Solved Cannot start most application files

G

ghantauke

New Member
Hi,

Heres my PC specification.

OS: Vista Home Premium, SP 2, 32 bit (Actually Dual Boot see below)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU
RAM: 3.00 GB


The problem started since yesterday. I cannot start a lot of application files such as games, firefox, system restore, regedit, msconfig, task manager and a lot more. When I double click on their icons, nothing happens. I don't even get any error message.
However, I can start some applications such as window media player, sony vegas etc. It seems like only the useful applications cannot be started.

I haven't downloaded anything significant in the last few days. I have an anti-spyware (I think) called "Spybot Search & Destroy" installed in my machine. Its works better than a lot of anti-virus softwares out there. So if it was some virus/spyware related problem I'm sure it'd have informed me of the problem.

I've got a dual boot system Windows(vista)/Linux(Ubuntu). Ubuntu is installed withing windows. Strangely, I can use Ubuntu without any problems (which is where I'm posting this thread from).

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

I would first scan with MalwareBytes
Have you tried to go to c:/Windows,System32,rstrui.exe

That is system restore
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD
    1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp
    1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset.
    Only ever used a laptop.
    Also use USB Freeview TV Card
    Lenovo Docking Station
    External Speakers
    Other bits a pieces as needed
Welcome
Sorry about your problem
If we can fix this, now, or not, I would use Malwarebytes and Microsoft Security Essentials to try and see if this is a malware/virus problem. The security that you mentioned is not sufficient. An anti Virus is needed.
If the Systme Restore, as suggested above is not sufficient. This is what I would do:
Try to reset the exe and lnk (LNK) associations.
Default File Type Associations - Restore
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I think i fixed it. For others who have similar problem here's what I did.
I tried system recovery via safe mode (since I couldn't start it in normal mode) but it still wasn't enough. My next attempt to solve the problem was by disabling services in msconfig. I disabled all services that wasn't microsoft related. This approach seemed to work but it meant that I couldn't use a lot of useful service that was available before. You can overcome this by pinpointing which service caused the problem (using trial and error),
 

My Computer

System One

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