Help! My PC is haunted!

Posted by: JeremyD on 22 December 2003

In the last two or three days icons on my PC have been swapping around for no apparent reason - it's soooo spooky. I have not been able to identify how and when it starts but rebooting restores the correct icons. The icons that get swapped are not the same every time, and sometimes several different file types get the same icon.

I have: scanned my Win98 PC with two up to date anti-virus programs, scanned it with two anti-spyware/trojan/etc. programs and checked for hard disk and windows problems with Norton utilities (solving one minor problem that seemed to have been caused by ..ahem... Norton utilities). Then I ran out of ideas...

I am particularly worried because PestPatrol found three Trojans on my PC a month ago! After deleting them I searched my PC for alien files, fearing illegal porn, and found not porn but pics of all manner of game controllers! Most puzzling!

Any useful suggestions - other than wiping my HD and reinstalling Windows - will be most appreciated.

Posted on: 22 December 2003 by Roy T

Have you tried to RightClick on an empty part of your desktop to get the Arrange Icons By menu? Now have a look at what happens if you start to Arrange Icons By something like Date Modified or Auto Arrange, this I think should have your icons moving about. I feel this is a place to start your search to regain control of your icons. All it takes is a slip of a RightClick to turn you desktop into something quite posessed.

Roy

Posted on: 22 December 2003 by JeremyD

Thanks Roy. I'm afraid I didn't explain the problem clearly enough - I must remember to stay away from the forum when tired. The icons are not swapping location: file types are swapping icons! For example, one time several .pdf files on my desktop got the Mozzilla browser's icon instead. And last time it happened, the icon for the shortcut to a game-site was, rather appropriately, substituted for the icons for two different types of game file!

Posted on: 23 December 2003 by throbnorth

Jeremy,

You'll be pleased to hear that this is a known Windows 98 bug. Something in a bit of the registry gets corrupted, and then all the icons get tired and emotional and start playing swapsies.

Microsoft have a very useful little tool called Tweak UI that enables you to fiddle with all sorts of aspects of the Windows interface. If you haven't come across it, download it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/downloads/PowerToys/Networking/NTTweakUI.asp

and follow the instructions. When you fire it up, on one of the many tabs you'll find an item called 'repair icons'. With luck, after a reboot this should sort you out.

throb

Posted on: 23 December 2003 by JeremyD

Thanks Throb - I have now exorcised my PC.