Microsoft installed their updates the other day (11/05/09), and I don't know what else they did, but it has apparently screwed up my system considerably. I noticed a problem when I tried to do a screen capture, and after doing some editing to it, it wouldn't "save" for me. I did some poking around and found the file path as C:\Users\Odean\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\FaststoneCapture. So I went looking for it, and couldn't get any further than my folder. My AppData folder has gone missing. Also, my "C" folder has a bunch of blue font in it now. Everything is in blue except for my ProgramData, temp, Users, and Windows folders. Everything else is in blue. And there are some folders directly in my "C" folder that look more like Registry keys than folder or file names. One is "2ce84685be242c07f2e8c7af1c) and there are 6 that look like this one. (?) They all have various dates of modification on them.

I tried System Restore, and it went back to when MS installed their updates, but the AppData Folder is still missing from my folder, and everything is still in blue. except the previously mentioned files. I know that everything was working fine on 11/4 because I used Faststone Capture very late that evening, and had no problems with it, or anything else on my system. Also, I haven't installed anything on my system, or downloaded anything else, anywhere.

I'd supply screen captures of what I see, but IT'S NOT WORKING right now, :-0) And the only security I'm running right now is Microsofts' Security Essentials, so if anything got into my machine..........it's all on Redmond!

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank You!

AppData is a hidden folder. You have to "unhide" it ( Organize > Folder and Search Options > View).

Could you post screenshots please. (of the blue bits)

I'm pretty sure the BLUE means COMPRESSED, both for files and folders. Open up Explorer and look at the ATTRIBUTES for the BLUE items, you should see 'c' in the Attributes.

Irv S.

Hello People! Sorry for the delay. The Vikings didn't play this weekend, so I did!! LOL Anyways, here we are. I ran the sfc scan @ WHS's suggestion, and it came through as 100% clean, and found no problems. So that's good.

I looked into the idea that Irv suggested, and indeed the folders that I did check ARE compressed, however I didn't do this to all of these folders. It would seem to me that this would have to be something that I did manually. Or am I wrong to think that? (A VERY GOOD CHANCE OF THAT!). Should I go and "Uncompress" them all, or are they fine to run on the system as they are? (I have room to run them either way) I don't notice any changes in reliability or performance, but then I don't know how long they've been like this either.......

The only changes or additions that I've made to the system is the uninstall of my security system which included AVG 9.0, Malwarebytes, SuperAnti-Spyware, and Spybot S & D. Then I installed MSE. Other than that, nothing else has been installed, un-installed, or downloaded on to this machine. Here is the screenshot that LH requested:

I await your further ideas, and criticisms.................

Edit: I put up the post, and is it just me, or is that pic REALLY fuzzy? My screen resolution is set to 1280 X 1024, but man that looks blurry as all get out. (That's just a phrase we use in the North Country, lol)

ALRIGHT IRV!!! That all works, with an explanation of the "random files" in the C drive that many others may encounter. I decompressed the C drive, and rebooted. All is back to normal now.

Got the eyes checked, and ALL IS BACK TO NORMAL now! LOL

As for those other mysterious folders and files. It turns out, that they are a by-product of MSE. I found and explanation for them here after I had opened them up as you suggested, and found that they all had 2 files in common and Googled those issues. The common factors are a file with the string "mpavdlta.vdm" in them. And according to the previously linked article, "The problem was with the signature updates and should now be fixed. Delete the folders and files that have already been created." as quoted from the article. So I'll just be deleting those orphans from my system, AFTER I create a system restore point.

So, other new converts to MSE might be finding the same issue, or they might not. I know I saw somewhere on HTG that some users of the product weren't able to get "automatic updates", which has since been corrected by Microsoft. Apparently these are fine to get rid of.

Thank You for your time! Case Solved!