Windows Explorer Closes every 5 seconds (Vista)

I'm stumped. Whenever I open an explorer window (not Internet Explorer - that
works fine); i.e. Control Panel, Documents, Computer etc; it appears for 1-5
seconds and then immediately closes, taking all open windows and the task-bar
with it.
Normally Explorer then restarts in a few seconds (bringing back the
taskbar), but sometimes this doesn't happen and I have to restart explorer
manually using the task manager.
Virus and other scans all come up clean, although I did get a
Trojan.Vundoo_B detected a few days ago.

Any ideas welcome. I'm working through some system restore points now, but
the system was a clean install only 4 days ago, so there's not that much to
backtrack on.
In the meantime, I've resorted to moving files around using DOS (still
works, but painful).

Vista Home Premium, Intel C2Duo 8200, 2GB DDR2/800, WD 160GB SATA System
Disk, 4 x Samsung 500GB SATA Storage disks in RAID 5.

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

You must still have the virus around. Download Kaspersky run a full test
and see if it picks up anything. That's a REAL av.

"Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:234AF11B-6676-456E-9654-14786C30A62D@microsoft.com...
> I'm stumped. Whenever I open an explorer window (not Internet Explorer -
> that
> works fine); i.e. Control Panel, Documents, Computer etc; it appears for
> 1-5
> seconds and then immediately closes, taking all open windows and the
> task-bar
> with it.
> Normally Explorer then restarts in a few seconds (bringing back the
> taskbar), but sometimes this doesn't happen and I have to restart explorer
> manually using the task manager.
> Virus and other scans all come up clean, although I did get a
> Trojan.Vundoo_B detected a few days ago.
>
> Any ideas welcome. I'm working through some system restore points now, but
> the system was a clean install only 4 days ago, so there's not that much
> to
> backtrack on.
> In the meantime, I've resorted to moving files around using DOS (still
> works, but painful).
>
> Vista Home Premium, Intel C2Duo 8200, 2GB DDR2/800, WD 160GB SATA System
> Disk, 4 x Samsung 500GB SATA Storage disks in RAID 5.
>
> Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Thanks Kookieman. I wasn't sure whether to keep looking down the virus path
or if it was just incompatible software somewhere.
I'll get Kaspersky running and provide an update shortly.
Tks.

"kookieman" wrote:

> You must still have the virus around. Download Kaspersky run a full test
> and see if it picks up anything. That's a REAL av.
>
> "Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:234AF11B-6676-456E-9654-14786C30A62D@microsoft.com...
> > I'm stumped. Whenever I open an explorer window (not Internet Explorer -
> > that
> > works fine); i.e. Control Panel, Documents, Computer etc; it appears for
> > 1-5
> > seconds and then immediately closes, taking all open windows and the
> > task-bar
> > with it.
> > Normally Explorer then restarts in a few seconds (bringing back the
> > taskbar), but sometimes this doesn't happen and I have to restart explorer
> > manually using the task manager.
> > Virus and other scans all come up clean, although I did get a
> > Trojan.Vundoo_B detected a few days ago.
> >
> > Any ideas welcome. I'm working through some system restore points now, but
> > the system was a clean install only 4 days ago, so there's not that much
> > to
> > backtrack on.
> > In the meantime, I've resorted to moving files around using DOS (still
> > works, but painful).
> >
> > Vista Home Premium, Intel C2Duo 8200, 2GB DDR2/800, WD 160GB SATA System
> > Disk, 4 x Samsung 500GB SATA Storage disks in RAID 5.
> >
> > Has anyone else had a similar problem?
>
>
>

It certainly sounds like virus like behavior. Depending on how much damage
has been done, Kaspersky may or may not work for you. Have you tried
booting into safe mode and moving your files? It might work.

"Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4E30421E-DC49-4203-A26A-C41488BD11DC@microsoft.com...
> Thanks Kookieman. I wasn't sure whether to keep looking down the virus
> path
> or if it was just incompatible software somewhere.
> I'll get Kaspersky running and provide an update shortly.
> Tks.
>
> "kookieman" wrote:
>
>> You must still have the virus around. Download Kaspersky run a full test
>> and see if it picks up anything. That's a REAL av.
>>
>> "Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:234AF11B-6676-456E-9654-14786C30A62D@microsoft.com...
>> > I'm stumped. Whenever I open an explorer window (not Internet
>> > Explorer -
>> > that
>> > works fine); i.e. Control Panel, Documents, Computer etc; it appears
>> > for
>> > 1-5
>> > seconds and then immediately closes, taking all open windows and the
>> > task-bar
>> > with it.
>> > Normally Explorer then restarts in a few seconds (bringing back the
>> > taskbar), but sometimes this doesn't happen and I have to restart
>> > explorer
>> > manually using the task manager.
>> > Virus and other scans all come up clean, although I did get a
>> > Trojan.Vundoo_B detected a few days ago.
>> >
>> > Any ideas welcome. I'm working through some system restore points now,
>> > but
>> > the system was a clean install only 4 days ago, so there's not that
>> > much
>> > to
>> > backtrack on.
>> > In the meantime, I've resorted to moving files around using DOS (still
>> > works, but painful).
>> >
>> > Vista Home Premium, Intel C2Duo 8200, 2GB DDR2/800, WD 160GB SATA
>> > System
>> > Disk, 4 x Samsung 500GB SATA Storage disks in RAID 5.
>> >
>> > Has anyone else had a similar problem?
>>
>>
>>

Sometimes the virus scanners can not get rid of vundoo. Vundoo is a very
popular virus that I encounter when I do computer repairs. I base my
vundoo repairs that bleepingcomputer has posted in their forum at: 'How
To Remove Winfixer / Virtumonde / Msevents / Trojan.vundo.b'
(http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic18610.html)

Just ignore the ads and follow the instructions on the forum post on
bleepingcomputer very carefully and you should get cleaned 100%.


--
fuzor_silverbolt

-----------My Rig-----------
Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6700 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs),
~2.7GHz
Memory: 3326MB RAM
Hard Drive: 984 GB 2x500GB RAID 0
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Monitor: SyncMaster 2220WM/G22PW/220WM(Digital)
Sound Card: SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate 32bit

fuzor_silverbolt wrote:

>
> Sometimes the virus scanners can not get rid of vundoo. Vundoo is a very
> popular virus that I encounter when I do computer repairs. I base my
> vundoo repairs that bleepingcomputer has posted in their forum at: 'How
> To Remove Winfixer / Virtumonde / Msevents / Trojan.vundo.b'
> (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic18610.html)
>
> Just ignore the ads and follow the instructions on the forum post on
> bleepingcomputer very carefully and you should get cleaned 100%.
>
>
You got me curious. Do you have much business with malware removal on Vista
boxes? The Vista Fanboys around here maintain that Vista is secure. How do
your customers manage to get these viruses then?

Cheers.

--
Vista will make you speechless!
http://tinyurl.com/38zv7x

Proprietary Software: a 20th Century software business model.

Q: What OS is built for lusers?
A: Which one requires running lusermgr.msc to create them?

Frank, hard at work on his Vista computer all day:
http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/war...tm/compost.htm

You don't have 4 CPUs. You have 4 CPU cores.. with 1 CPU. Vista Ultimate
won't run with anything more than 2 CPUs.


"fuzor_silverbolt" <fuzor_silverbolt.35f17z@no-mx.forums.net> wrote in
message news:fuzor_silverbolt.35f17z@no-mx.forums.net...
>
> Sometimes the virus scanners can not get rid of vundoo. Vundoo is a very
> popular virus that I encounter when I do computer repairs. I base my
> vundoo repairs that bleepingcomputer has posted in their forum at: 'How
> To Remove Winfixer / Virtumonde / Msevents / Trojan.vundo.b'
> (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic18610.html)
>
> Just ignore the ads and follow the instructions on the forum post on
> bleepingcomputer very carefully and you should get cleaned 100%.
>
>
> --
> fuzor_silverbolt
>
> -----------My Rig-----------
> Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
> Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6700 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs),
> ~2.7GHz
> Memory: 3326MB RAM
> Hard Drive: 984 GB 2x500GB RAID 0
> Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
> Monitor: SyncMaster 2220WM/G22PW/220WM(Digital)
> Sound Card: SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
> Operating System: Windows VistaT Ultimate 32bit

NoStop wrote:
> fuzor_silverbolt wrote:
>
>
>>Sometimes the virus scanners can not get rid of vundoo. Vundoo is a very
>>popular virus that I encounter when I do computer repairs. I base my
>>vundoo repairs that bleepingcomputer has posted in their forum at: 'How
>>To Remove Winfixer / Virtumonde / Msevents / Trojan.vundo.b'
>>(http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic18610.html)
>>
>>Just ignore the ads and follow the instructions on the forum post on
>>bleepingcomputer very carefully and you should get cleaned 100%.
>>
>>
>
> You got me curious. Do you have much business with malware removal on Vista
> boxes? The Vista Fanboys around here maintain that Vista is secure. How do
> your customers manage to get these viruses then?
>
> Cheers.
>
I guess you won't believe the actual users of Vista, huh?
No viruses!
If a large(r) company, corporation gets a virus it's usually from a
disgruntled employees purposely infecting the network. This happens
quite often and is usually the result of lazy, stupid IT's (Idiots in
Training) no properly "locking down" their network.
Of course I don't expect you to know this seeing as how you proly aren't
involved with any "large" companies or corps.
Frank

Ok. I think I'm on the right track now. Thanks.
I ran Kaspersky (online) and it found 16 Virtumonde.gen instances. I don't
know why stupid Symantec didn't find those.
Anyway, I've now bought Kaspersky and it cleaned those instances. The
symptoms remain, but I'll have a look around today to find how to completely
remove Virtumonde and Vundo and all will hopefully be fixed.
(it does run ok in safe mode - which is good because otherwise I would have
been unable to remove Symantec and install Kaspersky)

Thanks for the help!


"kookieman" wrote:

> You must still have the virus around. Download Kaspersky run a full test
> and see if it picks up anything. That's a REAL av.
>
> "Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:234AF11B-6676-456E-9654-14786C30A62D@microsoft.com...
> > I'm stumped. Whenever I open an explorer window (not Internet Explorer -
> > that
> > works fine); i.e. Control Panel, Documents, Computer etc; it appears for
> > 1-5
> > seconds and then immediately closes, taking all open windows and the
> > task-bar
> > with it.
> > Normally Explorer then restarts in a few seconds (bringing back the
> > taskbar), but sometimes this doesn't happen and I have to restart explorer
> > manually using the task manager.
> > Virus and other scans all come up clean, although I did get a
> > Trojan.Vundoo_B detected a few days ago.
> >
> > Any ideas welcome. I'm working through some system restore points now, but
> > the system was a clean install only 4 days ago, so there's not that much
> > to
> > backtrack on.
> > In the meantime, I've resorted to moving files around using DOS (still
> > works, but painful).
> >
> > Vista Home Premium, Intel C2Duo 8200, 2GB DDR2/800, WD 160GB SATA System
> > Disk, 4 x Samsung 500GB SATA Storage disks in RAID 5.
> >
> > Has anyone else had a similar problem?
>
>
>

Sure- Glad it worked. The virus has most likely been around too long for it
to be eradicated completely. Symantec has caused much grief to many around
me so I know what you're talking about. Kaspersky when I last checked had
some great deals on their AV suite where it came to 0 after two rebates.
Don't know if that's still on.
I would suggest you backup everything and go for a clean install. That way
you'll be sure the system isn't compromised.

"Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:FB616547-D133-408E-AFAB-328A8C7A905F@microsoft.com...
> Ok. I think I'm on the right track now. Thanks.
> I ran Kaspersky (online) and it found 16 Virtumonde.gen instances. I don't
> know why stupid Symantec didn't find those.
> Anyway, I've now bought Kaspersky and it cleaned those instances. The
> symptoms remain, but I'll have a look around today to find how to
> completely
> remove Virtumonde and Vundo and all will hopefully be fixed.
> (it does run ok in safe mode - which is good because otherwise I would
> have
> been unable to remove Symantec and install Kaspersky)
>
> Thanks for the help!
>
>
> "kookieman" wrote:
>
>> You must still have the virus around. Download Kaspersky run a full test
>> and see if it picks up anything. That's a REAL av.
>>
>> "Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:234AF11B-6676-456E-9654-14786C30A62D@microsoft.com...
>> > I'm stumped. Whenever I open an explorer window (not Internet
>> > Explorer -
>> > that
>> > works fine); i.e. Control Panel, Documents, Computer etc; it appears
>> > for
>> > 1-5
>> > seconds and then immediately closes, taking all open windows and the
>> > task-bar
>> > with it.
>> > Normally Explorer then restarts in a few seconds (bringing back the
>> > taskbar), but sometimes this doesn't happen and I have to restart
>> > explorer
>> > manually using the task manager.
>> > Virus and other scans all come up clean, although I did get a
>> > Trojan.Vundoo_B detected a few days ago.
>> >
>> > Any ideas welcome. I'm working through some system restore points now,
>> > but
>> > the system was a clean install only 4 days ago, so there's not that
>> > much
>> > to
>> > backtrack on.
>> > In the meantime, I've resorted to moving files around using DOS (still
>> > works, but painful).
>> >
>> > Vista Home Premium, Intel C2Duo 8200, 2GB DDR2/800, WD 160GB SATA
>> > System
>> > Disk, 4 x Samsung 500GB SATA Storage disks in RAID 5.
>> >
>> > Has anyone else had a similar problem?
>>
>>
>>

Yeah - I eventually went the rebuild option and it's all good now. I tracked
the virus down to a particular install (an old version of WinZip from
I-don't-remember-where).

Thanks!

"kookieman" wrote:

> Sure- Glad it worked. The virus has most likely been around too long for it
> to be eradicated completely. Symantec has caused much grief to many around
> me so I know what you're talking about. Kaspersky when I last checked had
> some great deals on their AV suite where it came to 0 after two rebates.
> Don't know if that's still on.
> I would suggest you backup everything and go for a clean install. That way
> you'll be sure the system isn't compromised.
>
> "Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:FB616547-D133-408E-AFAB-328A8C7A905F@microsoft.com...
> > Ok. I think I'm on the right track now. Thanks.
> > I ran Kaspersky (online) and it found 16 Virtumonde.gen instances. I don't
> > know why stupid Symantec didn't find those.
> > Anyway, I've now bought Kaspersky and it cleaned those instances. The
> > symptoms remain, but I'll have a look around today to find how to
> > completely
> > remove Virtumonde and Vundo and all will hopefully be fixed.
> > (it does run ok in safe mode - which is good because otherwise I would
> > have
> > been unable to remove Symantec and install Kaspersky)
> >
> > Thanks for the help!
> >
> >
> > "kookieman" wrote:
> >
> >> You must still have the virus around. Download Kaspersky run a full test
> >> and see if it picks up anything. That's a REAL av.
> >>
> >> "Baddle" <Baddle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:234AF11B-6676-456E-9654-14786C30A62D@microsoft.com...
> >> > I'm stumped. Whenever I open an explorer window (not Internet
> >> > Explorer -
> >> > that
> >> > works fine); i.e. Control Panel, Documents, Computer etc; it appears
> >> > for
> >> > 1-5
> >> > seconds and then immediately closes, taking all open windows and the
> >> > task-bar
> >> > with it.
> >> > Normally Explorer then restarts in a few seconds (bringing back the
> >> > taskbar), but sometimes this doesn't happen and I have to restart
> >> > explorer
> >> > manually using the task manager.
> >> > Virus and other scans all come up clean, although I did get a
> >> > Trojan.Vundoo_B detected a few days ago.
> >> >
> >> > Any ideas welcome. I'm working through some system restore points now,
> >> > but
> >> > the system was a clean install only 4 days ago, so there's not that
> >> > much
> >> > to
> >> > backtrack on.
> >> > In the meantime, I've resorted to moving files around using DOS (still
> >> > works, but painful).
> >> >
> >> > Vista Home Premium, Intel C2Duo 8200, 2GB DDR2/800, WD 160GB SATA
> >> > System
> >> > Disk, 4 x Samsung 500GB SATA Storage disks in RAID 5.
> >> >
> >> > Has anyone else had a similar problem?
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
>