Something - probably malware - has provided my PC with several false Desktop folders. I have managed to get rid of all but one. Another will delete, but keeps reappearing each time I reboot, and I have to delete it again.
The one which I can't delete gives the error message that it is a "system folder" required by Windows. It is an EXTRA system folder, and I want that puppy gone!
Originally these false Desktop folders appeared in the Windows\All Users and Windows\Profiles\{my logon name} folders. At least one of them had some of my desktop items on it. Those deleted nicely without causing any problems. The empty folder on the one which won't delete still presents me with all my proper icons, just as though they were still in that folder.
On booting up, Windows is using the proper desktop. Even then, though, Windows still refuses to delete this false desktop folder. Another one, which I deleted earlier, reappears with each bootup, and must be deleted anew, but doesn't seem to be causing any other problems that I can see. I have moved these folders, and they move without protest. I've renamed them, also with no difficulty. But one keeps reappearing after deletion, and the other will not delete at all, no matter what I do.
Whenever I type my Microsoft Networking logon, my customized desktop reverts to an older version, probably coming from the false - and supposedly empty - folder.
It is strange, too, because the folder is empty when I open it, yet when Windows decides to start using it, all of my icons are still there. The colors are different - displaying my old preferences - and sometimes functionality is affected, too. Sometimes it can't open zip files, for example, but other times it can. The icons are all there on my screen, but arranged very differently.
None of the Desktop folders (including the proper one) says it is a system folder on the property sheet. Shouldn't it be marked as such if it truly IS a system folder? Other system folders, like Favorites, are properly marked as such. Why aren't ANY of these "Desktop" folders so marked, including the real one? I can't mark the proper one as a system folder, because the "system" box is obscured on all of these folders, and can't be clicked. It's the only legitimate system folder which is like that.
I've used Win98SE for years, and just did a complete format of C a few weeks ago. I don't want to do it again! All my patches and stuff are installed properly.
I'm currently trying to unearth the malware. My question here is how can I delete this stubborn system folder which is causing me problems? Is there a DOS command I can use? I know nothing of DOS commands to speak of.
In other forums I am asking for help to identify which specific malware does this to people's PCs. Any clues would save me a bunch of scanning.
Thank you,
Holly B.
