Posted on 12/23/2011 11:13:55 AM PST by GeronL
I have kind of done this before. I have been working to delete a virus all morning on this borrowed computer. I think I have succeeded in the main.
The problem is the virus did cause some problems. Some exe files will not execute. It is probably a registry value that has been changed.
This is a BORROWED computer. I was using it when it apparently got infected. So I have a duty to fix this.
It an an EEPC netbook running Windows XP.
So the registry value at exe in the command line should be what?
SO how do I get access to the registry since Regedit an exe file?
Internet Explorer works but if I try to open Malware Bytes or Regedit it says “Choose the program to use to open this file...”
jeesh
It sounds like the virus may have messed with regedit itself.
You might be able to fool the virus by making a copy of Regedit.exe (that is where I would start).
I would think you can find regedit.exe on another computer or through a google or yahoo search.
You can try running it explicitly by entering: “c:\windows\regedit.exe”
There is a registry fix file somewhere on the Internet that you can run that corrects a lot of the usual virus fudges. Don’t know where it is, but all I had to do when I used it was type the file name, something like xxxx.reg and it popped those entries in and let me rebuild from there..
Maybe one of these (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_live_CDs#Microsoft_Windows-based) will allow you to boot a clean system with a working regedit. Haven’t used any of them, haven’t even checked the sites (not a Windows user for a long, long time).
I am going to try using the command line real quick as FR FREAK suggests.
command line thing didn’t work.
The virus must have changed the registry values to block it.
I am going to do a Google search for something like what you said.
Start in safe mode & see if it runs?
There should be a backup copy of the registry somewhere you can try to restore.
Was it called “Registry Cleaner”??
sfrog has a good idea — also have you just tried old fashioned System Restore?
If you have access to the internet, google ‘bleepingcomputer.com combofix download’ and download Combofix.exe. Ignore the hype on it itself being a virus. THE best one-shot program I’ve used countless times on my own and client computers to find and slit the throat of nasty viruses. Put it on a memory stick, boot into Safe Mode (safe with networking if it works) and from the command prompt run it.
It will take about 20 minutes. Ignore the parts about antivirus installed or running in Recovery Console mode.
Has worked for me 99.8% of the time. (Can’t remember the .02% instance)
Similar for Windows 7.
This will roll your system back to before the virus struck.
“regedit” is not an .exe file. “c:\windows\regedit.exe” is. If it finds something named “regedit” in the current path, it will try to run that. Try running it using the full path and filename.
Here is a link to a google search for exefix and some tools for registry repair. I’ve use these tools on my XP machine an they do work well.
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=2824371%2C1
Something like this happened to my sister’s computer a few years ago (her kids liked to install stuff). The Task Manager would go down as soon as it came up. I had to rename the Task Manager exe just to get a chance to see what was going on. LOL!
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