PC problems

[Stuwing]

Ever since we were gone a week with the computer turned off I've had problems. The cable modem may have been left on while we were gone, but I have a router. As I understand it, that acts as a firewall. We only have one computer. I have Norton System Works and have run it a few times. Basically the symptoms are that I click on desktop icons and get nothing. My mail software is Outlook Express and it works fine. But I have to right click on Internet Explorer and click OPEN to get a window. The Palm Software/Hotsynch doesn't work. I'm trying to troubleshoot that. Very few items work from the START button. Do I have a virus? I've run LIVE UPDATE from the Norton System Works software. Please tell me what else you need to help me fix this problem. This is a Gateway 1450mhz machine that is more than 3 years old. I am prepared to get a new machine if necessary, but if I can I'd like to fix these problems first. Thanks...Stu

[redwench]

you may or may not have a virus, but its best to rule that out first. as you indicate that you can actually get everything to run with some fiddling, all of the suggestions should just be time consuming, rather than difficult. you might need to enable some scripting for a couple; if they dont work, set your browser security settings to low.

run windows update

online scans:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
www.trojanscan.com

download, install, UPDATE, then run the programs at http://security.kolla.de
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

then run a scandisk and defrag, and reboot

if the problems still exist, it might be time for a reinstall.