Just for the record, on my old XP machine, after trying the «repair» function, after not being able to find back the aswclear utility once in safe mode (my bad certainly), after many unsuccesfull attemps to deactivate the self defense module, after asking myself «what do I have to loose?», I rather tried the «change» function (the top one if not labeled exactly like with my French version) instead of the «repair» one, in «add/remove programs».
It downloaded a bunch of files and then, the «restart» button and link worked as expected.
I don't come here often, so, dear regulars, take note of this additional trick and add that to the list of things to try before using the aswclear utility and the assle of multiples reboots, going back and forth between safe and normal modes.