Ctrl+Alt+Delete does nothing

Yeah, so whenever I hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete, nothing happens- I was wondering if there could be any really obvious explanation for this, I use XP and this has been going on for a while- that and whenever I boot up, I get about five messages about certain files missing. Next time I reboot, I'll relay what files they are specifically, but until then, I'd appreciate it if you could point out how to fix this fairly annoying problem.

Thanks,
Ron

 

I once encountered this problem. In my case, it was malware. I cured my malmare ills by following the steps bellow. Before you do these steps though, try this:

Hit Start > run > type "taskmgr" and hit OK. If the task mannager comes up, my best guess about what is causing ctrl+alt+delete not to work is a) keyboard trouble or b) you do not have full admin privellages on your computer. But given the missing files you alluded to, by BEST best guess is malware. I cured my malware ills by following the following steps:

http://boards.cexx.org/viewtopic.php?t=957

I also used a program called HijackThis. Be carefull with hijackthis, its for professionals. Do a scan and then post the log to this forum or the forum above.

 

Thanks, I'll do all the stuff there later. Now, when it comes to the files I get alerted about whenever I boot up, here's the list and what they each say when they come up.

hphmon06.exe - This application has failed to start because hpzjrd01.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.

"Runner Error" - Runner file name (Updates from HP.exe) lacks a '-' (the app id separator)

RUNDLL - Error loading C:\WINDOWS\cfgmgr52.dll; The specified module could not be found.

RUNDLL - Error loading AUNPS2.DLL; The specified module could not be found.

 

I know this may sound odd. But try shutting down the computer, and unplugging the keyboard, then replug the keyboard. See if this help any.

Also, just to test a few thing.

What happens when you hit CTRL + ESC?
What heppens (if you have multiple programs running) when you hit ALT + TAB?
Does the DEL key work?