Problem with explorer.exe [PLEASE HELP]

[eaze2009]

Hey guys how are you ? basically my problem isnt old and there are more people with the same situation but those solutions dont work with me...

my problem is when i log into my account , my desktop stays blank so no icons and stuff.
i went to task manager and tried to start the explorer.exe process myslef but it couldnt happen and an error came on screen
saying

windows cant find explorer.exe and some other stuff....

now i saw that most people recommended using malware bytes, i tried that but it didnt work. ( is it necessary to put the computer in safe mode?)

i tried using combofix and it still didnt work

there was another solution which required deleting some key values or folders like explorer.exe and iexplorer.exe,
the problem with this solution was that i could find iexplorer folder but not explorer.exe folder.

This has happened once before, it was the recyccler problem and i solved it with combo fix and malwarebytes, but now it seems different...

so any help on how to solve this situation guys?

i am going to take it to a shop soon but im afraid they might not be able to solve it as well so i have to go far to the hp customer service centre for help.

oh and some information...
i dont have the windows cd as i bought my computer from a store pre built.

so please any information would be appreciated, want to fix it because im missing out a lot of work.luckily i can still run the web browsers such as firefox and opera and other program and games but i cant start control panel or recycle bin.
so its getting annoying ,
PLEASE HELP AND GIVE YOUR SUGGESTIONS as i know toms hardware has helped me a lot before....

 

[hang-the-9]

Explorer.exe is not a folder but a file.

Can you logon as a different profile and have the icons there? Have you actually looked in your Desktop folder on the computer to see if the files are there?

 

[eaze2009]

Explorer.exe is not a folder but a file.

Can you logon as a different profile and have the icons there? Have you actually looked in your Desktop folder on the computer to see if the files are there?

Yeah The files are all there I checked it through task manager.
I cant create a different account to log into because I cannot access control panel. If I do so using the task manager it says the file is not associated with any program

And yes I know what explorer. Exe is

It's ironic how I always fix my friends and cousins computer but I'm stuck on mine.

 

[hang-the-9]

Can you run Windows Updates? You may want to try that to see if it will fix any files, especially if you need service packs installed.

From your issues, sounds like you need to at least do run a Repair setup of Vista, if not a full re-installation.

 

[eaze2009]

Can you run Windows Updates? You may want to try that to see if it will fix any files, especially if you need service packs installed.

From your issues, sounds like you need to at least do run a Repair setup of Vista, if not a full re-installation.

I havent got any prompts for update yet , but im certain that it wont help.

yeah i think ill need a repair setup of vista or maybe a full re installation,

i would have definitely done that sooner but the only problem is that all my data would be gone, and my data measures a whopping 1TB

 

[hang-the-9]

Repair would not kill anything, and you can even do a re-installation without wiping your files (just install in a different directory or over the existing setup). Although you'd have to install your applications again.

Or just spend $50 on a new hard-drive and use your current one for data. That's my usual recommendation for a new OS installation. Newegg has the Samsung F3 1tb drive for $55 free shipping. I actually just bought one 30 minutes ago.

 

[eaze2009]

Repair would not kill anything, and you can even do a re-installation without wiping your files (just install in a different directory or over the existing setup). Although you'd have to install your applications again.

Or just spend $50 on a new hard-drive and use your current one for data. That's my usual recommendation for a new OS installation. Newegg has the Samsung F3 1tb drive for $55 free shipping. I actually just bought one 30 minutes ago.

I'm Planning to buy an external one as unfortunately I have a slimline pc.
I can't repair as well as I don't have the windows cd.

 

[hang-the-9]

I'm Planning to buy an external one as unfortunately I have a slimline pc.
I can't repair as well as I don't have the windows cd.

Get an internal drive and an external USB bay for your existing drive. Then use the new one as your main boot drive. You'll need to get a disk to install the OS though.

 

[eaze2009]

Get an internal drive and an external USB bay for your existing drive. Then use the new one as your main boot drive. You'll need to get a disk to install the OS though.

Hey I have a recovery option that says , restore to factory settings should I do that? After backing uP of course...
Most technicians say that the windows restore is built in and that that's it .
And why should I buy a new internal hard drive ?

 

[hang-the-9]

That restore will re-install Windows to how it came from the vendor fresh.

You want a new internal hard-drive to replace yours so you don't have to worry abut backing up your data and settings, you can get them at your leisure from the old drive.

 

[eaze2009]

Best answer selected by eaze2009.