No Programs But Mozilla Firefox Loading

[kamason]

I am currently on a compt. with Windows XP. We do not have internet explorer and have tried to download it in order to use trouble shooting programs the require it. However, nothing other then this main browser will load. I have payed 20 dollars to talk to someone on a site who is supposed to be helping me, but have figured nothing out yet. When the compt. loads an error messages comes up that says the following.

Norton Protection Status
Norton Protection Status has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
If you were in the middle of something, the information you were working on might be lost.
Please tell Microsoft about this problem. We have created an error report that you can send to us. We will treat this report as confidential and annonymous. To see what data this error report contains, click here.

That is currently the only message that loads. When it comes to loading programs all of the icons on the desktop and in the start menu have changed into a small piece of paper with a little box in it.

This is very frustrating because we finally got cable internet on our compt. and now it is acting up.
Does anything have any idea on what the problem could be and how to fix it?

 

[A_DOG73]

hi

Try Disabling norton and try to download Internet Explorer. Is your Norton up to date? If not, I would get rid of it. There are many free ones on this site you can try like AVG. Maybe Norton is getting in the way of you downloading Internet Explorer.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

XP without IE is not possible unless you used XPLite or similar.
Click on Start/Run, type iexplore and hit enter.
I'm fairly certain that IE will come up.

And get rid of that piece of crap bloatware Norton, it's e resource-hogger first class, and a space-waster to boot. Follow A_Dog73's advice for alternatives.

 

[kamason]

thanks but.. I now have my compt. in safemode, found internet explorer.. yet still cannot load any programs. i have been able to download programs but once i press run nothing happens..

 

[Samstoned]

so you paid someone to dwnld programs that use only IE to dwnld !!!!!
wow
you should get your money back. sorry for that ouch
maybe the files where currupted on dwnld
if you have ie open and can browse internet go to MS and dwnld the service pac for your version or upgrade to newer version not 7
it could be a activeX control issue with the dwnld site

your AV is probably currupt you need to uninstall there must have been a update atemped that failed I did some looking the only other AV that did this was mcafee

 

[Spike]

Does the explorer shell start up when you boot your computer, or do you just see a blank screen with your walpaper on it?

 

[kamason]

we dont see a blank screen.. we see icons. we had a compt. guy look at it today and do virus scans.. and nothing shows up so he couldnt figure it out.

 

[Spike]

can you open a command line or taskmanager?

Keep a note of what you've disabled as you go along below...

If so, go to MSConfig (by typing msconfig and hitting enter at a run prompt or commandline), go to the startup tab, and disable any item relating to norton, any program installed as mentioned here, and anything you know is unnessecary for normal running.

If the My Computer icon is on your desktop, right click it, go to manage, and open the services list. Disable any service related to norton and stuff (ie, much like instructed above).

Hit apply and ok, and reboot. See if it helps.

 

[kamason]

ive already tried to open a command and i cant. i cant even do it in safemode

 

[Spike]

will CTRL ALT DEL bring up task manager?

Can you hit the "windows key+R" to bring up a simple run prompt?

Can you use Firefox and its download manager, or Internet Explorer to run C:\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\msconfig.exe

(tip, type the address above into the addressbar).

There's lots of places you can get a command line from

 

[kamason]

okay, ctrl alt delete brought up processes.. the thing comes up but a message comes up when i try to run something, and its not working on explorer.. i am currently in safe mode..

 

[Spike]

but a message comes up when i try to run something

What's the message?

 

[kamason]

This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel.

 

[Spike]

for MSconfig.exe I assume? (just trying to be sure of the filetype that's not being associated)

While you're in Taskmanager... Are you able to end processes for the Norton stuff?

 

[kamason]

yeah it is

 

[kamason]

i dont see any norton processes up there..

 

[Spike]

Right, seems your EXE file extension is broken.

Go here, and there are instructions for fixing a broken exe file extention

In case you have any problems, they have a reg file there also, which you can save to disk and run as a last resort.

http://filext.com/info/showthread.php?t=12

Hopefully, this would enable you to get some functionality back in order to uninstall/disable the norton stuff, and anything else that may be causeing it, reboot, and try again. Let us know if it fixes the exe extention for you.