Control Panel freeze

[FrankSG]

My daughter's has Win98. She said that when she tries to get into Control Panel all of her icons disappear on the desktop and all she can see is her wallpaper. The computer then freezes and she has to reboot. It happens every time she tries to go to Control Panel. Do you think she has to reinstall the OS? Or might there be an easier way? Thanks.
~Frank~

[palkot]

The first thing to do is run an antivirus program if you haven't already.

Otherwise, how old is the system? Is opening the control panel the only thing it freezes on, or is it slow and choppy normally? Is this a problem that's been getting progressively worse?

If you don't find a virus, run scandisk from the system tools menu (or from the command prompt? it's been a while since I've used 98). If the system (hard drive) is old, it just might be that.

[Budfred]

I would run a full set of security scans, not just the antivirus. Make sure the antivirus is up to date and run an online scan once it is done. Some viruses will infect the antivirus loaded on the machine and will not read it. Then do a spyware scan with Spybot Search & Destroy and/or AdAware. Then it might be wise to run HijackThis and copy/paste the log here for the experts to look over. It certainly sounds like a malware infection... You can find links to security programs in mjc's security thread... (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15179)

Edit: I just noticed it was you, FrankSG, that posted this thread, so you know all this stuff anyway.... oh well...

[FrankSG]

I just noticed it was you, FrankSG, that posted this thread, so you know all this stuff anyway.... oh well... Thanks for your confidence, but you guys gave me some things to try that I wouldn't have thought of. We'll give it a try.

[Paul Komski]

Just possibly Active Desktop could somehow be causing this.

Right Click on Desktop and choose Active Desktop and if "View as Web Page" is ticked - untick it.

There is a setting on the Effects Tab of the Display Properties which can "Hide Desktop Icons when viewed as a Web Page". That is the rationale for thinking this area could be corrupted and thereby leading to your daughter's problem.

[FrankSG]

Originally posted by Paul Komski
Just possibly Active Desktop could somehow be causing this.

Right Click on Desktop and choose Active Desktop and if "View as Web Page" is ticked - untick it.

There is a setting on the Effects Tab of the Display Properties which can "Hide Desktop Icons when viewed as a Web Page". That is the rationale for thinking this area could be corrupted and thereby leading to your daughter's problem.
Paul--I'm going to call her and give here these suggestions. Do you think that this could also cause it to freeze? If I remember correctly, I think she said that it gave her some sort of an error message, too. I'm going to ask her what that message was. Maybe then you guys can get a better handle on the problem. I probably won't get to talk to her until tomorrow.

[Paul Komski]

Suspect the problem is deeper rooted but there's little to lose by looking at Active Desktop.

[FrankSG]

It's fixed! I think it started when she installed some sort of a game. I had her uninstall the game and then run Scan disk I suggested that she also run her spyware programs--that's always a good idea . So far--so good. I remember one other time she had a problem because of a game that she installed. She has two little girls, so their big on the games. I've always been a little bit leery of some of the games that they make for little kids. Thanks to all for your feedback.

[FrankSG]

Originally posted by FrankSG
It's fixed!
I'm sorry but I gave you some inaccurate information. It's not fixed--I misunderstood her. I went over to her house today and she's still having the same problem. But I wrote down the error message that she's getting at startup--maybe that will help you put your finger on the problem. When she starts up the computer, it starts up OK. But there is a message that says, "The EVENTEX.DLL file is linked to missing export COMNCTR.DLL?Path@CPathName@@QBE?;AVCString@@CXZ" That's exactly what it says. If you click, "OK", the computer works fine except when she tries to get into Control Panel. Here's what we did to try and fix it: We restored an earlier registry--that did not help. We ran ScanDisk and Norton Disk Doctor--that didn't help. There is not spyware on her system nor is there a virus. We even re-installed Windows and that didn't help. I thought for sure that would do it. I have no idea what the message means that she gets. Could it mean that the CMNCTR.DLL file is missing? If so, where can she get one and where would she put it? Maybe in the Windows/System folder? Sorry to bother you with this again, but I thought she had it fixed.

[david eaton]

Can you run the System File Checker? Start>Programs>Accessories>System tools.

If a windows file is missing or corrupted, this will detect it, and restore the original file from your installation CD.

Sorry if I'm teaching my grandmother......

[Paul Komski]

These files seem to be related to a Logitech cordless mouse.

See: http://www.input-drivers.com/drivers/16/16421.htm

If that is the case it looks like a case of uninstalling/reinstalling the mouse/drivers (or downloading the correct ones from the web).

Check out Device Manager in any case and try removing any mice in there and rebooting - using CTRL+ALT+DEL if necessary.

[mjc]

Do the rodent check in Safe Mode.....

[FrankSG]

I think that it's fixed. Well--sort of fixed. That is--she still gets that pop-up message that I mentioned above, but she can now get into Control Panel and the computer doesn't freeze. I went over to my daughter's house this afternoon. First I ran a virus check and everything is OK there. I then re-booted into safe-mode, went into Control Panel and removed the mouse. I then re-booted and Windows re-installed the mouse. But, we still had the problem. As I mentioned before, I re-installed Windows and that didn't help. Here's what I did to correct the problem today. The problem started when she installed a game called "Finding Nemo." She un-installed the program but the problem did not go away. So, I decided to reinstall the game that gave her the problem. After the program was installed, the problem was fixed. As I said, she still gets the pop-up message about the two files, but the computer works OK. So, I then un-installed the game program which changed nothing. She still gets the pop-up message but the computer still works fine. I ran ScanDisk which told me that there are no problems. So, can anyone figure out what that pop-up message means now?
Thanks.

[mjc]

Both those files seem to be linked to Logitech MouseWare problems. The first file mention is a Logitech file, part of the MouseWare package. The second seems to be a WinXP file. Since she is running 98 I'd say the problem is with the Logitech software....like the wrong version is installed. (it is not the actual mouse drivers, but the "extra" features that are the problem)

[FrankSG]

The mouse-ware was what was causing the problem. So what we did was to uninstall the mouse and the re-install the software and that took care of the problem. My brother helped me on it since he's smarter than I am.:) Well--he really is. A couple of days ago I tried to un-install but I did it through Device Manager and that didn't help. My brother un-installed it through the Control Panel>Add/Remove. That did the trick. I told you that he's smarter than I am. Thanks to everyone for your help.
~Frank~