Windows 7 - QuickLaunch opens EVERYTHING! - Asked By TJ Osaka on 02-Apr-12 11:43 AM

From time to time, for no apparent reason (unless on my Lenovo ideabook there is some swipe or gesture that causes this, unbeknownst to me) EVERY PROGRAM in quick launch, plus some others, suddenly comes alive on the desktop. Clicking the upper right corner X will not get rid of some of them. Always have to do a restart.  Anyone know how to prevent this?

Install the latest service pack for the Operating system , and the input drivers.

I doubt your computer has been infected with a spyware software. To remove this i would recommend you to use ComboFix. This will remove all the spyware programs from your computer and i think you should be good then after that.

But, remember you need to have an active internet connection to use it efficiently. Browse to the below link and follow the instructions on the webpage,
http://www.combofix.org/

I would suggest you to use the below mentioned methods and check if this resolves your issue –
Method 1: Perform a SFC Scan 
1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
sfc /scannow 
A message will appear stating that 'The system scan will begin'. Be patient because the scan may take some time
3. If any files require a replace SFC will replace them. You may be asked to insert your Win7 DVD for this process to continue
4. If everything is okay you should, after the scan, see the following message "Windows resource protection did not find any integrity violations" 
5.After the scan has completed, close the command prompt window, restart the computer and check.

Method 2:
If the issue persists, I would suggest you to create a new user account and check if you face the same issue there –

Only one & good option is Repair or upgrade your M/c with the latest Windows OS.

1. Start Windows 7, and log on to an administrator account.

2. Disable any 3rd party firewall, antivirus, or other security program to avoid it from possibly preventing the repair in-place upgrade installation of Windows 7.

3. Do either step 4 or 5 below depending on what type of retail Windows 7 installation media you have, and what Windows 7 you currently have installed.

4. Repair Windows 7 SP1 installation using "retail" Windows 7 with SP1 installation media

    A) While in Windows 7, insert your retail Windows 7 with SP1 installation DVD into the DVD drive, or connect your Windows 7 with SP1 installation USB thumb drive, and click on the Run setup.exe option in the AutoPlay window from within the currently installed Windows 7. (See screenshot below)
    NOTE: If the AutoPlay window does not open, then open the drive folder in Computer and run the setup.exe file.

    B) If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

    C) Click on the Install Now button to start the installation.

    D) Go to step 6.

5. Repair Windows 7 SP1 installation using "retail" Windows 7 without SP1 installation media
NOTE: If you have not used the SP1 Disk Cleanup Tool, then you could also just uninstall SP1 and do step 4 above instead with your "retail" Windows 7 without SP1 installation disc instead.

    A) While in Windows 7, insert your retail Windows 7 without SP1 installation DVD into the DVD drive, or connect your Windows 7 with SP1 installation USB thumb drive, right click on the DVD drive or USB drive in the Computer window, and click on Open. (See screenshot below)

    B) Right click on the setup.exe file, and click on Properties

    C) Click on the Compatibility tab, check the Run this program in compatibility mode for: box, select Windows Vista (Service Pack 2) from the drop down menu, and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

    D) Run the setup.exe file.

    E) If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

    F) Click on the Install Now button to start the installation.

    G) Continue on to step 6.

6. If prompted, uncheck the I want to help make Windows installation better box (unless you would like to ), and click on the Go online to get the latest updates for installation option. (See screenshot below)

    A) Windows 7 will now check online for and install any available installation updates.

7. Check the I accept the license terms box and click on Next.

8. Click on the Upgrade option.

9. Windows will now check for any compatibility issues. If any are found like in the example below, take care of them first then restart the repair install process over again.

10. The installation of Windows 7 will now begin.
NOTE: During the installation process, your screen may flash and computer will restart a few times.

11. After the final restart, you will see this screen for a moment.

12. Type in your Windows 7 product key number.

13. Uncheck the Automatically activate Windows when I'm online box unchecked, then click on the Next button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You can activate Windows 7 later after you make sure it is running properly. (See step 20 below)
If you chose to automatically activate Windows online when you set up your computer, automatic activation begins trying to activate your copy of Windows three days after you log on for the first time.

14. Click on Use recommended settings.

15. Select your time zone and set your time and date settings, then click on the Next button.

16. Click on the option for your computer's location to select the correct network location type settings to be applied for that location.
NOTE: It is best to select Public location for the best security.

17. Windows 7 will now prepare your desktop to startup.

18. Check to see if you are missing any user files. If you are, then you can copy them from the C:\Windows.old or the hidden protected operating system C:\$INPLACE.~TR and C:\WINDOWS.~Q backup folders. (See screenshot below)

19. If everything checks out in step 18, then you can run Disk Cleanup (step 6 at this link). You will need to click on the Clean up system files button first, and then could check the Files discarded by Windows upgrade, Previous Windows installations, and Windows upgrade log files boxes. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: This will delete the C:\Windows.old, C:\$INPLACE.~TR and C:\WINDOWS.~Q folders from step 17 above.

20. Refresh your Windows Experience Index (WEI) score.

21. When done, all you will need to do is to activate Windows 7, and make sure that your security programs are enabled again.

HI,

Might b ur system is infected with malware. The bset way to get rid of this problem is to restrore to previous restore point.

Follw the procedure to restrore

1. Open ur system in safe mode.

2. Goto All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore.

3. Select Restore my computer to an earlier time.

4. Press Next

5. Select an old restore point from the calender. Press next.

6. At last do restrart ur system to restore to earlier time when ur system was not infected with malware.

Remove the programs from quicklaunch.
Run Combofix.  the free version from combofix.org run malwarebytes free version.
and if you have to run one more then try AVG Free. 2012

These three work well for me.

Don