Server execution failed -- second try

I recently posted the message below and an administrator responded to please follow the standard steps before asking for security help, then closed the thread.

I'm very sorry folks but I can't follow the standard steps -- when I try to run programs I get one of the two following messages:

Server execution failed

or

Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.

(Please note my account is an admin account on my pc.)

Not sure what to do next. Original message follows.




I was editing some home video files and my computer was running very slow. I edited the files, then tried to run them with WMV. I got an error message, "server execution failed". Kept getting it over and over.

Perplexed, I opened google chrome to google what this meant. Chrome would not open, same error -- "server execution failed." I thought I should try a system restore, but I can't do that either -- I don't remember the exact error (it wasn't server execution failed) but it was something like invalid path.

My young adult son is on the computer now, on his account. The local files on his account run fine but he can't run chrome on his account either.

I'm posting this here because I suspect something malevolent is at work. What info should I provide?