"He" is a "she".
The plugins can be disabled through the config.php file.
Note: To temporarily disable the plugin system, edit config.php and add this line right under <?php
PHP Code:
define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true);
edit: I didn't see that you posted when I was posting... did you try also removing any files that are not standard vb files that may be getting 'called' in one of your templates?