Vista - Possible Service Pack 2 Issue. Need Help.

Hi Guys, I just joined the forums today and wanted to bring up an issue that recently happened to a computer that I service.

It runs Vista Home Premium 32-bit with 2GB RAM, 160GB, Toshiba Satellite 205D, with CA Security software and no known issues with Service Pack 1 other than some typical 10-15 minute start up time associated with Vista.

However, the problem I ran into was that after installing Service Pack 2, some kind of error or glitch started occurring. What happens is that I restarted the computer after the install, and when Vista boots to the desktop, only about 5 icons in the tray would show when usually there are 10-12 that display. So I then tried opening Internet Explorer and you see the hourglass symbol show next to the cursor showing that it is working, but then it disappears and nothing displays. No window shows for IE. I tried launching other programs and the same problem occurs. No windows would display, but in the Task Manager, I see the processes running.

So I figure the issue is related to Service Pack upgrade, so I restored to the point before the Service Pack 2 upgrade. Everything worked fine. So I tested the computer after a restart again and again the non-window launching error occurs.

I stumbled acorss some proccessing issues with CA Security software that would hog some memory, but I am unsure that it is the reason for this error. Could it be that the Service Pack may have installed improperly, thus, creating some kind of window error? Or do you think it could be related to some preinstalled program having incompatibility with the Service Pack?

I have contacted Microsoft support and they suggested resetting IE, but I don't think that is the solution. I haven't tried it yet. I sent them a HiJackThis log and they reported no problems with it. No viruses or issues to report from a Malwarebytes scan either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Detecting incompatible programs will be hard - even MS don't know which programs cause problems with service packs and hotfixes.HJT is too weak -prepare logs from OTL http://oldtimer.geekstogo.com/OTL.exe (leave original program settings) and create logs MAIN+EXTRAS -both logs attache to post.

Thanks for the tip on OTL. Is the program safe for me to run? It's just that I never heard of it before. I don't want to download and run something that could possibly be malicious. I just ask to double check. Also, I forgot to mention that after booting into Safe Mode with Networking, the computer has no issues whatsoever launching programs and displaying their windows. It's only in normal mode that the error occurs.

The same safe (or as you wish dangerous) like HJT .I've never use truly dangerous tools like ComboFix which you surly mean.

Ok, let me run OTL and I'll post the log for you. Yes, I agre, HJT is both safe and dangerous, depending on how you use it. Thanks.

Oh, I forgot to ask, should I be running OTL in normal mode? I read somewhere it should only be run in Normal Mode. If so, I would be running after I restore to a point where the problem doesn't occur. But if I try to run it when the program does occur, it won't display the OTL window. What is your suggestion for running the OTL?

Oh my Got!Run OTL in normal mode in current system status.Don't enjoy system restore!

What do you mean by don't enjoy system restore? I am unable to do anything after a restart unless I do a system restore. If I open OTL after the error occurs, I do not see any window for OTL for me to create a log.

Here is the log created after a system restore with Service Pack 2 running in Normal Mode without any problems. Unfortunately, I cannot send the body of the text in this message, so I had to attach the MAIN and EXTRAS log to this message. Let me know what you find. Thank you.

After restarting and still not being able to see application windows after they launch, I noticed that multiple programs didn't start up. So instead of about 30 or so processes starting up when the computer is working perfectly, I only see about 10-15 processes starting up when the computer is borked. Obviously Vista isn't properly booting all the processes needed for the computer to launch application windows correctly. Any ideas as to what could be causing this?