Hey, I need someone's help on this real bad.
My computer at work had a bunch of viruses on it from the last user one of which was the WinAntivirus Pro thing. I used spybot search and destroy to get rid of it and don't have the popups anymore. However, whenever I try and open a shortcut or go into Programs to open say Word or Excel I get this error that says "(null) specified path not found". Even when I try and do something like Run>"regedit" I get the same error message. However, I can open up old documents then open a new one off of them and it works fine. Internet is fine too. And when I download something new it won't open because of the same error message. Have I messed up my registry (and if so, permanently)? I know the corruptions from the virus were pretty bad but I didn't realize it was that bad. Is there anything I can do to fix this? I'm decent at working computers if I have instructions and am willing to do it manually if necessary. Or is my registry just gone and my computer with it? Anybody's help in any way would be amazing! Please reply quick!
It sounds like one of the malware programs altered the "run" command in the registry, by making everything run through it first. Then, when you removed the malware, the program it was supposed to run through was missing. Look at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/exefile/shell/open/command and see if anything has been added there. If there are any keys there at all, the only data should read:
"%1" %*
If you see any programs listed there, that was probably the old executable. That key told it to run the malware first, then the new program.
As far as editing the registry without being able to run regedit, that is a puzzlement. If you have another computer, you can make a BART CD from there that will include an external registry editor. Or, you can try safe mode. Or you can see if a third-party file manager like Total Commander will let you around that. Some such programs ignore the registry and use their own API calls to execute programs. Good luck.
UPDATE: You could try this: http://www.symantec.com/security_response/...-050614-0532-99
I'm not positive it'll cure what ails you, but if nothing else works, it might be worth a try.
"%1" %*
If you see any programs listed there, that was probably the old executable. That key told it to run the malware first, then the new program.
As far as editing the registry without being able to run regedit, that is a puzzlement. If you have another computer, you can make a BART CD from there that will include an external registry editor. Or, you can try safe mode. Or you can see if a third-party file manager like Total Commander will let you around that. Some such programs ignore the registry and use their own API calls to execute programs. Good luck.
UPDATE: You could try this: http://www.symantec.com/security_response/...-050614-0532-99
I'm not positive it'll cure what ails you, but if nothing else works, it might be worth a try.
can you tell us exactly what programs you DID use to try to clean this beauty?
we may be able to offer some more to see if sumunt is lurking
we may be able to offer some more to see if sumunt is lurking
QUOTE
Its not unusual to receive such an error after using specialized fix tools.
A "Cannot find...", "Could not run...", "Error loading... or "specific module could not be found" message is usually related to malware that was set to run at startup but has been deleted. Windows is trying to load this file but cannot locate it since the file was mostly likely removed during an anti-virus or anti-malware scan. However, an associated orphaned registry entry remains and is telling Windows to load the file when you boot up. Since the file no longer exists, Windows will display an error message. You need to remove this registry entry so Windows stops searching for the file when it loads.
To resolve this, download Autoruns, search for the related entry and then delete it.
Create a new folder on your hard drive called AutoRuns (C:\AutoRuns) and extract (unzip) the file there. (click HERE if you're not sure how to do this.)
Open the folder and double-click on autoruns.exe to launch it.
Please be patient as it scans and populates the entries.
When done scanning, it will say Ready at the bottom.
Scroll through the list and look for a startup entry related to the file(s) in the error message.
Right-click on the entry and choose delete.
Reboot your computer and see if the startup error returns.
A "Cannot find...", "Could not run...", "Error loading... or "specific module could not be found" message is usually related to malware that was set to run at startup but has been deleted. Windows is trying to load this file but cannot locate it since the file was mostly likely removed during an anti-virus or anti-malware scan. However, an associated orphaned registry entry remains and is telling Windows to load the file when you boot up. Since the file no longer exists, Windows will display an error message. You need to remove this registry entry so Windows stops searching for the file when it loads.
To resolve this, download Autoruns, search for the related entry and then delete it.
Create a new folder on your hard drive called AutoRuns (C:\AutoRuns) and extract (unzip) the file there. (click HERE if you're not sure how to do this.)
Open the folder and double-click on autoruns.exe to launch it.
Please be patient as it scans and populates the entries.
When done scanning, it will say Ready at the bottom.
Scroll through the list and look for a startup entry related to the file(s) in the error message.
Right-click on the entry and choose delete.
Reboot your computer and see if the startup error returns.
thanks to quietman7.post 10...http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic138462.html#entry781043
The program was Spybot Search and Destroy to get rid of a WinAntivirus Pro (ironically virus) that someone else had managed to let corrupt the computer. After much effort to try and get rid of all traces of the virus the Spybot apparently deleted several registry keys. I would try and see which ones were removed to repair them but can't access the registry. Would a complete reinstall of Windows 2000 work?
Yes it will!! Clears the malware and the errors.
Cool! Thanks for your help. One last quick question, by reinstalling Windows (I'm pretty confident I'll be able to save all the files before actually going through the reinstall) will this restore the registry keys that were deleted?
I'm a bit removed from @K now but a full wipe ofv the drive and install will remove everything and reinstall new. That said you will need to redo all updates. Do you have them available to youi?
I imagine I would have all the updates necessary. I already made a list of program files and applications to put back on to the computer. Are there specific updates you were referring to that I should ensure having?
I was thinking of the service packs and possible hotfixes that occured after the original disks.
Here's a link on installing if it will help.
http://www.windows2000.windowsreinstall.com/
Here's a link on installing if it will help.
http://www.windows2000.windowsreinstall.com/
Shouldn't I be able to go to the Microsoft website after installing and just download all the most recent updates? That had been my plan although if you have a simpler solution I would be grateful to hear it
I'm not certain as it is old.
Post a new question about that in this forum someone will know better.
Post a new question about that in this forum someone will know better.
Alright, thanks so much for all your help. I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I get everything back together
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