OS: XP x86
I have the latest ver of CFP and only had to re-install it once because one of the past updates corrupted the config file and CFP started wreaking havoc on my installed programs. But after re-installing CFP all was good. Fast forward to the present...I just updated to the latest ver (through the auto-updater) and restart - all went well. I even had multiple reboot post the update and still all was well - until on one boot - a CFP dialog popped up for one of my apps wanting access to the Internet.
Instead of doing my usual thing and selecting: "treat the application as an installer/updater" I selected the "isolated application" (I still can't understand why CFP doesn't include the "trusted application selection") because the fact of the matter is that the process was neither an installer nor updater. That's when things went pear-shaped. The moment I hit OK my system froze - so i did the obvious and rebooted. Now, I can't access any of my programs (including system files such as msconfig or even WMP (so safe mode is inaccessible) I just get a dialog form windows saying "windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have appropriate permissions to access the item". This problem is so debilitating it even prevents all my startup processes from running, including CFP; Anti-virus etc are all down. I don't even have 'permission' to shutdown the computer, i have to do it through task manager >.<
I'm lucky i'm still able to access my files. But the otherwise the entire OS is inoperable.
Any ideas?

EDIT: It appears that i can't copy (e.g. to a usb drive) any executables either. i.e. no file with the .exe extension (i can't change either it because i run into the same problem). It appears that permissions for the entire OS have been messed around with.