So, Darunia Has a Computer Virus...

[Darunia]

I reckon that it's called Windows Recovery. This seems to be it:

http://www.techvts.com/windows-recovery-virus-removal

It opens itself as a scanning program, and detects errors. It cannot be closed. It will not let me open Task Manager.(CTRL-ALT-DEL) opens the standard options, but Task Manager is absent. When I boot up my computer now, my desktop of completely blank. I cannot access most files; it says almost every folder is "empty".

I managed to go into MSCONFIG startup, and shut-down three programs from "unknown"; this seems to have had some effect, as the fake scanner no longer opens... yet, the other symptoms persist: Still no icons on desktop; still cannot run task manager; still can't access files on harddrive.

Help me, Tendo Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.

Well, not only hope, but it'd be nice.

Your best

HRM, Darunius Maximus, Imperator Goronorum

[etoven]

I reckon that it's called Windows Recovery. This seems to be it:

http://www.techvts.com/windows-recovery-virus-removal

It opens itself as a scanning program, and detects errors. It cannot be closed. It will not let me open Task Manager.(CTRL-ALT-DEL) opens the standard options, but Task Manager is absent. When I boot up my computer now, my desktop of completely blank. I cannot access most files; it says almost every folder is "empty".

I managed to go into MSCONFIG startup, and shut-down three programs from "unknown"; this seems to have had some effect, as the fake scanner no longer opens... yet, the other symptoms persist: Still no icons on desktop; still cannot run task manager; still can't access files on harddrive.

Help me, Tendo Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.

Well, not only hope, but it'd be nice.

Your best

HRM, Darunius Maximus, Imperator Goronorum

I suggest malware bytes.. It's free and awesome..
http://www.malwarebytes.org/

BTW, there is a paid version if you wont real time scanning.. The free version will still scan and remove nasties with all the charm of the paid version, it's just not real time you have to manually run a scan.

[Great Rumbler]

Ad-Aware is a pretty good program to have/use. Also, HijackThis, if you know what you're doing.

If worst comes to worst, reinstall Windows. Not a fun thing to do, but it'll get rid of the bug.

[A Black Falcon]

Avira also has a bootable CD antivirus program you can download for free. Burn it to a disc, see if that detects anything... that helped me with one computer where nothing I could run while Windows was running could get rid of the virus.

Other than that yeah, Malwarebytes, spybot search and destroy, and ad-aware should be considered essential, at least for trying to figure out what you're infected with. First you need to know what it is, then see if those programs can get rid of it. If those can't, that's when it gets tricky. But perhaps they will, or a bootable CD.

[EdenMaster]

How long have you had it? I had something similar a few months back (Fake scan windows, Task Manager option disappearing) and a simple System Restore cleared it up.

[Darunia]

Malwarebytes did the trick... and while it's restored most functionality, when I go to start/programs, all of the program folders are there (for example, games, like Warcraft,), but inside THOSE folders, they all say (empty). The programs are there, I can view and access them via desktop icons, or via Explorer, but not via start menu. Odd.