Hello,

I have a Dell Dimension E510 w/Windows XP. I recently converted from Norton Antivirus to SpySweeper and then I've been try to use the Microsoft Defender II antivirus program to protect my computer. Somewhere in the transition I got several infections and now I get an application error as soon as I try to log on which reads "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click on OK to terminate the application." And then the computer doesn't bring up the desktop. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this one? Thanks,

John

If the desktop doesn't load and it just sits there showing your background, try pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC. This will load the task manager. From there click File >> New Task. In the dialog that appears, type "explorer" and hit enter. Hopefully that will load the taskbar and we can fix the problem.

Also, try loading into Safe Mode. Hold F as your computer is booting and you should be presented with an option to select safe mode.

Look at the startup processes in MSConfig (Start >> Run >> "MSConfig", or use the Task manager method above using "MSConfig" instead of "explorer"). Check the startup tab to see if there's anything in there that could be causing the problem. It might be worth disabling anything that you consider non-essential and see if that lets you boot up.

If you can get to it, it might be worth doing a System Restore (Start >> Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools >> System Restore) and jump the PC back a few days. You won't lose any data etc.

Just a point here, but SpySweeper is not a replacment for an anti-virus. Generally A/V and anti-spyware utilities are separate. A vendor may bundle an A/V and an A/S in a security suite, but they are still separate.

Thanks for your posts. I think LTheobald is on the right track, it seems to be a software issue. I was able to do everything suggested by LTheobald's post but was unable to identify anything clearly wrong about what in the startup tab. I think its some software component of Norton's that's screwing up explorer.exe in the startup sequence. Let me know if you have any more suggestions. Thanks - JJ

If you go to Symantec's site, I believe there is a utility to completely clean out Norton A/V. I would suggest downloading and running it.

This is why I don't recommend Norton A/V. It sinks its hook too deeply into the OS often causing problems with other programs.