Weird WinXP problem - any ideas?

I'm running WinXP, and just recently some strange things have been happening on my computer. For a couple of weeks, some icons wouldn't load properly. There would be a spot where the icon is supposed to be (desktop, start menu and system tray), but it would either be all white or all black. And just yesterday, 2 little lines started showing up next to my cursor when hovering over text. Any ideas what is causing this? See the attachments for examples.







Thanks in advance,
Tim L. Walker

 

Weird.

I am guessing this doesnt happen if you boot into Safe Mode

Make sure to down load the latest version of Microsft Anti-spy and run it in Safe Mode to see if it finds anything, even if you already have a anti-virus program installed.

That would be first and easiest step to take.

 

1. does it go away when you reboot? I have found some older graphics programs or games will do that...

2. download TweakUI-XP and install it - then try "Repair Desktop Icons"

3. increase the amount of memory set aside for icons (I'll try to find the info for how to do that)

 

Yeah, it doesn't happen in safe mode. I have SpyBot S&D, and it didn't find anything. I run Norton AV, and tried an online scan w/ TrendMicro earlier today, and she's got a clean bill of health as far as I can tell.

 

The icons it seems to affect are Outlook, Outlook Express, and custom icons (for self-built programs).

I did try tweakui and did the repair desktop icons - no change.

Thanks in advance if you can find out how to increase the amount of memory for icons... (that being said, I have less than 20 on my desktop, though it does also happen in the sys tray and the start menu).

 

One way is to download the freeware program FreshUI from http://www.freshdevices.com/downfiles.html - then look in Desktop | Icons | Icon Cache or Desktop | Icons | Repair Icon Cache.

See also:

Repair the Icon Cache (All Windows) at Registry Guide for Windows
Use this setting if Windows is displaying incorrect or corrupted icons for your
programs and shortcuts.
www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1153/

Change the Icon Cache Size (All Windows) at Registry Guide for Windows
If your desktop icons are redrawing too frequently or are corrupt, it could be
because the icon cache is full. Try increasing the size by changing this setting.
www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/57/

If none of this works, Tim, try checking your Display settings (refresh rate, etc.) - the other possibility might be a bad display driver or card.

 

It addresses two very similar problems in Windows XP: one lies in the Windows Kernel and the other is the way Windows uses Icon ands Cursors. If you go to a Web site or open an email containing a specially created malicious Icon or Cursor, an attacker could take over your system and use it to spread viruses, create a Denial-of-Service attack or access your files.

This is a very important problem because it would be easy for a site to tempt a user with free Icons and Cursors and then hide an attack within the package - simply receiving a contaminated piece of spam or other email can also trigger the attack.

Download the patch here.

Might help.

You might want to try re-installing Microsoft Office, if this does not help.

 

If you already have Windows XP SP2, then this patch would not work.

 

Thanks for the advice... tried those suggestions, minstrel... no go. One things I just noticed while rebooting is the Windows loading screen. Does this shed a little more light? (photo taken, as you can't screenshot the loading screen):



oh, and sumitbahl, thanks for the suggestion - It is SP2, though.

 

I think Minstrel is logged out at the moment.

It could be the bad display driver or card as he had suggested, this would explain why it doesnt happen in Safe Mode. The driver kicks in at the splash screen your looking at.

Can you get an updated driver for the display?

 

Yes, as turfsniffer said - try updating the display driver or reverting to a "standard" Windows one. If that doesn't help, it may be a problem with the graphics card possibly? If it's a separate one, try reseating it... blowing the dust out... the usual things we all do when we really haven't a clue whether it will help or not

 

Except dont kick it like you would a car or a faulty lawnmower

 

Uh-oh... are you saying NOT to do that?

 

The best solution would be to format your C drive re-install the windows if you have time plus the windows CD. Thats what i always do. I re-install windows every 3-4 months. It does take up around 5 hours to setup windows, installing softwares and personalizing settings.

Windows has a lot of bugs that are really hard to fix.

I think apple are offering machines which would never crash. They guarrantee that. But i have never been comfortable with apple.

 

Whoa! That's a little extreme as a starting place. I think there's a few more things to check out before you need to go there. Also, if it is the graphics card or a bad memory stick (which is another possibility, by the way, Tim), that won't help a bit.

This isn't a Windows bug. This is something malfunctioning.

 

im betting on display driver... atleast for that windows startup screen

 

Yeah, the more I play around with it, the more I think it's the driver or the card itself... I'll play around with it more in the morning.

 

Ok. I redid the display drivers - so far, the icons seem good to go, but the cursor still has those double lines next to it, and the Windows start up screen still looks a little jumbled. I'll take the case off in the morning and do a little dusting... any other suggestions for the cursor? That bugs me the most.

 

Oh, and I'm not going to reformat it - I have way to much stuff - that would take me all weekend to complete.

 

Mouse driver? Check that refresh rate is within limits for your monitor? Did you try lowering the color quality (display properties)?