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Yocona · 02-04-2005, 02:24 PM

I thought I would ask this here among friends before resorting to a PC forum. My desktop icons have just stopped "working". When I double click, nothing. When I right click, I just get the contextual menu that I would get if I had clicked on the empty desktop.

I first noticed the problem this morning when trying to open a .wmv that one of our broadband friends emailed to half the town. My husband couldn't get it to open from the email, so I saved it to the desktop for him. When I double-clicked, nothing. When I right clicked, the desktop contextual menu appeared. And then none of the other icons would work either. I deleted the wmv file from the desktop, but that hasn't solved the problem.

I can open all the folders just fine using an Explorer window. I can open files just fine within the program itself. And I can open programs from the taskbar or Start menu fine, too. It's just that none of their desktop icons are working. I Restarted and they worked again, but only briefly.

As far as I know, no settings have changed. I've got AVG Pro running, so it shouldn't be an infectious kind of issue. I can do a System Restore, but I'd rather try to identify/correct the problem rather than burying it.

I also have a second issue. For a while now, the computer will not Restart. I have to restart it manually. I think this problem may have coincided with me having to install new software for the APC UPS unit. Does this sound like a likely culprit?

warezit · 02-04-2005, 04:25 PM

The APC UPS shouldn't effect the abilty for your machine to restart properly.

On the other note, you said you restarted and they worked again breifly... have you tried booting into "Safe Mode"? That should eliminate a lot of factors as to why this is happeneing.

If you notice "Safe Mode" has fixed the issue, I would run "msconfig" from the "Run" window and click on the "Startup" tab at the top. Uncheck all the boxes, disabling all programs from regular boot up. Boot into "regular" Windows and see if that fixes it.

Otherwise, I have one other idea, maybe, but I'll wait and see what comes of this.

warezit

nkuvu · 02-04-2005, 08:00 PM

Don't know if this is the case, but it sounds like a classic prank we'd pull on each other in college.

Take a screenshot of the normal screen, and set it as the desktop image. Move all of the icons off the screen. Hilarity ensues.

Aside from the prank possibility, I'd check for strange settings in the Active Desktop section.

applejax · 02-04-2005, 09:08 PM

i would also be sure to do a complete virus scan. your "friend" sending you the *.wmv may have been a replicated address from a virus that hit your friend's address book.

in other words unless he/she said they did send it to you, it might not have been such person.

good reason to keep your address' off the computer and in a notebook.

1. first things virus's can hit is your address book
2. outlook express is the most favorite target of common virus's
3. i have had success in doing a virus scan in "safe mode"

good luck

warezit · 02-04-2005, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nkuvu@Feb 4 2005, 7:00 PM
Don't know if this is the case, but it sounds like a classic prank we'd pull on each other in college.

Take a screenshot of the normal screen, and set it as the desktop image. Move all of the icons off the screen. Hilarity ensues.

Quoted post

It sounds to me like this may be the culprit... hopefully we find out shortly.

arkayn · 02-04-2005, 10:24 PM

The fact that she was able to delete the file off the desktop means it was not the classic joke.

I think it is something in the system itself.

applejax · 02-05-2005, 01:51 AM

I did fix a computer while at Ft Rucker, Al in which the lady said that she had to chase her "dancing icons" across the screen.

It also ended up being nasty enough of a virus such that it jumped C: drive and wiped out files in D: too.

In windows anytime you have a doubt, scan with your scanner then go to trendmicro (pc-cillin) free online scan. this kind of scan does require you to use ie explorer for the scanl

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

just because your computer running microsoft windows says it is clean doesn't guarentee you are totally clean.

it can be a lot of work to keep up. gets you back to apple and linux.

qualey2 · 02-05-2005, 09:46 AM

Have you tried running Ad-Aware and or Spybot S&D ?

Edit to add links

Yocona · 02-05-2005, 12:30 PM

Thanks for the replies, guys. The thought of my husband pulling a prank like that made me laugh out loud. He wouldn't even understand the prank, much less how to accomplish it.

I re-ran AVG's system scan and ran AdAware; everything is clean. I am almost sure that the problem is Windows Media Player. It will not open (gee, shucks). I tried one last time without success, deleted the .wmv file again, and restarted. No problems since. I think I may have confused my steps yesterday, and missed restarting after deleting the .wmv file the last time.

So I'm not sure if I want to waste my time solving a problem with Windows Media Player. I think I'll wait to see if Michael actually needs it. He listens to a lot of on-line sports radio, but perhaps Real Player is enough.

AJ, there is no chance these files were emailed by a virus. Though I wouldn't be surprised if one of these guys that emails him has been responsible for spreading something in the past. Unfortunately, they email each other (and the fifty-eight thousand other names in their address books) all this shitte, and not one has noticed the BCC: option.

Warezit, regarding the Restart problem--if it isn't related to the UPS software, do you think it could be something in the bios? I hope not, because the bios isn't recognizing my keyboard until the OS boots, and I don't know how to get in to it otherwise.

warezit · 02-05-2005, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Yocona@Feb 5 2005, 11:30 AM
Thanks for the replies, guys. The thought of my husband pulling a prank like that made me laugh out loud. He wouldn't even understand the prank, much less how to accomplish it.

I re-ran AVG's system scan and ran AdAware; everything is clean. I am almost sure that the problem is Windows Media Player. It will not open (gee, shucks). I tried one last time without success, deleted the .wmv file again, and restarted. No problems since. I think I may have confused my steps yesterday, and missed restarting after deleting the .wmv file the last time.

.....

Warezit, regarding the Restart problem--if it isn't related to the UPS software, do you think it could be something in the bios? I hope not, because the bios isn't recognizing my keyboard until the OS boots, and I don't know how to get in to it otherwise.

Quoted post

First off,

I still can't fully understand how downloading a .WMV file to the desktop nullifies all the icons from working. Anyhow...

I don't think it would be related to the BIOS but, it sounds like you may have a USB keyboard, yes? That would prevent you from getting into the BIOS. As a side note, they make USB to PS2 adapters, for the unaware. If no, well, we'll tackle that when we get there...

Just so we all know, what *exactly* is the problem? i.e. You choose "restart" and it just hangs on the "Windows is shutting down" screen... etc...

02-04-2005, 02:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
Yocona Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Mississippi Posts: 5,819 Credits: 940	I thought I would ask this here among friends before resorting to a PC forum. My desktop icons have just stopped "working". When I double click, nothing. When I right click, I just get the contextual menu that I would get if I had clicked on the empty desktop. I first noticed the problem this morning when trying to open a .wmv that one of our broadband friends emailed to half the town. My husband couldn't get it to open from the email, so I saved it to the desktop for him. When I double-clicked, nothing. When I right clicked, the desktop contextual menu appeared. And then none of the other icons would work either. I deleted the wmv file from the desktop, but that hasn't solved the problem. I can open all the folders just fine using an Explorer window. I can open files just fine within the program itself. And I can open programs from the taskbar or Start menu fine, too. It's just that none of their desktop icons are working. I Restarted and they worked again, but only briefly. As far as I know, no settings have changed. I've got AVG Pro running, so it shouldn't be an infectious kind of issue. I can do a System Restore, but I'd rather try to identify/correct the problem rather than burying it. I also have a second issue. For a while now, the computer will not Restart. I have to restart it manually. I think this problem may have coincided with me having to install new software for the APC UPS unit. Does this sound like a likely culprit? __________________ It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. Confucius, 551-479 BC

02-04-2005, 10:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
arkayn Arrrggghhh Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Golden Valley Posts: 26,422 Credits: 378	The fact that she was able to delete the file off the desktop means it was not the classic joke. I think it is something in the system itself. __________________ 2.0 GHz iMac C2D - OS X.6.4 - 2.5 GB Ram 2.80 GHz Tower - XP Pro- 2 GB Ram 2.33 GHz Quad - Windows 7-64 - 4 GB Ram

02-05-2005, 09:46 AM	#8 (permalink)
qualey2 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Syracuse Posts: 1,486 Credits: 420	Have you tried running Ad-Aware and or Spybot S&D ? Edit to add links __________________ Light travels faster than sound...... That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

02-05-2005, 12:30 PM	#9 (permalink)
Yocona Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Mississippi Posts: 5,819 Credits: 940	Thanks for the replies, guys. The thought of my husband pulling a prank like that made me laugh out loud. He wouldn't even understand the prank, much less how to accomplish it. I re-ran AVG's system scan and ran AdAware; everything is clean. I am almost sure that the problem is Windows Media Player. It will not open (gee, shucks). I tried one last time without success, deleted the .wmv file again, and restarted. No problems since. I think I may have confused my steps yesterday, and missed restarting after deleting the .wmv file the last time. So I'm not sure if I want to waste my time solving a problem with Windows Media Player. I think I'll wait to see if Michael actually needs it. He listens to a lot of on-line sports radio, but perhaps Real Player is enough. AJ, there is no chance these files were emailed by a virus. Though I wouldn't be surprised if one of these guys that emails him has been responsible for spreading something in the past. Unfortunately, they email each other (and the fifty-eight thousand other names in their address books) all this shitte, and not one has noticed the BCC: option. Warezit, regarding the Restart problem--if it isn't related to the UPS software, do you think it could be something in the bios? I hope not, because the bios isn't recognizing my keyboard until the OS boots, and I don't know how to get in to it otherwise. __________________ It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. Confucius, 551-479 BC

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02-04-2005, 04:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
warezit Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 494 Credits: 344	The APC UPS shouldn't effect the abilty for your machine to restart properly. On the other note, you said you restarted and they worked again breifly... have you tried booting into "Safe Mode"? That should eliminate a lot of factors as to why this is happeneing. If you notice "Safe Mode" has fixed the issue, I would run "msconfig" from the "Run" window and click on the "Startup" tab at the top. Uncheck all the boxes, disabling all programs from regular boot up. Boot into "regular" Windows and see if that fixes it. Otherwise, I have one other idea, maybe, but I'll wait and see what comes of this. warezit

02-04-2005, 08:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
nkuvu Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 5,957 Credits: 552	Don't know if this is the case, but it sounds like a classic prank we'd pull on each other in college. Take a screenshot of the normal screen, and set it as the desktop image. Move all of the icons off the screen. Hilarity ensues. Aside from the prank possibility, I'd check for strange settings in the Active Desktop section.

02-04-2005, 09:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
applejax Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Not home much Posts: 2,016 Credits: 1,151	i would also be sure to do a complete virus scan. your "friend" sending you the *.wmv may have been a replicated address from a virus that hit your friend's address book. in other words unless he/she said they did send it to you, it might not have been such person. good reason to keep your address' off the computer and in a notebook. 1. first things virus's can hit is your address book 2. outlook express is the most favorite target of common virus's 3. i have had success in doing a virus scan in "safe mode" good luck

02-04-2005, 09:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
warezit Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 494 Credits: 344	Quote: Originally posted by nkuvu@Feb 4 2005, 7:00 PM Don't know if this is the case, but it sounds like a classic prank we'd pull on each other in college. Take a screenshot of the normal screen, and set it as the desktop image. Move all of the icons off the screen. Hilarity ensues. Quoted post It sounds to me like this may be the culprit... hopefully we find out shortly.

02-05-2005, 01:51 AM	#7 (permalink)
applejax Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Not home much Posts: 2,016 Credits: 1,151	I did fix a computer while at Ft Rucker, Al in which the lady said that she had to chase her "dancing icons" across the screen. It also ended up being nasty enough of a virus such that it jumped C: drive and wiped out files in D: too. In windows anytime you have a doubt, scan with your scanner then go to trendmicro (pc-cillin) free online scan. this kind of scan does require you to use ie explorer for the scanl http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ just because your computer running microsoft windows says it is clean doesn't guarentee you are totally clean. it can be a lot of work to keep up. gets you back to apple and linux.

02-05-2005, 02:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
warezit Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 494 Credits: 344	Quote: Originally posted by Yocona@Feb 5 2005, 11:30 AM Thanks for the replies, guys. The thought of my husband pulling a prank like that made me laugh out loud. He wouldn't even understand the prank, much less how to accomplish it. I re-ran AVG's system scan and ran AdAware; everything is clean. I am almost sure that the problem is Windows Media Player. It will not open (gee, shucks). I tried one last time without success, deleted the .wmv file again, and restarted. No problems since. I think I may have confused my steps yesterday, and missed restarting after deleting the .wmv file the last time. ..... Warezit, regarding the Restart problem--if it isn't related to the UPS software, do you think it could be something in the bios? I hope not, because the bios isn't recognizing my keyboard until the OS boots, and I don't know how to get in to it otherwise. Quoted post First off, I still can't fully understand how downloading a .WMV file to the desktop nullifies all the icons from working. Anyhow... I don't think it would be related to the BIOS but, it sounds like you may have a USB keyboard, yes? That would prevent you from getting into the BIOS. As a side note, they make USB to PS2 adapters, for the unaware. If no, well, we'll tackle that when we get there... Just so we all know, what exactly is the problem? i.e. You choose "restart" and it just hangs on the "Windows is shutting down" screen... etc...