Help! Programs not working!

A problem recently came up that I can't find a way to fix. On my PC, for some reason the control panel applets will not run from the control panel, but will from other sources such as the folder options in the explorer "tools" menu. The games Starcraft and the Sims 2 will also not run normally, but they will in safe mode. I have tried using generic fixes such as system restore, antimalware (trend micro pc-cillin 2007), updates, and registry cleans, but nothing is working. My OS is vista home premium 32-bit. Thanks for any advice you can give!

 

Hello? Anyone? A little addon to my problems is that Catalyst Control center is making my PC crash, so I got rid of it.

 

When this problem start? After adding a new application? (You mentioned Catalyst Control center)
When you uninstalled it, did you check in your Program files to make sure that it did not leave a folder containing leftovers?
If the uninstall did leave leftovers, delete them and run CCleaner, both the Cleaner and Registry tools.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_S...ish_d4191.html

You can try running the System File Checker.
This will compare your OS files to the OS files on your OS disc (or Recovery Partition) and repair or replace any missing or corrupt files, without affecting your personal files. (Music, Photos, Apps, etc.)
1) Insert your OS disc and close auto-play if it opens.
(If you have a Recovery Partition you can skip this step.)
2) Goto Start>Run, type cmd and press Enter.
A command window will open.
3) Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
Let it finish running and then restart your PC.

When you ran your malware scans, did ANYTHING show up? If it did, you may not have removed everything. You might want to run through these procedures completely.
MajorGeeks Malware READ & RUN ME

 

No, the malware detector came up with nothing. As for the registry cleans and ccleaner, yeah, that was my first thing to check. The part about the OS disk I did not know about, though, and I like the sound of that. Thanks!

I don't know if this is part of it as well, but I am using the beta of advanced windowscare. I uninstalled it completely with revo uninstaller (I use tons of MG programs) and nothing changed, but maybe there are settings that that irriversably changes or something? Anyway, thanks for your advice.

 

Sorry, that integrity scan didn't come up with anything.

Parts of system mechanic seven also don't work, as I discovered. The settings for the desktop incinerator has an error saying it doesn't work, and reinstalling it did nothing.

The pre-startup defragmentation also had errors, but that was nothing a swift punch in the nuts couldn't fix! :major (I flashed the bios, and for some reason it worked after that)