WINDOWS XP HOME-ERROR MESSAGE

  • Thread starter Thread starter william2233
  • Start date Start date
W

william2233

Hello to all, I need to corect problem
At start up Message and noise pops up-
Stating windows can't find
C:\WINDOWS\SHELL.EXE
What does this do? Is it Important? Lost it deleting Virus...

Thank you
 
in message
Hello to all, I need to corect problem
At start up Message and noise pops up-
Stating windows can't find
C:\WINDOWS\SHELL.EXE
What does this do? Is it Important? Lost it deleting Virus...
Click to expand...


It means that you deleted a pest but some of its crap got left behind,
like a startup entry for that file but the file doesn't exist anymore
(because you deleted the pest's files and that was one of them).

Run msconfig.exe to see if on of the Startup items is trying to run
the shell.exe program. Don't just uncheck that entry since that
merely disables it rather than remove it. The path to the entry will
tell you where is the startup item. You can also use SysInternals'
AutoRuns to look at even more startup items than is shown by the
overly basic msconfig program.
 
william2233 said:
Hello to all, I need to correct a problem.
At start up, a message and noise pops up
stating "Windows can't find
C:\WINDOWS\SHELL.EXE"
What does this do? Is it Important? Lost it deleting Virus...

Thank you
Click to expand...

Does your system run properly after this error message?
 
Thank you, I'll try it


VanguardLH said:
in message



It means that you deleted a pest but some of its crap got left behind,
like a startup entry for that file but the file doesn't exist anymore
(because you deleted the pest's files and that was one of them).

Run msconfig.exe to see if on of the Startup items is trying to run
the shell.exe program. Don't just uncheck that entry since that
merely disables it rather than remove it. The path to the entry will
tell you where is the startup item. You can also use SysInternals'
AutoRuns to look at even more startup items than is shown by the
overly basic msconfig program.
Click to expand...
 
william2233 said:
Hello to all, I need to corect problem
At start up Message and noise pops up-
Stating windows can't find
C:\WINDOWS\SHELL.EXE
What does this do? Is it Important? Lost it deleting Virus...

Thank you
Click to expand...

Hi Will,
This a left behind entries that can and it will revive the Virus back to a
new shape.
You need to run a thorough scan for both malware and viruses and remove this
EXE in safe mode. I think it installed itself to run on startup and given
itself a full control on your system (still a guess but sometimes true!).

Go through these Cleaning steps:
1... First, try to clean up your caches, Internet files and delete cookies
by doing this:
Click Start >> Control Panel >> Double click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options.
On the IE properties windows you will see these Tabs:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs |
Advanced
Under General Tab clear your History, Internet Files and Cookies.
Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
Then click on Programs Tab and click Manage Add-Ons and Disable all non
Verified Add-Ons (You should Renable them later one-by-one and see the
culprit and update it or remove it.
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256
Scan for malware from here:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Download Avast Cleaner (offline scanner) from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine (offline scanner):
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/

After the scan run disk cleanup on your drive.

2- Download the Hijackthis and send the report to one of many
forums for analysis and troubleshooting:
http://www.merijn.org/index.php
When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/hijackthis) is
the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware. Post
your log to http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7, or other appropriate
forums for expert analysis, not here.

Black Viper's Top tweaks for a faster PC
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm

StartupList Index
http://www.castlecops.com/StartupList.html
Please don't send the Hijackthis log here, but you can let us know the
result of the scan for both malware and viruses, also any progress.
Good luck.
nass
 
william2233 wrote:
Yes, It runs fine

That suggests that some malware was removed, but the reference to the
file was not removed from the registry.

Click Start, Run, type REGEDIT, click OK. Press the Home key, press F3,
type the name of the file into the search pane. Click "Find Next", and
when located, delete the reference to the file. Press F3 to continue
the search.

You can click File, Export, and save the entry to the Desktop. If you
remove it and there's a problem, double-click the .reg file you exported
to the Desktop and it'll be added to the registry again. You can create
a restore point before editing the registry too.

You could click Start, Run, type MSCONFIG, click OK, click the StartUp
tab, and deselect the item(s). When you restart the computer, you will
be warned that you're running in the Diagnostic mode; click to not alert
you again, and OK out. You won't see the message again. But I think
it's best to just remove the references from the registry.
 
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