Start button doesn't work and task bar is black.

I've run AdAware and SpyBot with current versions. I've
run Norton and McAfee with current definitions, but when
you click on the start button, all you get is a very slim
bar right where the menu should be. It looks as if the
menu was completely minimized, but clicking on the bar
does nothing. Additionally, the task bar is black, and
doesn't show any windows that are open on the desktop. Any
ideas??? I'm stumped.

**It is pertinent to run the update for each program before running to be sure you
have the latest definitions.**
Download/run Cool Web Shredder from:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

For Info on Cool Web Search Variants:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html

Download/run HijackThis from:
http://www.merijn.org/
Do not remove anything with it until you get advice on what to remove, HJThis will
list many apps that are needed along with the bad ones. Removing items listed
hap-hazardly without knowing what they are can/will create a royal mess. Read the
quick start here on how to create a log file that can be copied/pasted into a forum
that can provide assistance on removal of unwanted pests.
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/#quick

Then post the logs to an appropriate NG here where they specialize in
spyware/hijacker removal:
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/

--
Brian A.

Jack of all trades, Master of none.
One can never truly be a master as there is always more to learn.


"Scott" wrote in message
...
I've run AdAware and SpyBot with current versions. I've
run Norton and McAfee with current definitions, but when
you click on the start button, all you get is a very slim
bar right where the menu should be. It looks as if the
menu was completely minimized, but clicking on the bar
does nothing. Additionally, the task bar is black, and
doesn't show any windows that are open on the desktop. Any
ideas??? I'm stumped.

Try running a repair on Internet Explorer:

Click StartRun, type the following and click Enter, for IE5x:
RUNDLL32 SETUPWBV.DLL,IE5Maintenance

or this, if you have IE6x installed:
RUNDLL32 SETUPWBV.DLL,IE6Maintenance

If you do not know which you have, run the former first...if it says it can't find
it, run the latter one, for IE6 instead.

Choose the Repair option, and continue.

If the repair says it cannot complete, or it does not fix the problem, reinstall
Internet Explorer:

Recovering From a Failed Internet Explorer Upgrade in Windows 98:
http://tinyurl.com/r5ba

Update your anti-virus app and then run a full-system virus scan.

Use CWShredder, the CoolWeb removal tool, available he
http://computercops.biz/downloads-cat-14.html
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html
http://aumha.org/downloads/cwshredder.zip

In addition, install Ad-Aware 6 free edition, start it, click its 'Check for
Updates' link in the app to install updates, then use it to scan your system, and
remove what it finds.
Ad-Awa
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Install, update and run SpyBot Search & Destroy, scan your system, and then remove
the items in RED only.
SpyBot S&D:
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download

What may help is this -
Download, unzip, and run Hijack This from one of these locations:
http://computercops.biz/downloads-cat-14.html
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads...HijackThis.exe
Unzip to a folder other than your Desktop or the Temp folder, doubleclick
HijackThis.exe, and hit "Scan".

When the scan is finished, the "Scan" button will change into a "Save Log"
button.
Press that, save the log somewhere you can find it (Desktop, My Documents, or
similar).
Most of what it lists will be harmless or even required, so do NOT fix anything yet.

Copy the log files and paste them into a new post at one of these forums:
http://forums.net-integration.net/
http://computercops.biz/forums.html
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showforum=30
http://tomcoyote.org/forums/
http://www.lavasoftsupport.com
http://boards.cexx.org/

The folks there will tell you what to remove.

Please also post back here with the log file, so we may see what is happening.

A tutorial for using Hijack This is located he
http://tomcoyote.com/hjt/
and an in-depth tutorial is he
http://aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm

Please reply to this post with what you tried and what if anything worked or did not
work.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Scott" wrote in message
...
I've run AdAware and SpyBot with current versions. I've
run Norton and McAfee with current definitions, but when
you click on the start button, all you get is a very slim
bar right where the menu should be. It looks as if the
menu was completely minimized, but clicking on the bar
does nothing. Additionally, the task bar is black, and
doesn't show any windows that are open on the desktop. Any
ideas??? I'm stumped.