laptop problems

When I turn the laptop on I only get wallpaper picture. No icons at all. No access to any programmes. Unable to shutdown properly, can only switch off at the main and close lid.

If you are comfortable bootingt the machine into Safe Mode and know how to do so then it *might* be possible to diagnose this problem and fix it that way.

Can you please let us know if you can do this and also tell us the make/mdel of the machine and which version of Windows it is running. It would also be helpful to know what was the last thing you did with it before this problem occurred.

Otherwise, I think you will need some professional help to sort this out - you can request paid help by going to the PCIQ home page and clicking on the green "Request support" button.

It sounds like explorer isn't running. At the point where you can see the background wallpaper can you access the task manager by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL on your keyboard? If so then from the task manager File menu, select "New Task (Run)" and then type explorer.exe in the subsequent dialog box. You may then be able to check the event logs for clues about the cause of the problem. We can advise you further if you get this far. If this works you'll think your problem is solved but the root cause won't have been fixed and it may fail on subsequent reboots. As David says a callout to a PCIQ Pro may be your best course of action.

This is usually caused by a virus infecting Explorer.exe so that it does not run. It's pretty difficult to fix on your own because of the difficulty in getting the computer to do anything!

Actually to be more accurate, a virus may have infected explorer.exe then been removed by your security software. Now when explorer.exe tries to load, the registry entry to also load the virus remains but the virus is gone so explorer.exe fails to run.

If you have the CD / DVD for your version of Windows, you could perform a Repair.

The method for this depends on the version, but you begin by booting the laptop from the CD/DVD and following the onscreen instructions, choosing Repair where you can.

Be aware, if you are unsure of what you're doing, you could make irreversible changes to your computer by inserting the DVD and beginning an installation.

If you're at all unsure, I'd go with David; head to the CIQ home page and click on the green "Request support" button.

Dean

If the problem is exactly the one I describe then neither Dave C's or Dean E's solution will work. See the reply by Anonymous in this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-86497_35_0.html . Although you could try this yourself, I go along with the others who recommended calling in a PCIQ specialist.

this problem is actually usually trickier than anyone has yet mentioned
the problem is that the userinit.exe file is usually hijacked when this happens, and often the registry entries for userinit.exe and explorer.exe are also corrupted. You need to replace the two files, restore the registry AND clean out whatever caused the problem in the first place
Sometimes its even worse - as I type this I'm reinstalling windows on a machine a customer purchased from a car boot sale. It worked OK when he got it home, installed AV software. When he booted it this morning half of the windows executables - including explorer.exe are missing
Only option which makes sense in this case it to wipe it and start from scratch
Hopefully Veronica's problems are not as drastic, but hunting down the CAUSE of the problem (rather than just treating the symptoms) may take time
Note that simply doing a repair installation may get the machine working, but it will not clear the infection

Veronica, as you can see, we agree about the cause of your problem (that explorer.exe is not running) but disagree about the treatment. This is because none of us has enough information to make a full diagnosis. Unless you want to run a series of tests and report the results to us I don't think we can offer much help on here.

You have two options. If you want to fix it yourself, back up your data (much easier said than done) then restore your laptop to its factory settings. You will then be faced with a few hours of work re-installing your printer, updating Windows, installing non-windows software, email settings etc. etc. but you should end up with a working computer.

The second option is to get someone to fix it for you. Beware the "cowboy" who just restores your computer to its factory settings and dumps it back on you (having charged you extra to back-up your data first). I cannot speak for every PCIQ Professional but the ones I know would try harder than this, as you can tell from the responses on this forum.

The make is an Advent, not sure of the model number. On holiday at the moment so can't check until next week. I cannot access anything, not even to reboot it in safe mode. I only have a wall paper picture and nothing else. At the time of the problem I was attempting to access the internet by using a dongle - pay as you go.

I'm afraid Advent is not a real make. Advent computers are from a range of manufactures re-badged and sold through the DSG Group (Dixons/Currys/PC World). Therefore we would have to know the model number to identify the machine and I'm not sure that would help much in this instance.

Veronica, without wishing to sound patronising, your comment about not being able to boot into safe mode means that you would probably have a hard time trying to provide us with the kind of diagnostic information that might allow us to advise you how to fix this problem yourself. Even if you were, I'm pretty sure the fix is not going to be trivial.

Whilst this might sound like a blatant commercial, it really does look to me as though some professional help would be your best bet.

I am using the Dell laptop and having a windows 8 OS.BUt from the last couple of days, I can see that sometimes it started blinking and then the screen become black. I have also checked Microsoft Support Canada so is there any solution to fix this issue?It will really help me.

I am using the Dell laptop and having a windows 8 OS.BUt from the last couple of days, I can see that sometimes it started blinking and then the screen become black. I have also checked Microsoft Support Canada so is there any solution to fix this issue?It will really help me.

I am using the Dell laptop and having a windows 8 OS.BUt from the last couple of days, I can see that sometimes it started blinking and then the screen become black. I have also checked Microsoft Support Canada so is there any solution to fix this issue?It will really help me.

I am using the Dell laptop and having a windows 8 OS.BUt from the last couple of days, I can see that sometimes it started blinking and then the screen become black. I have also checked Microsoft Support Canada so is there any solution to fix this issue?It will really help me.

I am using the Dell laptop and having a windows 8 OS.BUt from the last couple of days, I can see that sometimes it started blinking and then the screen become black. I have also checked Microsoft Support Canada so is there any solution to fix this issue?It will really help me.

Few Days ago, i bought a HP laptop and i was unable to troubleshoot error in Microsoft Office products such as Excel,PowerPoint then i found solution at Microsoft Support and they solved it within seconds.

Few Days ago, i bought a HP laptop and i was unable to troubleshoot error in Microsoft Office products such as Excel,PowerPoint then i found solution at Microsoft Support and they solved it within seconds.

Few Days ago, i bought a HP laptop and i was unable to troubleshoot error in Microsoft Office products such as Excel,PowerPoint then i found solution at Microsoft Support and they solved it within seconds.

Few Days ago, i bought a HP laptop and i was unable to troubleshoot error in Microsoft Office products such as Excel,PowerPoint then i found solution at Microsoft Support and they solved it within seconds.

Few Days ago, i bought a HP laptop and i was unable to troubleshoot error in Microsoft Office products such as Excel,PowerPoint then i found solution at Microsoft Support and they solved it within seconds.

Few Days ago, i bought a HP laptop and i was unable to troubleshoot error in Microsoft Office products such as Excel,PowerPoint then i found solution at Microsoft Support and they solved it within seconds.