Clicking "C:" now asks for program
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From: Singburi Sam on 24 Mar 2010 09:23 On Mar 22, 4:04 pm, Singburi Sam <singburi_...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: No one helped me with this question. Perhaps because I slipped up during the description. I'll try again. > I am a novice user of Windows XP (and happy to remain > novice!) I learn how to do simple things but sometimes the > simple things change. > > Just now I wanted to look for my most recent additions to > a certain folder. I do this in a very simple way: > Click on My Computer > Click down to the appropriate folder > Select appropriate View > > But today this didn't work! Clicking on My Computer works OK, then I click on "Local Disk (C:)" Now I get a window with a list of programs: which program would I like to use to open C:? !!! > ... And I can't do the simple thing I wanted to. > > My kids use the computer; perhaps they've changed some > setting inadvertantly, but I've no idea what or how to fix. > > Any help appreciated. Experimenting a little I see: clicking on a flashdrive works normally; clicking on folders works normally; perhaps only C: is affected: it's like the software thinks it is a regular file rather than a disk. I did discover a simple workaround: Instead of clicking C: with the left mouse button, I press the right mouse button and select "Explore:". This gets me, more or less, to where I wnated to be. Still I am curious: why the change in behaviour? Sam
From: Nicholas Geti on 24 Mar 2010 12:37 Most likely a virus. "Singburi Sam" <singburi_sam(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:d59bc817-10dd-4f75-b28d-7e15d194200e(a)n39g2000prj.googlegroups.com... On Mar 22, 4:04 pm, Singburi Sam <singburi_...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: No one helped me with this question. Perhaps because I slipped up during the description. I'll try again. > I am a novice user of Windows XP (and happy to remain > novice!) I learn how to do simple things but sometimes the > simple things change. > > Just now I wanted to look for my most recent additions to > a certain folder. I do this in a very simple way: > Click on My Computer > Click down to the appropriate folder > Select appropriate View > > But today this didn't work! Clicking on My Computer works OK, then I click on "Local Disk (C:)" Now I get a window with a list of programs: which program would I like to use to open C:? !!! > ... And I can't do the simple thing I wanted to. > > My kids use the computer; perhaps they've changed some > setting inadvertantly, but I've no idea what or how to fix. > > Any help appreciated. Experimenting a little I see: clicking on a flashdrive works normally; clicking on folders works normally; perhaps only C: is affected: it's like the software thinks it is a regular file rather than a disk. I did discover a simple workaround: Instead of clicking C: with the left mouse button, I press the right mouse button and select "Explore:". This gets me, more or less, to where I wnated to be. Still I am curious: why the change in behaviour? Sam
From: Singburi Sam on 24 Mar 2010 23:31 On Mar 24, 11:37 pm, "Nicholas Geti" <ng...(a)optonline.net> wrote: > Most likely a virus. Thanks, I was wondering about that. I did run AdAware Smart Scan without problem. I'll try Full Scan, though it takes a long while. I hope it's not rude to suggest that your brief reply is not fully convincing. Have you seen this sort of symptom before? Can you explain why you think it's a virus? Sam
From: JD on 24 Mar 2010 23:44 Singburi Sam wrote: > On Mar 22, 4:04 pm, Singburi Sam<singburi_...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > No one helped me with this question. Perhaps because I > slipped up during the description. I'll try again. > >> I am a novice user of Windows XP (and happy to remain >> novice!) I learn how to do simple things but sometimes the >> simple things change. >> >> Just now I wanted to look for my most recent additions to >> a certain folder. I do this in a very simple way: >> Click on My Computer >> Click down to the appropriate folder >> Select appropriate View >> >> But today this didn't work! > > Clicking on My Computer works OK, then I click on "Local Disk (C:)" > Now I get a window with a list of programs: which program > would I like to use to open C:? !!! > >> ... And I can't do the simple thing I wanted to. >> >> My kids use the computer; perhaps they've changed some >> setting inadvertantly, but I've no idea what or how to fix. >> >> Any help appreciated. > > Experimenting a little I see: clicking on > a flashdrive works normally; clicking on folders > works normally; perhaps only C: is affected: it's > like the software thinks it is a regular file > rather than a disk. > > I did discover a simple workaround: Instead > of clicking C: with the left mouse button, > I press the right mouse button and select "Explore:". > This gets me, more or less, to where I wnated to be. > Still I am curious: why the change in behaviour? > > Sam In My Computer, right click on your C drive and select Properties. Anything look out of place? Under the General tab, what is the Type and the File System? Obviously something is wrong, I'm just not sure what it is. Is one of your choices to open the folder with Windows Explorer? -- JD..
From: Singburi Sam on 25 Mar 2010 11:27
On Mar 25, 10:44 am, JD <J...(a)example.invalid> wrote: > Singburi Sam wrote: > > Clicking on My Computer works OK, then I click on "Local Disk (C:)" > > Now I get a window with a list of programs: which program > > would I like to use to open C:? !!! > > In My Computer, right click on your C drive and select Properties. > Anything look out of place? Under the General tab, what is the Type and > the File System? Local Disk; NTFS Nothing seemed odd under the other tabs. > Obviously something is wrong, I'm just not sure what it is. > > Is one of your choices to open the folder with Windows Explorer? "Internet Explorer" is an option. I clicked there and got "Application Not Found", which is odd since I'm running IE as I type this! (Right-clicking on C: gives "Explore" as one option; it takes me, more or less, to where left-click used to take me.) (I also clicked "Notepad" as a harmless looking Program; it said "Cannot find the "C:\. txt file Do you want to create a new one?") Pursuing another suggestion I did run AdAware Full Scan. The results might be interesting or amusing, though the Subject-line problem doesn't change. (I don't expect any response about this beyond the obvious "Hey dude, read the beginner's page on malware protection!" Is there an appropriate ng for reporting these malware details?) The Full Scan reported 51 Magania Spyware, and 1 Kelvir Worm The automatic recommended action was "Successful". I rebooted the machine as instructed; verified that left-click C: still failed; ran AdAware FullScan again. It still wasn't clean, finding 4 more Magania's; reboot, repeat, and finally "0 Objects were found"! (Though left-click C: still failed.) I have very slow Internet connection, but am planning to upgrade soon. I need to decide whether to first due some massive data backup, followed by Windows reinstall.... Sam |