Explorer not running properly

[Erik Maurer]

Im not quite sure what started this whole problem.  But whenever I turn this computer on, most of the time (95%, I am on it luckily right now) it will load up windows, for some reason Windows Media player will come up, and then everything will dissapeara and it will just show the desktop picture and I cant do anything else.  It makes a sound like there is an error message, but nothing comes up on my screen.  It just looks like someone went and closed explorer.  How do I fix this?  I have normal settings on in the msconfig window.

[Raptor]

But whenever I turn this computer on, most of the time (95%, I am on it luckily right now) it will load up windows

When your computer does boot properly, use the following applications:

Virus scanners
AVG Free
-- Anti virus scanner
Trend Micro Housecall
-- Online anti virus scanner.

Anti spy/malware
Microsoft Antispyware
-- Anti spyware scanner. Windows XP Home and Professional only.
Spybot Search & Destroy
-- Anti spyware scanner
Adaware SE Personal
-- Anti spyware scanner

Firewalls
Using only one firewall is advised. Dual firewalls may cause problems.
Using a hardware firewall and a software firewall is even more adviced.
ZoneAlarm Free
-- Free firewall - more user friendly
Sygate Personal
-- Free firewall - more configuration options

Removal tools
The following files are not substitutes for the ones described above.
They are either diagnostic tools or removal tools for malware of a certain kind

HijackThis
-- Manual malware remover. Post the HijackThis log generated only if requested!
McAfee Stinger
-- Virus removal tool. No substitute for a fully functional virus scanner!
CWshredder
-- CoolWebSearch removal tool. Widely known and persistant Hijacker.