msascui.exe (0x80000003) Application Error

Beginning this morning, I received the MSASCui.exe Application error, and have been unable to initialize the update or scanning system on my AVG (free) and have not been able to access Windows Defender. When I attempt to access windows defender (in order to disable it further) my computer blue-screens and restarts.

I have just installed McAfee Security Scan that came with the recent update of Flash Player, and Ad-Aware(free edition) which has found little to no infections.

I'm not certain what is going on, but I have a feeling there is a virus in my system and would very much like to get rid of it. (Obviously)

I'm not software-savvy, but I can troubleshoot with the best of them. Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

~Sama

:EDIT: Alright, so I let Ad-Aware run though, it found one major security issue, and cleaned it out. AVG is still not active, I right-click on the system tray icon for it and the 'update now' and 'Open AVG user interface' are greyed out. I can double-click and open AVG, however it becomes unresponsive and will state that there are 'no active components' through avg. Windows firewall is still active, and, as far as I am aware, it is working.

Edited by Samateus, 06 January 2010 - 07:17 PM.

Bump

Also, managed to find a copy of Trend micro Housecall. Installed and ran it. Apparently there was a rootkit-type virus that it got rid of and restarted the system.
After this, I received a repeated error that there was no 'disk' in HD2, HD3, HD4 or HD5 with the TSC.exe as the main issue.
I restarted the system, got into safe mode, and attempted a system restore to the day previous to the issues beginning.
It failed, and I needed to restart again and enter safe mode to attempt a different system restore point. I chose December 29th, as it was the farthest back I could go. However, this failed also, stating that there was a Disk Failure during the restore. Which is odd, as it seemed to be working just fine and restarted itself normally.

Despite all this, the Windows defender and MSASCui.exe issue is still there.

PLEASE, dear computer knowledgeable gurus, any insight or possible ideas? I have tried everything I myself could think of, short of just wiping the main drive and throwing windows 7 in there. (I would, however I dislike the idea of having to reinstall all of my programs from scratch. But will if necessary.)

Edited by Samateus, 07 January 2010 - 03:00 PM.

Hello,

Now that you have posted a log here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/285159/possible-h8srt-virus-infection/ you should NOT make further changes to your computer (install/uninstall programs, use special fix tools, delete files, edit the registry, etc) unless advised by a HJT Team member, nor should you ask for help elsewhere. Doing so can result in system changes which may not show in the log you already posted. Further, any modifications you make on your own may cause confusion for the helper assisting you and could complicate the malware removal process which would extend the time it takes to clean your computer.

From this point on the HJT Team should be the only members that you take advice from, until they have verified your log as clean.

Please be patient. It may take a while to get a response because the HJT Team members are EXTREMELY busy working logs posted before yours. They are volunteers who will help you out as soon as possible. Once you have made your post and are waiting, please DO NOT make another reply until it has been responded to by a member of the HJT Team. Generally the staff checks the forum for postings that have 0 replies as this makes it easier for them to identify those who have not been helped. If you post another response there will be 1 reply. A team member, looking for a new log to work may assume another HJT Team member is already assisting you and not open the thread to respond.

Please be patient. It may take several days, up to two weeks perhaps less, to get a response but your log will be reviewed and answered as soon as possible. I advise checking your topic once a day for responses as the e-mail notification system is unreliable.

To avoid confusion, I am closing this topic. Good luck with your log.

Orange Blossom