Did you try deleting your C:/Program Files/Electrum folder, then installing the Electrum 1.7.2 installer again?
Yes. Same result. Does not start. Even the portable version does not start.
I searched the "App Data" folder for electrum.dat but could not find any. I suppose there should have been one. Could it be possible that my machine has been compromised by some trojan that takes wallets ?
Edit: An extensive search of C: found electrum.dat in a subfolder called bash\.electrum --- I have no idea how it got there though.
Note: Electrum is still not starting.
Update: I did a scan with Trend Micro HouseCall and it found no threats on my computer. I understand that there might be things that it might have missed. Is there any specific trojan/security hole to look for? What has me worried is the /.electrum/ folder under /bash/ <---- could it be that some hacker is using bash to get at my electrum.dat ?
Update 2: I removed electrum.dat from bash\.electrum and deleted the .electrum folder. Now, Electrum runs and asks if I want to create a new wallet. Putting the original electrum.dat there prevents Electrum from running again. So, this seems to be an issue with my electrum.dat preventing Electrum from starting for whatever reason. It also indicates that Electrum somehow knows about this /bash/ folder and wants to create the new wallet under it. Is the .electrum folder a standard name for the folder where Electrum stores its data? What should I do now?