Unresponsive shortcuts, system info files and folders

[Sondi]

After installation of a Spyware program that almost
wiped out my entire computer, I have pretty much got
everything caught up except my display and some system
locating issues. Most of the shortcuts and file, folder
icons on my desktop generate no response when I attempt
to open them. They are dead-ends, but do not generate an
error message. I have also found that I cannot create a
shortcut from any of my drives onto my desktop.
Troubleshooting guides do not seem to be providing a
resolution. I have already tried re-installing windows
and it's updates, doing it again just doesn't sound like
much fun. Where should I go from here? Thanx

 

[Delwin Lee [MSFT]]

I would start by disabling all startup programs (you can do this by going to
Start\Run and entering "msconfig"; from there, select "Diagnostic Startup").

If that makes no difference, then you may need to resort to more extreme
measures. If your system was compromised by a worm or trojan horse, then the
only way you can be sure it's clean is to start over with a clean install.