unable to access ctrl/alt/del or device manager

[big]

Hi,
I have had this problem for a while now, but now I need to uninstall some
CD/DVD drives and graphics card. I clicked to go in to device manager and it
came on screen, but then dissappeared before I could do anything. I tried
several times but each time the same happened. I also cannot get in to the
resource manager by pressing ctrl/alt/del, it does the same thing. Now I
suspect a virus has corrupted my machine somehow, although my norton is all
up to date etc. i went in to troubleshoot for one of the drives I need
uninstalling, and when it took me to a page with a link to the device
manager, I clicked on it and norton immediately came up with a threat
message about a 'HELPCTR.EXE' file. So i searcehed for this file and found
3. One in F:\WINDOWS\Prefetch, one in F:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 & the
other in F:\WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\Binaries. The first one is a PF file.
Any help & advice would be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Stuart

 

[Wesley Vogel]

[[When you open System Configuration Utility [MSCONFIG], Registry Editor or
Task Manager, they flash for a second and quit. This symptom is caused by
Viruses.]]

Task Manager, MSCONFIG, or REGEDIT disappear while opening
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/ToolsQuit.htm

HELPCTR.EXE is the Microsoft Help and Support Center. As in Start | Help
and Support

The PF file is a prefetch file.

[[Prefetch files are essentially a resource list. Any time a program is
executed, Windows XP will attempt to find a pre-existing prefetch file, and
if it's available, it will use it to make the application load up faster.
The file will also be updated after it is accessed, so that the more an
application is used, the bigger the drop in loading time (to a point). If
the application doesn't already have an associated prefetch file, Windows XP
will create one. Those files are stored in the \%windir%\prefetch directory.
One important note is that the process depends on the Task Scheduler
service. If the Task Scheduler service isn't running, the prefetch mechanism
isn't used and the files won't be read or updated.]]
http://www.filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=pf

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In