CD and DVD drive unrecognized, Windows won't run programs

[Flight007]

Hello all! This is my first post so please go a little easy on me, after all I am a novice at this. Okay, here is my situation. I have a 2003 Dell desktop that I am trying to completely reboot in order to run one flight simulator. However, this computer has got to be the dirtiest I have ever seen, it is riddled with problems (most likely caused by malware/spyware).

About a year ago I installed a DVD drive in order to run Flight Simulator. The computer has a CD and DVD drive and both worked fine then. However, now the computer fails to recognize either drive. When I pull up the setup menu, it states that the CD and DVD drives aren't installed. I have opened up the box to look inside (grounded of course) and see that nothing has come unplugged.

To make problems worse, when I load windows I only see my background and nothing else. I have to CTRL+ ALT + DEL and then type in a new process "explorer.exe" in order for my desktop to show. However, I cannot run any programs, I can only open file folders on the desktop. So even when putting the OS on a flash drive I can't open it to run the program.

Is there anyway I can reboot my computer with these two problems? I'm totally bummed about this!

Thank you to anyone who has ideas!

 

[Route44]

Well if this system is as infected as you suspect it is then that is your foremost priority to get it clean. Also, if these are the original ROM drives and the system is 6 years old it could very well be they are dead. The average length (and it varies from less to more) is 3-5 years.

Since you can boot into Desktop (have tried Safe Mode? can you get online?) I strongly suggest going to the Virus & malware removal forum, read the 8 Step sticky, follow it step by step, and post the required 3 logs there.

 

[Flight007]

Thanks for the info, I'll definitely give it a try!