Hi folks,

I had an issue with explorer.exe last week. PC booted fine, but when I got to desktop there were no icons or taskbar, just the wallpaper. So I used TM to start explorer.exe manually. This worked for about a week, and then my applications started dying off one by one.

"Half Life 2.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close."
"DiRT_demo.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close."

Anyway, I did a fresh install of XP yesterday morning, and only a couple of hours after installing my drivers I get the same problem - explorer won't start properly, so I have a blank desktop. I do the usual - restore my desktop by running explorer.exe through Task Manager - and once I have my desktop on the go, I get the dreaded "...has encountered a problem and needs to close" message again. How can this happen so soon after a fresh install of XP??

I have a cheap motherboard - ECS KV2 Lite - which I think is causing problems.

What are your opinions? Software or hardware?

Here's my system:

Athlon 64 4000+
Gecube Radeon X1950XT
Corsair value ram 2x1GB PC 3200
Samsung SATA SP0411C HDD
570w PSU
Windows XP Pro SP2

Thanks in advance

Hi .

No, this shouldn't happen after a fresh install. I suspect a hardware problem.

Test the RAM: Memtest86

You can fully test the RAM by using Memtest86. Download the ISO image file and burn it to a CD using Nero, Roxio or CDBurnerXP Pro. Make sure the BIOS is configured to try to boot from the Master CD/DVD drive before it tries to boot from the hard drive. Your system will boot from the disc and Memtest will start running automatically.

Menetest86 should report no errors in 3 complete passes. This could take some time.

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

CDBurnerXP
CDBurnerXP: Downloads

If any errors are found and you have multiple sticks of RAM installed then uninstall all but one stick and retest each until you locate the bad one. Bad RAM can not be repaired. However, if you boght the RAM yourself keep in mind that most reputable RAM companies have a lifetime replacement policy on their RAM. You will need the receipt or an electronic copy of it.
___________________________________________

Test your hard drive by the drive manufacturer's own test utility:
Seagate/Maxtor/Quantum
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/

Western Digital
http://support.wdc.com/download/

Hitachi/IBM
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

Samsung
http://www.samsung.com/in/products/harddiskdrives/utilities/hutil.htm

Many thanks for the fast respone - seems to make a lot of sense. I'll run a memory test when I get back from work this afternoon. This would explain why my PC has never really settled since I bought it back in March.

OK, I ran memtest86+ and also ran a memory test utility by microsoft.

No errors found, and I made about 8 passes altogether.

I'm hoping to buy an Asus a8v motherboard and see if that makes any difference. If not, I haven't a clue what to do. Buying a new PC isn't on the agenda until next year.

Ok can you please click Prework in my signature.Seems like a virus to me.Then post those logs back and a security tech will check them over.Then if theirs no viruses then we can think of other things.
AMD

you could try the following when this happend to me I GOT A BIG HAMMER AND SMACHED THE SUKER UP

but to be true my brothere got a DELL ( can you say dell here?) and it went BAD hes better now the pills help hime

i just went to Ebuyer - Cheap Computers, Laptops, Digital Cameras, TVs & more! and got new bits and with the help of sticky back plastich its all better now.

Thanks for your response. I already followed a similar procedure which I found on another forum and there wasn't even a hint of a virus on my system. Besides, my PC starts playing funny with me even before I configure the internet connection, so I doubt it's a virus, unless the device manufacturers put one on my mobo/gpu/audio driver discs.

Processor: expensive
Graphics card: expensive
Memory: expensive
Motherboard: cheap rubbish

This is my current approach to all my PC woes!