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.
Please download
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop.
alternate download link 1alternate download link 2- Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
- Double-click on Download_mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
- When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When installation has finished, make sure you leave both of these checked:
- Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
- Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
- Then click Finish.
MBAM will automatically start and you will be asked to update the program before performing a scan.
- If an update is found, the program will automatically update itself.
- Press the OK button to close that box and continue.
- If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install.
On the Scanner tab:
- Make sure the "Perform Quick Scan" option is selected.
- Then click on the Scan button.
- If asked to select the drives to scan, leave all the drives selected and click on the Start Scan button.
- The scan will begin and "Scan in progress" will show at the top. It may take some time to complete so please be patient.
- When the scan is finished, a message box will say "The scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to display all objects found".
- Click OK to close the message box and continue with the removal process.
Back at the main Scanner screen:
- Click on the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found.
- Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
- When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to restart your computer. (see Note below)
- The log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
- Copy and paste the contents of that report in your next reply and exit MBAM.
Instructions with screenshots if needed.
Note: If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts. Click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process. If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware.