windows explorer multiple windows issue

[rovingcowboy]

explorer is not following the option settings or the tweaks for making it open only one window and use it for all folders.

it is opening a new window for each folder and showing the directory tree in an explorer bar on the left in each of them.

if i close the last open folder window  explorer locks the system i have to click alt cont del to use task manager and close explorer to re start it to make it work again.? 

i've made a new profile and did all tweaks in tweaking programs i have and tried tons of repair apps trying to find the reason for this issue and fix it but it still continues after 2 months i've started asking for help in many forums hope somebody can figure this one out.?

[Shane]

Some infections do attach themselves to explorer.

Have you ran malwarebytes, tdsskiller and combofix yet?

Shane

[rovingcowboy]

don't have those programs but i got others i keep in the system and that i ran and run.
avg, superantispyware and ccleaner, spywareblaster, online trendmicro housecall's scan.

avg did find a trojan in the system and cleaned it out but that was only last week it got in.
or last week an update to avg was able to find it.  but it is cleaned out and the issue still shows up.
so i don't think that is the trouble.

[Shane]

Go ahead and run those 3 programs as well, they are the 3 I run on customer machines.

Let me know the results

Shane

[rovingcowboy]

tdskiller didn't find anything. 

combo fix keeps crashing on my system.

i'm not paying for the other one, i use free ones if i can find them if they work i think about keeping them in. if they don't i remove them.  if they only do a few things which i already have a program that does the same things then i remove the new program.
Unless it has more new fix's then the old one..

but they didn't find anything just like the new 2013 avg didn't find anything again.


 

[rovingcowboy]

downloaded and tried spyware terminator free.

it found 1 email worm hidden in a desktop ini file.
1 pc remote controller hidden some place?
9 minor spyware's like cookies and printer controllers.

why it found all those and the other programs i have installed or have tried did not find them i don't know.    unless it was because their database was newer then the programs i have on the system or have tried.

but still the issue with explorer still shows up. 

[Shane]

Malwarebytes is free as well. They just ask if you want to buy their pro version. Just run it in free mode.

Every detection out there is different. Thats why it is good to run a few different ones.

Also it is odd that combofix is crashing. Did you try running it in safe mode and see if it still crashes?

Shane

[rovingcowboy]

no i didn't get combo fix to work.
i got another program wise utilitys  ran it there were tons of fix's it found in places the others did not so i ran its cleaning programs and still the issue shows up. 

thinking really hard about just doing a reinstall of the windows folder again from the install cd.  that might be awhile though as i'm not wanting to spend the 20 hours doing downloads of all the updates since 2002 for xp.  i'm just not liking that update stuff too much anymore.

[Shane]

A reinstall is sometimes the best option.

After word make sure to install all the service packs first. Then after that the updates shouldnt be to bad

Shane