, then i seriously wonder who'll.

Most of the programs show stopped in mscongfig

I guess you are reffering to services. Yeah, its obvious if so many programs are not working, services are ought to be stopped by virus. Just do a boot scan from that rescue cd and if all goes well, you'll be happy. But i seriously feel, if removal of all viruses will bring back windows to its original state. You may need to "repair" your OS after that, but that shouldnt be a problem as it wont threat your data.

I am burning the disk now. Also how to boot from the disk? What do I need to do?

Well KAV rescue disk is bootable by default. You dont need to make it bootable AFAIK.

Ok then doing a reboot now. See ya in a while

Thanks for the help sujay. Really appreciate it.

Anytime bro

I'm also off for a while, till then post your result. gL

I am unable to boot from the disk. I tried about 5 times now.

First few times I tried normally and waited for it to boot by itself like you said. Then I went to the EFI menu (newer BIOS) and chose to boot from the disk and it still loads Windows. Tried this thrice.

:-(

I feel pathetic. This is a PC i love more than anything else. :-(

Check this link: Downloadable Computer Repair CDs | Technibble

@ sarath i think ur pc was infected with win32sality ur best bet is to install norton or kaspersky perform a complete scan backup ur files & reinstall the os

Sarath said:
I am unable to boot from the disk. I tried about 5 times now.

First few times I tried normally and waited for it to boot by itself like you said. Then I went to the EFI menu (newer BIOS) and chose to boot from the disk and it still loads Windows. Tried this thrice.

I feel pathetic. This is a PC i love more than anything else.

Check this- How to record Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 to a CD/DVD and boot my computer from the disk?

Kaspersky rescue disks are made to boot by self, i don't know why yours not booted. Did you download it from kaspersky's site? If no, do it from there.

PS- If everything fails booting from that cd, try Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool and scan your PC in safe mode.

Sarath said:
During the virus scan, I selected "delete" for the files that had been detected. I am not sure if this was the reason. There were about three such files needing deletion.

perhaps this may be the reason the programs r not opening...

scan with other anti virus such as Bitdefender or Avira..

& then re-install the programs which were not opening.

First try burning the kaspersky image at lower speed, preferably at 4x speed.
This kind of thing happened to me, but the reason was ccleaner's registry cleaner.

Luckily I had tune up utility, only its One Click Maintenance saved the day for me.
That to I had to run from task manager (file-run).
Btw, Why not try scanning in safe mode?

T

Best solution would be to boot with a linux live cd, take backup of all your important files and data, then reinstall the windows OS ( fresh and clean install )

I burnt a the DVD-RW at 4x which was the only option.
Then I burnt a CD at 10x although the max was 16. Even the CD didn't work.

trying to install Kapersky Virus removal tool also didn't work. I think none of the .exe files can be executed. Nothing that exists already works.

I am worried as to how to backup the contents. Wont connecting a external drive corrupt/infect the ext drive too? I will try the linux method. Booting into the Kapersky disk has failed for the 12th time today despite selecting it in the EFI menu.

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UPDATE:

I entered safe mode and did a system restore and it worked. I am not able to open most of the programs except AV.

Task Manager still shows many processes are stopped. Also Avast is disabled and on an attempt to enable it it promts that a program is trying to stop it.
Installing Kapersky also failed or didn't initiate and hanged my PC.

All in all I am sure that my PC is still infected.

Backup: Backing up my data is my main problem. Since it is infected, how can I safely transfer/back up my data into a portable HDD? Wont the virus infect the HDD also and then

Thanks everyone for your help. I am having sleepless nights because of this.

^^ Did you go through that help page of kaspersky ? Did you download the image from kaspersky site? I really dont know what could be the problem behind cd not booting. :-?

Anyways, the last option left is Linux thing, except full format(which is not an option here). Go ahead and tell us what happens.

And yeah, of course your ext hdd will for sure be affected. But you can scan it with a good AV such as KAV after you do a fresh install with full format. But why to take risk, first try linux method, if it fails, then back up the data.

About the kapersky rescue disk. I have followed everything to the point. yet it doesn't boot on any of my PCs so I must have done something wrong.

Is there a special program to create bootable disks. I did not use any burning SW; I used the windows default method of burning by simply "right-clicking" and selecting "send to DVD drive" and then go to the DVD in My Computer and hit burn file.

If the method is right then I have no idea why it is not booting. I will try one last time.

Right now I am trying to install that Kapersky SW link you gave me up there. I will try installing that and run a scan.

If that fails then I will try the Linux method you guys suggested. Although honestly I didn't really understand that part. But more on that later.

If all fails then I will copy a few important files and do a clean (and painful) OS install.

I used the windows default method of burning by simply "right-clicking" and selecting "send to DVD drive" and then go to the DVD in My Computer and hit burn file.

This seems doubtful. I'm not sure, but hell, you tried 12 times, and you never did this once with nero? :-o

Give it a try for sure, and I'm pretty sure this is the reason why your cd wasn't able to boot up. BTW you can make any easy cd bootable through nero. Option is there. Also, you can make a pen drive bootable. I suggest you to make a spare 1GB/2GB/any small size mem card with Hiren's boot cd installed on it. It helps a LOT. Plus no tention to boot. I have done this to tackle with any emergency case.
As for Kaspersky virus removal tool, do run it safe mode only. Although i guess the scanning will take a hell lot time. But safe mode is only option to go.

PS- There's nothing coplex with linux thing. Just boot with any live distro, and scan/back up all the files. Linux is very robust against viruses.

I installed and ran the virus scan without going into safe mode. Only about 2% has commenced; should I reboot into safe mode and re-run the scan?

Ah yes I sucessfully installed Kap virus removal tool.

I will try downloading something like free iso burner etc and try it. this laptop is very low on space so can't install a lot of SWares.

I am going to burn a DVD-RW using iso burner or something similar.

Thanks a million again,

Do scan strictly in safe mode! As it will keep you more on the safe side. And beware, kaspersky's scanning is a bit slow, so it will take a min of 1 hr. And yeah, you can use any soft to burn ISO like ultraISO or anything.

that KAV rescue disk come in ISO format (image file), so you HAVE to burn it in "Create/Burn Images" mode
Windows 7 can burn that format, but simply sending the image file DVD -burning it doesn't work.

If scanning in Safe Mode also takes a lot of time, then re write the KAV Rescue Disk as an image file, & run boot scan
Use this for that - The Official ImgBurn Website

^^Scanning through KAV rescue disk will take only marginally less time. Although its a better option.

T

I don't understand one thing which is going on here.

1. What is the use of KEEPING / RESTORING a badly infected installation of Windows ?

2. Why can't you use LINUX to take a full backup of your important files ?

3. Why can't you install windows a fresh ?

3. important data in OS drive

Do try sfc/scannow.Also try creating a new user account.

I just ran and completed the scan through the Kaspersky Rescue disk (boot disk) [yeah, finally made a bootable disk using "ultraiso"] and it says no viruses were detected.
The database shows to be the latest as 25/9/2011.
The scan took a little over 2-3 hours.

I read the walkthrough here Using Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 – A Quick Walkthrough | Bill Mullins' Weblog – Tech Thoughts

I want to know if I can use this rescue disk's in-built file manager to back up my files without the risk of virus spread.

The Integrated file manager will allow you to access the hard drive/s – as the following screen capture shows. As a last resort (if it comes to that), you will be able to save your important files (any file for that matter), using this tool.

However the next step is to backup all my important files. I don't know exactly what this means "2. Why can't you use LINUX to take a full backup of your important files ?". I understand that I have to use a similar Linux bootable disk to backup all my files. However will it prevent infection spread into the backup drive like CDs or HDDs?
I am moving on to this step now.

I did not do a fresh install as there is a lot of data that I need to backup. I am trying to avoid a fresh install since the process of installing all drivers is tedious. But I will do it as need arises and it seems like it has. I will study about how to use the Linux live DVD and figure it out.
Can someone suggest me a place (link) where I can find the Linux SW. I know there are a lot of options and google will pamper me with choices but I would like to use one that my friends here have experience with.

Thanks a lot to everyone for helping me out.

Did you try creating a new user account?

^Why exactly is that needed?

There are no users in my PC. The one by default is the Administer account with all privileges.

My PC is a sitting duck now. I am awaiting for people to respond so that I can safely move forward. :-(

Viruses may change the default way your applications are executed.These values remain even after the virus is removed.The newly created user account will not have this problem.

Should I make a new normal account or Administrator account? Does it matter?

Any of them will do.

Tech&ME said:
I don't understand one thing which is going on here.

1. What is the use of KEEPING / RESTORING a badly infected installation of Windows ?

2. Why can't you use LINUX to take a full backup of your important files ?

3. Why can't you install windows a fresh ?

This.

It would take far less effort to do these steps then going all the way to repair a messed up Windows installation. Even worse there's no fun or sense of accomplishment in actually repairing a broken windows installation, so what's the point?

Sarath said:
Can someone suggest me a place (link) where I can find the Linux SW. I know there are a lot of options and google will pamper me with choices but I would like to use one that my friends here have experience with.

Download | Ubuntu
Create a Live USB.

It's always a good idea to keep a Live Ubuntu CD/USB. Will always be handy, regardless whether you use Windows, Linux, or OS X as your full time OS.

I have no issues with re-installing the OS. I am more worried up about backing up a few important files. My last backup was a few months ago so a lot of critical data sits only on my PC.

Next step is backing up using Linux or other means.

After that fresh install. Like I said, I didn't want to do this but its unavoidable now and hence I am going for it. My primary area of contention has always been the data thats too important to me.

@Sarath, can you check what files were deleted by avast? there should be a scan log. cause it may turn out to be just another windows problem than virus infection.

i am not ruling out the possibility of it being a virus. try McAfee AVERT Stinger. as it doesn't need to be installed, it may clean viruses even if flase positive is on the higher side.

^ I just did a 3 hour scan from kaspersky. Is McAfee better than that?

I am DLing the Ubuntu file and would boot from it to transfer files. Can some please answer about the file transfer, is it safe and infection free in Ubuntu? The HDD wont be infected right?

@Sam: I can't find the scan log anywhere. however there is a list with 2 viruses listed with a date of few months ago. Nothing anywhere near today.
Also the number of infected files this week shows "zero"
Also a scan from kaspersky found no viruses.

Whether there is a virus or not, I am thinking of going for a complete overhaul. I don't think I am capable of fixing it even if it can be, nor can I put in too much of my resources into it. I think a vanilla installation would be much better at this point.

1. Boot from a liveCD and take the backup. (viruses will get transferred to the portable HDD, if the files are already infected) the viruses would be inactive thereon.
2. Do a full clean install of Windows7, after deleting and recreating the partitions.
3. Download and install Microsoft Security Essentials and update it. (takes some time) MSE is an extremely robust antivirus which can be easily trusted.
4. Connect your portable HDD, and MSE will do it's job and delete/quarantine the virus.
5. Enjoy! :mrgreen:

Sarath said:
I just ran and completed the scan through the Kaspersky Rescue disk (boot disk) [yeah, finally made a bootable disk using "ultraiso"] and it says no viruses were detected.
The database shows to be the latest as 25/9/2011.
The scan took a little over 2-3 hours.

I read the walkthrough here Using Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 – A Quick Walkthrough | Bill Mullins' Weblog – Tech Thoughts

I want to know if I can use this rescue disk's in-built file manager to back up my files without the risk of virus spread.

However the next step is to backup all my important files. I don't know exactly what this means "2. Why can't you use LINUX to take a full backup of your important files ?". I understand that I have to use a similar Linux bootable disk to backup all my files. However will it prevent infection spread into the backup drive like CDs or HDDs?
I am moving on to this step now.

I did not do a fresh install as there is a lot of data that I need to backup. I am trying to avoid a fresh install since the process of installing all drivers is tedious. But I will do it as need arises and it seems like it has. I will study about how to use the Linux live DVD and figure it out.
Can someone suggest me a place (link) where I can find the Linux SW. I know there are a lot of options and google will pamper me with choices but I would like to use one that my friends here have experience with.

Thanks a lot to everyone for helping me out.

Can't say anything about file manager, haven't used it yet. Plus it doesn't matters whether you back up your files through linux or rescue cd, if the files are infected, infections will be transferred!!

Sarath said:
^ I just did a 3 hour scan from kaspersky. Is McAfee better than that?

@Sam: I can't find the scan log anywhere. however there is a list with 2 viruses listed with a date of few months ago. Nothing anywhere near today.
Also the number of infected files this week shows "zero"
Also a scan from kaspersky found no viruses.

McAfee is a no match to Kaspersky. You'll find log in the menu of AV.

Sarath said:
^ I just did a 3 hour scan from kaspersky. Is McAfee better than that?

can't say but it is just a 6Mb file so you may try it only on program files or windows directory to confirm if PC is infected with virus.

Sarath said:
@Sam: I can't find the scan log anywhere. however there is a list with 2 viruses listed with a date of few months ago. Nothing anywhere near today.
Also the number of infected files this week shows "zero"
Also a scan from kaspersky found no viruses.

i am getting closer to being sure this is just another windows problem. BTW do you have admin privilege? also do try this: Restore Default Windows 7 File Extension Type Associations.

As of now most of the files are working. I just re-installed a gaming client. Haven't faced a problem with the others. Also all of the icons in the right tab (near clock) have returned.
I am unsure of whether it is a virus or not. I will proceed to do the backup of imp files onto a DVD and the rest junk files onto the HDD.

Avast has started working again.

Yes, I have admin privileges.

I am not sure if everything is fine but it atleast looks normal now. Also if Linux doesn't offer added protection then I can just transfer/ backup the files using Windows itself right? Why boot into Ubuntu and do the same if the level of risk is the same?

Sarath said:
I am not sure if everything is fine but it atleast looks normal now. Also if Linux doesn't offer added protection then I can just transfer/ backup the files using Windows itself right? Why boot into Ubuntu and do the same if the level of risk is the same?

What risk? Why will the "hard disk" be infected? Just copy your files and delete suspected files with Shift + Delete. That will do. Windows viruses aren't executable in Linux.

Liverpool_fan said:
What risk? Why will the "hard disk" be infected?

This-

it doesn't matters whether you back up your files through linux or rescue cd, if the files are infected, infections will be transferred!! I'm just considering there are some files left infected which for some reason could not be detected now. And since, viruses will not work in linux, but during data backup, there's a most probabale chances of transfer of an infected file, just in case.

@Sarath- run this- "sfc /scannow" .

PS- Its advisable to go for a fresh system install to escape from future OS' errors, if any.

After sfc /scannow>

Window blah blah found a few corrupt files and repaired them.

Need to reboot now/

^^ Super, go ahead and post the result!!

T

Sarath said:
^ I just did a 3 hour scan from kaspersky. Is McAfee better than that?

Instead of wasting 3 hours here and there, you could have installed a fresh copy of windows + backed up all your files within just 2 hours......... :grin:

I am DLing the Ubuntu file and would boot from it to transfer files. Can some please answer about the file transfer, is it safe and infection free in Ubuntu? The HDD wont be infected right?

Linux will never execute windows files, and Ubuntu will never infect your already infected HDD.

You can safely use Ubuntu to take backup.

Tech&ME said:
Instead of wasting 3 hours here and there, you could have installed a fresh copy of windows + backed up all your files within just 2 hours.........

.

completely agree with that point i suggested him that yesterday :wink:

my policy is that is any pc is severely infected then install kaspersky trial perform a full scan backup the data on a external drive then clean re-install the os install drivers & the av & update then scan the backups taken then restore them this way i fell is the safest/cleanest also hassle free

^The reason I didn't do it right away is that my port HDD Is not with me. So I am trying out all means before that step. Infact I even completed making the Linux bootable CD to that end.

~The PC however seems to be working fine for now. Multiple virus scans show no results. Can't rule out an infection but everything atleast looks normal from the outset.

What I still didn't understand was that, all of this happened after I ran a Avast full scan and then a "boot scan"

-?) The problem started after this where none of the files would open.

I booted in safe mode and did a system restore my PC was almost working fine after that save a few niggles here and there.
Then I ran two scans of AV. Both yielded no results.
Now I ran the command sfc /scannow and it said there were a few corrupt files and its been fixed. Now I am not sure if it is a Windows problem or a virus scan. Either ways if the problem recurs then I will re-install the OS.

it may turn out to be just another windows problem than virus infection.

I did waste a lot of time but installing an OS is more painful as I have to install the individual drivers myself. I just ran the virus scan and went out. When I came back it was at 98%. Plus I was having another PC at hand for my work so that was not an issue.

Right now I am doing the following:
> Backup all my files
> Re-install if required
> Change AV to Kaspersky (a license of which my friend offered but I denied :-?

Last of all, thanks to all you guys for contributing so much and helping me out.

Tech&ME said:
Linux will never execute windows files, and Ubuntu will never infect your already infected HDD.

You can safely use Ubuntu to take backup.

Dude, i know linux wont execute infected files, but that means infections wont spread, not the transfer of those infected files would stop if done self by the user.

Sarath said:
~The PC however seems to be working fine for now. Multiple virus scans show no results. Can't rule out an infection but everything atleast looks normal from the outset.

What I still didn't understand was that, all of this happened after I ran a Avast full scan and then a "boot scan" -?) The problem started after this where none of the files would open.

boot scan of avast ?

Sarath said:
Either ways if the problem recurs then I will re-install the OS.

Right now I am doing the following:
> Backup all my files
> Re-install if required
> Change AV to Kaspersky (a license of which my friend offered but I denied

Last of all, thanks to all you guys for contributing so much and helping me out.

At least you switched to an awesome robust AV becoz of all this

And although you had a tough time solving all this, this gave you a good experience of troubleshooting! :thumbs:

I would still recommend a clean OS install + Microsoft Security Essentials (its FREE and at par with other paid alternatives)

^^Clean OS install is always an last option, but he had some problems due to which he couldn't do it. Plus i know MS security essentials is a "fine" one, but hey no match to Kaspersky.

then i have a advice for u sarath if reinstalling the pc is pain then the next time u do it make a image of it with norton ghost or powerquest drive image next time just restore the image

T

MatchBoxx said:
I would still recommend a clean OS install + Microsoft Security Essentials (its FREE and at par with other paid alternatives)

Ya, even I am of the same opinion. :grin:

dashing.sujay said:
^^Clean OS install is always an last option, but he had some problems due to which he couldn't do it. Plus i know MS security essentials is a "fine" one, but hey no match to Kaspersky.

Dude, lets get over with this thread NOW. :wink:

^^ fine

dashing.sujay said:
Plus i know MS security essentials is a "fine" one, but hey no match to Kaspersky.

Kaspersky is ******, meant for only n00b users. I even remember a few instances, when it couldn't "Fix" a few infections and rebooted continuously forcing my friend to uninstall it and use MSE to clean the PC! I personally find MSE much better than many other Paid AVs. I agree that it doesn't have those fancy filters and extra features, but a lot of freewares are available to solve those issues. The only paid alternative i trust is Norton nd ESET!

Kaspersky for n00bs ? :crazy:

Its awesome man. I do agree with your ESET support.

there is a dedicated thread for a/v discussion or make kaspersky vs MSE in the fight club. lets not turn this thread into a/v battleground.

no antivirus is best. kaspersky have really high detection rate but paid. MSE/avast detects slightly less virus but free, ok for home use.

MSE is a very good, tension free AV from MS, their best effort after office 2010.
I used be a KAV user myself, but after 2008 or so their product became kind of bloated and would hog system resources.
when Win7 came out, MSE was also launched, it was so much better than KAV, that I've never looked back.
There's only one catch though, in order to use MSE, you need to have a legit Win7.

For fire wall, you can try Comodo fw free.
Btw, since that PC is a common PC, create a "standard user" account with User Access Control (UAC) turned ON.

^^Pls Don't start a fight here. And pls MS-SE better than Kaspersky??!! NO WAY

PS- You don't always need a legal win 7 to use MS-SE

^ Kaspersky is going Down in its proactive defense nowadays ....
I prefer Panda cloud Beta version ..

At thread : If i were u - I would backup and format ...

"This thread has been moved to the "Fight Club" section which seems more appropriate" :))

Ok I get it. My friend has a 3 licence copy of Kaspersky and hence I want to take it. I have previously used Norton and ESET. Both were good. Even now I am not sure if it was a virus infection or a windows problem.

^^