Computer Problems. This Gnome needs HELP!

Woa is me. I've got problems.
Ok for some reason none of my shortcuts will allow me to open their respected programs.
None of them.
Not even the .exe files themselves. I get the same message no matter what, just with differnt path names. Here is an example: "Windows cannot find 'C<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":\"> Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE'. You may have typed the name incorrectly in the Run dialog, or another open program cannot find a system file. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search."
Virus scans pick up nothing at all as being wrong.
So, yeah, how did I manage to get on the internet you may ask? Well McAfee is prompted at my start up so I went into it and click an internet link. <---resourceful.
But other than that I can't run diddly-squat unless it is a game that you can start by using the CD. You can see how this is a problem for me...no PP7, no CD Burner (so I can't backup any of my newer files and wipe the system and reinstall - not to mention the fact that most of my install CDs are at home and therefor not here, with me, at college), no nothing, for the most part. Cry for me. Or wait! Better yet! Put your collective noggens together and help me figure out how to fix this.

P.S. I would have considered running a spell check on this but I can't open Word.

What OS are you using?

gnome, sounds like you caught a wild comp virus...guess what, if you live in a college dorm...alot of em are born over there.

Are all of your .exe's gone when you look through explorer? Obviously not all, as windows.exe must still be intact.

or have they just been renamed? (ie Internet Explorer is 61.2kB)



In any case, either someone has f'd your computer purposely with macro's , or you have a virus.

p.s. changing .exe's to .dat's or .something-or-another's is a common real easy to do virus / macro. (especially if you just want to '@#%$ up the kids computer down the hall'. Try running scan disk and see if there are blocks/clusters on the disk that are not identified. Scan disk will tell you this before it prompts you to either remove, save, and in some cases, restore. If it shows that their are, seems to be a definite re-install in your future.

/shrug

Sounds more like a Trojan than a virus.

Run any silly programs lately that you downloaded or got in an email?

It sounds like something went in and renamed one or more of your folders or programs.

Look around, the fix could be something as simple as finding whatever used to be your program files folder and renaming it back to Program Files.

First of all, what operating system are you using?
Second, can you run any of your .exe files from a command prompt?
Third, is this confined only to programs in the Program Files folder, or if you try to run something from elsewhere does it give the same error?



Ignore the following, I was unclear on the problem.

<font size=-2>It sounds like you have a pooched registry entry which is trying to use iexplore to open .exe files. If you change the file regedit.exe to regedit.com (regedit does not use a stack, so it is safe to do this) and do a Start -> Run-> regedit, does regedit open? If so, do a search for IEXPLORE.EXE (edit->find->iexplore.exe). In Win2k the area you are looking for is probably HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\Shell\shell\open\command or similar. In my registry this key is set to %SystemRoot%\Explorer.exe /idlist,%I,%L.</font>

this happened to me...sort of. all my .exe files were turned into microsoft excel files...and excel was disabled somehow. Virus programs and a trojan hunter my friend gave me didn't do it...I just took the time to reformat.reformatting fixes most problems =)
/netura 52 wanderer SoS

Thanks guys. I neglected to mention that I am running WindowsME, yay is me.
Well I went ahead and went through files bit by bit looking for something...fishy. And on the second look around I found it! Sysrnj.exe Now what the bloody hell is that? It was a worm. So needless to say I jumped on the net and found a fix. 40minutes of changing default settings manually later my computer is working once again. There is only ONE problem I have, and it saddens me greatly, my program to open zip files, I have no idea what it was but am pretty sure it was built into Windows ME, is "gone." I say "gone" because when I turned the default files back I didn't know the program and so now I have to use Winrar. Why does this sucketh? Because the old way for me to open zip files was double click on it and it opened like a normal folder. How freaking convenient? you just cut and paste! None of that extraction nonsense that is overly tedious. I WANT MY OLD ZIP OPENER BACK! If anyone knows what I'm talking about and could help, please do so.

Thanks again for all the suggestions to fixing my computer, greatly appreciated.

Im sure you want WinZip

oh and netura, you more than likely had a macro virus usually run from excel.

those are nasty little buggers that almost anyone can make. By default you will be prompted to enable macros if you open a macro'd excel file. If your not sure (ie you really dont know who made it) DONT enable the macros.

Off topic, but without the optic blast, Cyclops looks:<ol><li>constipated<li>like he's screaming, "FREEDOM!"<li>like he's fucking the Invisible Woman.</ol>That is all.

That's Cyclops? I couldn't tell. I have to go with 3.

Spidey has nits.