[Hevis]

Hello all,

I've been having quiet a lot of little problems with my computer for a long time.. now last night I found lots and lots of hidden files in my C:\, decided to google to see whats up with them. I happened to stumble across a combofix log and decided to try out the program myself.

Well.. everything ran smoothly, it deleted two files. Can't remember the exact names but the other one was from Windows\drivers\. I looked up the .txt file it created and of course didn't really understand what it was about. So I went to try out FF if my earlier problems were fixed and they actually were.

Well, now XP won't boot anymore. When I start the computer I get the "windows was not closed the right way" and ability to choose to boot in safe mode etc. Which ever I choose the windows flag appears like normal but after a few seconds it turns to a blue screen for like half a second and reboots.

I've read this topic. I followed the instructions on the #8 reply, first time it worked just well.. until the D: part.. it said that couldn't find CD, and for the next part of course couldn't find the file. I suspect that my DVD drive isn't D: then, so I restarted my compy but this time it won't give me the ability to choose the repair xp thingy, but just goes right to the "windows was not closed the right way".

Well.. then I tried reply #18, to get my files to the safety of my external HDD. This doesn't work either, as I get this problem:

http://i50.tinypic.com/2ainbzo.jpg

So, I've hit the wall now I think. I do have an XP recovery disc that came with one laptop in my household, I'll try it out once I get a hold of it.

What is there still to try, except the XP recovery disc? And what are the odds it won't work either?

Sorry for the long post, I tried to explain everything as detailed as possible.

Thank you for your time

Edited by Hevis, 22 November 2009 - 10:25 AM.

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I happened to stumble across a combofix log and decided to try out the program myself.

This is not good. Those logs are created for a specific situation and you are lucky it didn't shut the system down completely. Combofix is never to be used without the direct instruction of a trained technician. Now that being said and hopefully you understand why now..part of the problem is you are using a Recovery cd and not a Microsoft XP cd.
If you can borrow a XP of the same type that is on you system Home, Media or Pro then we might be able to resolve this issue.

first time it worked just well.. until the D: part.. it said that couldn't find CD, and for the next part of course couldn't find the file. I suspect that my DVD drive isn't D

Since this is a laptop your cdrom may not be D drive. You may have a Recovery partition on it.
Being that you have not supplied the make and model of the laptop we cannot instruct you on how to proceed. Please supply this information.
Also the hidden files are normally protected system files and that is why they are hidden. What was the issue that you were having to begin with as you did not state this at the beginning.

[rshaffer61]

I happened to stumble across a combofix log and decided to try out the program myself.

This is not good. Those logs are created for a specific situation and you are lucky it didn't shut the system down completely. Combofix is never to be used without the direct instruction of a trained technician. Now that being said and hopefully you understand why now..part of the problem is you are using a Recovery cd and not a Microsoft XP cd.
If you can borrow a XP of the same type that is on you system Home, Media or Pro then we might be able to resolve this issue.

first time it worked just well.. until the D: part.. it said that couldn't find CD, and for the next part of course couldn't find the file. I suspect that my DVD drive isn't D

Since this is a laptop your cdrom may not be D drive. You may have a Recovery partition on it.
Being that you have not supplied the make and model of the laptop we cannot instruct you on how to proceed. Please supply this information.
Also the hidden files are normally protected system files and that is why they are hidden. What was the issue that you were having to begin with as you did not state this at the beginning.

[Hevis]

thanks for the quick reply!

I don't have an XP install disc, which I suppose I should use the repair feature from? Just wondering since I managed to enter the windows repairing system trough the recovery CD as well.

I am sorry for not including the pc (yes, pc not a laptop ) specs in the first post:

Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo PI 3830

Videocard : GeForce 9600 GT
Processor : Core 2 Quad Q8200
Memory : 2 x 2048 DDR2
Monitor : Acer X223w Q
Soundcard : Some 7.1
Operating system : XP
Mouse & keyboard : Logitech MX518, QPAD Mousepad & Fujitsu Siemens keyboard
Other Peripherals : 2 x 500GB internal, 1 x 500GB WD Elements, 1 x 1TB Buffalo Drive Station, Medusa Pro Gamer Edition 5.1 Headphones

The compy had Vista installed in it before, it has/had XP now. So no recovery partitions what so ever, only one big 1tb partition.

And for the hidden files, I don't believe they were system files as googling them didn't resolve in too many hits. And the virus was that I didn't get certain things working with my firefox.

Thank you

Edited by Hevis, 21 November 2009 - 07:38 AM.

[rshaffer61]

OK I think i see why the D drive issue happened.
Each of the internal drives will have a drive letter. If I am reading this correctly you have 3 internal drives in your system.
This would mean you have a C,D,E drives.
That would make the cdrom the F drive.
If you were to change that in the instructions you followed this would probably work then hopefully.
In the end if we get windows working again without having to format you will need to go to the malware forum and have them go through the system and help you clean any infection. This is the preferred method because formatting is always the last step we ever want to take.

[Hevis]

Actually the DVD drive was H:

Anyways, I can get the recovery CD to work and manage to get it to the windows repair section. Tried to do the same with the RC.Iso, first time I got to the D: part as I told earlier. Now trying it again, I put the CD in, make the compy to boot from CD, then for a half of a second or so it gives me two options to choose from. Can't really tell what it says, though :S. Then it just goes to the start windows in safe mode etc.
Burnt the rc.iso again and same thing happened.

What would the commands be to put in the Repair section, with the windows XP install CD?

Thank you for your help

Edited by Hevis, 21 November 2009 - 09:30 AM.

[rshaffer61]

Repair Installation Instructions

· Insert your Windows XP CD in your CD-ROM and then Restart your computer.
· At the first post screen start tapping the Del key to enter System Bios
· Find the Advance Options or Boot Sequence screen.
· You will need to change the boot sequence so that the CDrom is first and the HD is second.
· Press F10 to Save and Exit and then press Enter to accept.
· The system will now reboot
· When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
· When you see the following message displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER
· To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
· At this point an option to press R to enter the Recovery Console is displayed. DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION.

· On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
· Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected and highlighted in the box, and then press the R key to repair Windows XP.
· Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

You can also go HERE
to read a step by step tutorial with screenshots.

[othersteve]

Hey there Hevis,

Posting via mobile phone here, so please excuse any inaccuracies.

The two option boot options screen you are seeing is probably the result of your running combofix; if you followed the instructions to have it install the Windows Recovery Console, that's what you're seeing there. The reason it is only flashing onto the screen is that it is configured to only appear for two seconds. Your monitor may not be displaying it in time.

If you wish to reach the recovery console, you can do so from there by quickly pressing the down arrow to select the second option and then pressing enter.

I hope the helps.

[Hevis]

Thanks to you both,

you were correct about that othersteve, my monitor showed the picture a bit late but I managed to access the recovery (which isn't relevant I think). Only thing was that the recovery console was the upper choise for me.

and for rshaffer61, I did just like that guide showed.. worked like a charm. Until the most ridiculous problem so far. I got to the installation part where you need to insert day and time, well you need a keyboard/mouse to choose continue and of course my usb ones don't work. Well, I got an adapter so that the usb keyboard would go to the PS/2 port. Surprise, surprise my computer doesn't have a PS/2 port :l.

http://i50.tinypic.com/24fn1xs.jpg

Edited by Hevis, 21 November 2009 - 03:56 PM.

[othersteve]

Hey Hevis,

Hmph. Hopefully we do not need to slipstream an SP2 install disc.

You might first try unplugging the devices from the ports to which they're connected and reconnecting them to a different port (for instance, front ports if they're available or vice versa), as sometimes the motherboard controller is not recognized by the setup program and thus USB devices do not work. However, if this is your original Dell install CD, I don't believe it should be a problem.

You might also try rebooting at this point and checking your BIOS for USB Legacy options... there's usually an entry somewhere in there. As far as I know that is the best option.

Sorry to hear you are having issues.

~os

[Hevis]

Thank you for your help,

I tried reconnecting and connecting the mouse and keyboard to different usb ports, didn't manage to get them to work.

Rebooted, only thing I could find in the BIOS about usb was in the description of Integrated Peripherals, but nothing about USBs after accessing Integrated Perhipherals. Only LAN Boot, HD Audio Controller and On Chip ata Devices there. I tried the XP installation once more, my USB mouse worked quiet far, but after a few minutes a large black bar appeared on the right side of the screen and mouse didn't work (this was before clicking continue on the time & date window).

And the CD isn't the original manufacturers XP install CD, as my computer used to have Vista.

Edited by Hevis, 21 November 2009 - 04:59 PM.

[othersteve]

OK Hevis,

Unless one of the other computer experts here has a better idea (please do tell if so!), I think your only option is to create a Windows XP Service Pack 3 slipstreamed installation disc. This will allow you to perform a repair install of Windows XP where Service Pack 3 is already integrated; it should include all required drivers to keep your USB devices functioning properly throughout setup.

Here's the guide on it; it's not short, but it shouldn't be too terribly difficult.

I hope this helps.

~os

[Hevis]

Thanks for your help,

I tried to continue the installation with XP sp3 finnish version, not slipstreamed. Didn't work, still no usb when you had to choose the date and time (but before that there was). Well, decided to try out if it'd work with XP Pro sp 2 finnish version slipstreamed to sp3, but of course the installation had some kind of an errors and had to quit. I don't really know if its even possible to buy an XP sp2 finnish edition CD anymore.. extremely frustrating..

Actually I might be able to make this from my another Windows XP computer in my household: . But its Sp3 already, is it possible to repair my XP with a "normal" sp3 not slipstreamed?

Edited by Hevis, 22 November 2009 - 08:32 AM.

[The Skeptic]

You can try system restore from the recovery console. If system recovery files are left intact then there is a fair chance for success.

System Restore from the Recovery Console. Xp installation CD required. Boot with the CD and when given the option choose to repair the computer by pressing "R", opening the Recovery Console. Type 1 when asked for OS installation (assuming there is only one OS installed). Type the administrator password when asked to do so and press Enter. Press Enter if there is no password.

* At the prompt Type: CD \
* Press Enter
* Type: cd system~1\_resto~1
* Press Enter
* Type: dir
* Press Enter

After you press enter you will see a list of folders (like rp1, rp2) If the list of restore points has more than one page then press the Enter key untill you reach the end of the list

* Type: cd rp {number of the second to last folder in the list). Example: cd rp9, if rp9 is the second to the last restore point where the last restore point no. is 10
* Press Enter
* Type: cd snapshot
* Press Enter
* Type: copy _registry_machine_system c:\windows\system32\config\system
* Press Enter
* Type: copy _registry_machine_software c:\windows\system32\config\software
* Press Enter
* Type: Exit
* Press Enter

Your PC will reboot.

If you get an access denied error when doing the above, then do the following at the recovery console:

* Type: CD \
* Press Enter
* Type: cd windows\system32\config
* Press Enter
* Type: ren system system.bak
* Press Enter
* Type: Exit
* Press Enter

Your PC should reboot

If you still cannot get access in anyway to your installation in the recovery console then your SAM database files are corrupt. There is no way you can restore these with the recovery console. You may need to do a fresh install.

[Hevis]

Thank you for your help The Skeptic,

I had the access error you mentioned, but it was fixed with your instructions. Anyways, I got the whole thing done pretty smoothly until this part:

* Type: copy _registry_machine_software c:\windows\system32\config\software

after pressing enter it asked me: Overwrite software? (Yes, No, All). Didn't know what to select so I tried All. Also, I had over 230 rp's as you can see (not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing).

Now I am in a situation where the computer starts, windows boots, welcome screen comes up, mouse works, resolution seems to okay, but then it asks me:

"This Windows-copy has to be activated in (or with, dunno) Microsoft, before you can log in.
Do you want to activate Windows now?
Yes, No"

I press Yes, its goes to my "desktop" without anything but my wallpaper, ctrl+alt+delete doesn't work. It just stays there. Whether having my ethernet cable connected or not doesn't seem to have any difference.

If I press No, it goes to the log in screen where theres "Owner" to choose from (I never made anything but that one windows user account, no password). When I choose Owner, the windows activation pop up is there again, choosing No will lead to the account "Logging out" and yes will just lead to what I explained before.

Edited by Hevis, 22 November 2009 - 11:55 AM.

[The Skeptic]

Could you try it again with another restore point?