Task Manager fails to launch

**Greg** · June 29th, 2002, 22:20 PM

Hi All,

I hope somebody can help, I've looked through countless forums on the net and found that many people have this or similar problem - BUT - have yet to find anyone who has found or being given a solution to it.

The problem is this:- When I 'Ctrl-Alt-Del' I do not get the Task Manager as I should, I get absolutely nothing at all. I've tried the alternatives 'Ctrl-Shift-Esc' and right clicking in the Status Bar and selecting 'Task Manager' but with the same non-responsive result!

A few weeks back I was hit with the FLICKING Klez virus

(which I'm sure is the cause of the disappearing Task Manager), I got rid of this with Norton AV. I have checked the system files against the WinXP CD and find that although most are there, there are a couple which I dont know where they should be located on the HD. I've tried straight copying them across but they are compressed in some way and I also cannot work out how to uncompress them.

Has anybody here come across this problem and more importantly has anyone got a solution?

BTW - I'm rapidly going bald, pulling my hair out over this one!!

Greg.

**Blackwar** · June 29th, 2002, 22:25 PM

try going in the command prompt by going to start > run > type "cmd" (without quotes)

once you are in there, type in sfc /scannow
and let windows replace all the vital files it needs to run properly

That should do the trick

Blackwar

**Greg** · June 30th, 2002, 00:36 AM

Many thanks Blackwar, looking at your solution, I thought "yep, that'll do the trick". I can see the logic behind your thinking and the message that comes up in the window "Please wait while Windows verifies that all protected files are intact and in their original versions" confirmed that this should indeed do the trick. BUT and there's always a but! But I'm sorry to say that this had had no effect at all, I'm still Task Managerless! (Oh and yes I did reboot before trying to see if it had fixed it).
Valiant effort, but I don't know what the B****y H***s going on, but it's really begining to P me off!
Many thanks anyway, and if you have any other suggestions please post, I am willing to try anything (well almost, as long as its physically possible and legal that is!!!!)

Greg.

**Reverend** · June 30th, 2002, 00:44 AM

Greg,have you tried manually starting Task Manager?

Go to C:\WINDOWS\system32\ and double click on
taskmgr.exe.
If that opens the task manager then we are starting to get somewhere.

BTW,welcome to Techzonez.

**Blackwar** · June 30th, 2002, 00:45 AM

if that didnt work, then im kind of stumped

if you really have to use the task manager, then i would say do a format when you have the time.. since sfc /scannow didn't do it, then it must be a more serious problem, and a format seems to always do the trick..
also here is a great guide on reinstalling windows xp

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/w...356336,00.html

Hope that fixes your problem

Blackwar

**Greg** · June 30th, 2002, 01:29 AM

Hi Reverend,

Many thanks to you two for replying to this post so quickly.

I couldn't agree more, I should be able to do that, but, the taskmgr.exe file ain't there!! Perhaps if I expand it may be clearer to all.

In sys32 (regarding task manager only, there's a lot of other shit in here besides) there is:-
taskkill.exe
tasklist.exe
taskman.exe and that's it !!! ???
recently copied over from original WinXP CD is also:-
TASKBARW.CH_
TASKMGR.EX_
TASKMGR.HL_
TASKMGRW.CH_ Now these files need to be expanded/unziped/uncompressed in some way and converted to .exe .hlp (help file) & .chm (compiled HTML help file) before they will run, and quite probably the .hlp & .chm files belong in the Windows/Help folder anyway.

The question now is:- how does one copy and uncomprees the .XX_ files and with what application does one do it with?

I would be very grateful for any suggestions as this is driving me mad!

Greg.

PS Blackwar, I'll take a look at that site with the guide for re-installing, but I'm quite reluctant at this stage to go down that avenue if at all possible, had bad results in the past from trying to do re-installs - it seems MS software gets its knickers in an awful twist when its been over written. But I will take a look nonetheless. Greg.

**Blackwar** · June 30th, 2002, 02:02 AM

Originally posted by Greg
Hi Reverend,

Many thanks to you two for replying to this post so quickly.

I couldn't agree more, I should be able to do that, but, the taskmgr.exe file ain't there!! Perhaps if I expand it may be clearer to all.

In sys32 (regarding task manager only, there's a lot of other shit in here besides) there is:-
taskkill.exe
tasklist.exe
taskman.exe and that's it !!! ???
recently copied over from original WinXP CD is also:-
TASKBARW.CH_
TASKMGR.EX_
TASKMGR.HL_
TASKMGRW.CH_ Now these files need to be expanded/unziped/uncompressed in some way and converted to .exe .hlp (help file) & .chm (compiled HTML help file) before they will run, and quite probably the .hlp & .chm files belong in the Windows/Help folder anyway.

The question now is:- how does one copy and uncomprees the .XX_ files and with what application does one do it with?

I would be very grateful for any suggestions as this is driving me mad!

Greg.

PS Blackwar, I'll take a look at that site with the guide for re-installing, but I'm quite reluctant at this stage to go down that avenue if at all possible, had bad results in the past from trying to do re-installs - it seems MS software gets its knickers in an awful twist when its been over written. But I will take a look nonetheless. Greg.

hey Greg,
in response to your question, to expand those files, you open a command prompt (like i described before, so im assuming you know how to do it

)
, then go to the folder where the files are, like taskmgr.ex_ , and make sure the command prompt folder is set to read that folder as well, type cd.. until it gets there..
then once you are in the folder with the files you want to expand, type "expand taskmgr.ex_ taskmgr.exe" (without the quotes) and it will expand the file and you will have the working file , do the same for the rest, like "expand taskbarw.ch_ taskbarw.chm" etc. etc.

I hope that helps

Blackwar

**Big Booger** · June 30th, 2002, 02:23 AM

http://www.protect-me.com/rtm/

YOu could try a remote version, the download is available on that site.
My suggestion is to go with a reformat... It seems to be a very viable option for you. Just make sure to back up any important data.
BB

**Greg** · June 30th, 2002, 23:43 PM

B I N G O !

Hi Blackwar, Reverend et al,

The longest way round, is the shortest way home!

Needless to say it worked, I decided last night that it was best left until to day before carrying on any futher as I was already making silly mistakes due to tiredness, I'd been trying to sort this since 9 in the morning!

Anyway, tonight opened the CLI (sorry Amiga throwback!) Command Promt and copied 'taskmgr' file to somewhere more convenient to work on i.e. just below documents & settings, to save delving all the way down the roots to the file it was in, carried out the 'expansion' as described by Blackwar and - hey presto - copied it back to where it belonged, <Ctrl-Shift-Esc> "Well hello Task Manager, how's yourself, long time no see!"

What can I say; Brilliant, Ten out of Ten, Excellant - a good job well done, many thanks to you both.

Pardon the ramblings but I am "chuffed to bits" - it was really driving me nuts this time last night.

I shall now e-mail half a dozen others that I have come across with the same problem and point them here to follow this thread to get themselves 'sorted' also.

Thanks again,

Greg.