BleepingComputer.com: Crippled Normal Startup.

Hello. I've encountered a terrible problem on my computer.

Basically, if I attempt to start my computer in normal mode, my computer runs so incredibly slow that it will register mouse clicks up to 25 secs afterward. This problem started when I noticed my processor was running at 100% constantly, and I took some steps to try and fix it. These steps I took seem to have made the problem worse, unfortunately I'm not entirely sure what the problem is, but I have a number of guesses.

1. I used a program called "Uniblue Registry Booster" to clean my registry of old keys, etc., but that may have caused some critical problems.

2. I have a malware infestation which seems to be evading my attempts to neutralize.

During a normal start-up, I will try to Ctrl-Alt-Del to open the task manager to which I get an error message telling me taskmgr.exe could not run because VDMDBG.dll was not found. This is strange because I did a search for this dll and it was right where it should be in the C:\WINDOWS\System32\ directory.

If there is any other log files or anything I should post to help out with solving this problem I'll do anything! I'm forunate enough to be able to run my computer in Safe Mode with Networking, so I'll be able to do something about this problem I suppose.

This post has been edited by JNilsen: 31 March 2010 - 10:21 PM

Hi .

Info on specified file, http://www.faultwire.com/file_report/vdmdbg.dll.html.

Bleeping Computer DOES NOT recommend the use of registry cleaners/optimizers for several reasons:

• Registry cleaners are extremely powerful applications that can damage the registry by using aggressive cleaning routines and cause your computer to become unbootable.

• Not all registry cleaners are created equal. There are a number of them available but they do not all work entirely the same way. Each vendor uses different criteria as to what constitutes a "bad entry". Since users of these programs seldom understand how they truly work...the result of using any "registry cleaner" is, at best...an arbitrary mangling of the XP registry which is performed based on criteria developed which may be inacccurate for that particular system.

• Not all registry cleaners create a backup of the registry before making changes. If the changes prevent the system from booting up, then there is no backup available to restore it in order to regain functionality. A backup of the registry is essential BEFORE making any changes to the registry.

• Improperly removing registry entries can hamper malware disinfection and make the removal process more difficult if your computer becomes infected. For example, removing malware related registry entries before the infection is properly identified can contribute to system instability and even make the malware undetectable to removal tools.

Unless you have a particular problem that requires a specific known, reliable registry edit to correct it, I would suggest you leave the registry alone and refrain from entertaining ideas about using registry cleaners.

I would suggest that you do one of two things:

a. Run the sfc /scannow command, in accordance with instructions provided at How To Use Sfc.exe To Repair System Files - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic43051.html.

b. Attempt a repair install of XP, How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install - http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Neither of the two above suggestions will remedy a malware or a hardware situation. What steps have you taken to minimize the possibility that either merits consideration as a contributor to your problems?

Louis

I tried running the sfc.exe program but I got a message in the cmd prompt saying:

"Windows File Protection could not initiate a scan of protected system files.
The specific error code is 0x000006ba [The RPC Server is unavailable]."

I would absolutely love to just do a clean install of my operating system, but unfortunately, the CD/DVD combo drive on my Laptop is busted. I've been using a USB disc drive, but as I'm sure you already know, it's next to impossible to do a clean install of an operating system using a USB CD-ROM drive. Unless there's a way I've never heard of for doing it, doing a clean or repair install may be out of the question.

Unfortunately, as I said before, I've already run the registry cleaning program. So if it did any damage, it's been done already. However, the program did take backups which I've thus restored, but it doesn't seem to have changed anything.

This post has been edited by JNilsen: 01 April 2010 - 09:17 AM

Okay, so I managed to get the System File Check to start, and like the walkthough said, it asked for the OS installation CD. However, when I put the CD in my USB CD Drive, it said that it was the wrong CD. I ejected the CD and double checked, and it was definitely the OS Install CD which was included with my laptop. The only problem I can see is that it's a DELL Windows XP CD, and not a stand-alone copy of the Windows XP installation CD. The error message gave me two possible explanation for the why the CD wasn't being recognized. One being that it was the wrong CD, and two being that my computer wasn't recognizing the CD drive, but since the sfc.exe program reacted when I inserted the CD, I think the latter is not the problem.

If I can't get this sfc.exe to extract the necessary DLL files in order to replace the potentially corrupted ones, what other options do I have? I've checked whether or not I can explore the CD through My Computer, and it was possible to access it that way. Would it be logical to manually copy the dll files off the CD into my DLL Cache file??

SFC can be made to use the files in your i386 directory rather than the C: drive.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/ind...st&p=368666

Proceed with the suggestions Budapest provided, please.

Another alternative to consider is possible updating of your install CD, via slipstreaming. One of the reasons which the sfc /scannow command will not execute occurs when the user has a system reflecting a later SP update...than is reflected on the CD provided by the user for obtaining file replacements.

Louis

The OS Installation CD which came bundled with my Laptop already has SP2 included. However, before I started having problems, I had been using SP3 for quite some time. Is it possible that because I was running SP3 that I'm having difficulties with running SFC.exe?

I believe that...if you read the directions for running the sfc /scannow command, you will see that it is to be done with a CD that at least reflects the same SP as the system does.

The sfc /scannow command is not intended to be used with recovery/restore CDs issued by a laptop manufacturer.

Louis

The link posted byBudapest helped a lot. I set SFC to find the i386 file which I copied to my C:\ drive, and that seemed to repair some corrupt system files. After running Malware Bytes upon restart, 4 instances of Worm.Autorun type malware was found. After I removed those, everything seems to be back to normal for the most part. Things are responding like they did before I started having problems. Thanks for all your help guys!