I ran a scan with adaware, spybot, and avira and fixed all checked. Now windows picture and fax viewer no longer works. The same infections no longer pop up when i run scans, but windows picture and fax viewer just no longer works. Anyone got any ideas?

Scott

Did you delete or quarantine? If something was accidentally quarantined, you should be able to reverse it, but if deleted you might be out of luck.

Also, when you say Windows Picture and Fax Viewer doesn't work, you mean it doesn't open when you click a .jpg? If so, check your file extension associations.

You can also create a shortcut to open it using the target:

%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen

Once open, you can click and drag items to the window.

I quarantined but have no idea what to un-quarantine.

The problem is not that my preferences are set to automatically open files of those extensions with another program. Windows picture & fax viewer simply does not open period. If I double click on an image, it will not load. Additionally, I can't see thumbnails either, all images just appear as icons. And yes, it's set to display them as thumbnails.

I'm not sure what you were saying with the code...

Right click on image you wish to open. Then select 'Open with' and 'Windows Picture and Fax Viewer' should be in the drop down list. It will also ask if you wish to use this all the time. If so, click the YES box.

Without knowing what was quarantined by mistake, you'd have to go through it systematically by trial and error unless you can post a list here which might give us some idea. But before going through all the trouble, if you do as Pierre67 suggests, it should reset Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as the default program for the file extensions you choose by right-clicking. Note: instead of "Open With/Windows Viewer", it may be "Open With/Choose Program/Windows Viewer" to get the checkbox to "Always Use This Program." I'm not sure if it also fixes the thumbnail view, but I wouldn't be surprised if the viewer is integrated into the operating system like IE.

The code I gave is the target for creating a shortcut to the viewer. Usually shortcuts point to an executable e.g.

C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware\Ad-Aware.exe

But for Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, there is no .exe file. If you want a shortcut so you can open the viewer:

1. Copy an existing shortcut and rename it to whatever you want.
2. Right-click properties and copy/paste the code into the "Target" field.
3. Click OK and move the shortcut to wherever you want it (folder, desktop, etc)

If done properly, double-clicking the shortcut opens Windows Picture Viewer, then you can click/drag files to the window to open them. Note, I have Win XP, not sure if this works with Vista or Win 7.

Thanks Pierre but as I already clarified windows picture & fax viewer doesn't work. Checking that it was still my default and right clicking were the first things I did.

Attached is my avira log

Were you able to open the viewer using the shortcut I described? It should work, as I have Win XP SP2 like you. Apparently, the viewer is integrated with folder thumbnail view. When I Googled "thumbnail view not working" I found this thread which references the same SHIMGVW.DLL as the shortcut target:

http://www.tech-archive.net/Archive/WinXP/...1/msg00121.html

The shortcut thing didn't do it but that last one did! Thanks so much, you rule the day.

Still, it's a mystery what caused the problem - if it was related to the security scans or a coincidental glitch. Regardless, since this issue appears to be resolved ... this Topic has been closed. Glad we could help

If you're the topic starter, and need this topic reopened, please contact the staff member who was helping you with your issue.

Everyone else please begin a New Topic.

Thank you !