Explorer unable to start (0xc0000022)

[time]

Got lumbered with someone's 3-year-old PC that was running slowly. Removed the usual crapware, then attempted to uninstall a well-out-of-date AVG 2012 (only found out afterwards that this didn't happen properly). Ran a ScanDisk before checking fragmentation, which complained about and 'fixed' improper security attributes on some files ...

After this, PC throws this error while starting Windows (after login):

Explorer.exe
The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000022).

After which there is a black screen of doom. You can limp along from this by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del, launching Task Manager and running Explorer.exe as Administrator. Safe Mode also works.

I can't find a clear reason for the error, let alone a solution. Sfc /scannow doesn't find anything. I suspect that access rights have been crippled on some DLL that Explorer loads, but that may just be a wild-eyed theory. In any case, I have no idea how to fix it.

Since then, I have run a cleanup utility from AVG and also went back to the restore point before the first attempted uninstall of AVG, but to no avail.

BTW, the Windows license number has been completely worn off the case, so I can't attempt a Windows Repair (although from the forums I've read, this won't help either).

H e l p ?

 

[CougTek]

Can't you boot on a WinPE CD and try a chkdsk /r? Sometimes, it fixes file security attributes errors. You can also retrive the Windows key with Magical Bean Key Finder or something similar. It is pre-installed on the WinPE environment of any recent Hiren's Boot CD.

Honestly, unless you don't value your time much, at this point, I would simply retrieve the Windows installation key, save the data, format and reinstall.

 

[time]

Thanks for that CougTek - for some reason, I thought that key finders didn't work with Windows 7. :dunno:

Magical Jelly Bean worked perfectly and I was able to run a successfully repair. Cheers!