Several programs do not work

[nln4v]

This problem has been persisting for about two months now.

I used Paint Tool SAI to draw and edit pictures for nearly 9 months without any problems at all. One day when my computer restarted to install updates, I tried to open SAI. It would display the normal splash screen but after several seconds an error sound would play and then it would not work at all. I've tried uninstalling and re-installing SAI but this process repeats. The strange thing is that the process shows up in Task Manager but it does not show up onscreen anywhere else.

After that happened, other art programs I've previously used without any problem would freeze and stop working.

Programs that I've tested:

Corel Painter Essentials 4
OpenCanvas
GIMP

I've tried:
-scanning my computer with both Avast and Malwarebytes. Both scans turned up nothing.
-cleaning out my registry with CCleaner. It did not fix the problem.
-using system restore to rollback any windows update that might have caused the problem. It did not fix the problem.

Re-installing Windows 7 would be a last resort for me.

Please help and thank you for any assistance you can offer.

 

[office politics]

try the program again. then goto control panel, find event viewer. post any error msg near the time the error occured.

 

[nln4v]

There aren't any error messages that occur when I restart the program.

 

[luke127]

Okay now that's weird. Perhaps Combofix may succeed where MBAM failed. Although I won't recommend it unless the others do because I personally haven't used it and so don't know what to do with it. But keep in mind that it might find something that MBAM didn't

 

[nln4v]

Try restoring the computer system to an earlier date before the updates were installed.

I've already tried this and it still did not work.

 

[luke127]

The update may have involved other things apart from registry edits. Which is why the restore won't work. K we could really use your knowledge on this one.

 

[nln4v]

Okay now that's weird. Perhaps Combofix may succeed where MBAM failed. Although I won't recommend it unless the others do because I personally haven't used it and so don't know what to do with it. But keep in mind that it might find something that MBAM didn't

I'm a little hesitant to use Combofix because I would feel like I have no idea what I'm doing with it. I can only imagine myself messing this problem up even further.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[luke127]

That's why I said wait until someone else recommends it. I also asked KsOD if he could give some advice into this situation.

 

[office politics]

I've tried uninstalling and re-installing SAI but this process repeats. The strange thing is that the process shows up in Task Manager but it does not show up onscreen anywhere else.

in task manager, can you right click the process and click bring to front. if it doesn't show, do you see a icon in the taskbar? if yes, right click and then click move. Then, click n drag to pull the app on screen. maybe its hidden elsewhere.

next, i would uninstall the the program and confirm that all files and folders are deleted. check program files for any related files. use ccleaner to delete any leftover entries.

alternatively, you could download the software linked below to uninstall.

Revo Uninstaller - CNET Download.com


however, something tells me that there's some core windows component that broke here. i would expect this to show in event viewer tho. you may want to run sfc /scannow to check your windows installation


another option is to start uninstalling windows updates to see which one broke it.

 

[KSoD]

An alternative to Revo is IO Bit Uninstaller. The advantage to using that is it will clean the access files so no need for CCleaner. Plus it does a better job than Revo. I have found that from personal experience.

After you do that to remove the software, reinstall it to see if that helps. If not then do this:

Start>cmd>Right click & Select Run as Admin>type in sfc /scannow

That will run the System File Checker to verify your Windows files are in tact. If they are, then it has to be something more complex than a broken service or program.