J
Jose
Oh, I did know about the missing XP CD in the first post, but there
are other methods.
Okay - I will follow along...
Jose
Oh, I did know about the missing XP CD in the first post, but there
are other methods.
Okay - I will follow along...
Jose
E
Elmo
siamoose said:
On some machines you can press F12 to get a menu that will ask which
device to boot from. If you can get into your BIOS, set the boot order
to CD-ROM, then hard drive. That way, if there's a CD in the drive,
it'll be checked for an OS before the hard drive.
S
siamoose
Tim,
My computer is not setup it looks like to boot from the CD. You suggest
changing it so it can. How in the heck can I do that if I can't even get
pass the Welcome screen, and if I could I wouldn't know how to do that. You
guys are much more savie than I am at this.
When I turn the computer on, first come the HP Screen which has 3 options
for me:
<Escape>Boot Menu, F8 to go into safe mode and F10 for system recovery.
Which am I to use? I have used 2 of them with no luck. (I just did an
<Ecape> with no luck either.
Looks like that F10 key is looking better and better
Debbie
My computer is not setup it looks like to boot from the CD. You suggest
changing it so it can. How in the heck can I do that if I can't even get
pass the Welcome screen, and if I could I wouldn't know how to do that. You
guys are much more savie than I am at this.
When I turn the computer on, first come the HP Screen which has 3 options
for me:
<Escape>Boot Menu, F8 to go into safe mode and F10 for system recovery.
Which am I to use? I have used 2 of them with no luck. (I just did an
<Ecape> with no luck either.
Looks like that F10 key is looking better and better
Debbie
S
siamoose
Tim,
I already have put both yours and what Jose suggested on 2 seperate CD's, I
can not get my computer to bootup with them. I have tried every option, F8,
F10 and Boot Menu. I really do appreciate what you and all have done to help
me, but I am just not that savi to do what you are telling me to do.
I can't even figure out how to execute/run the new file you just told me to
download. I am totally bummed out and tired
Tell me, is there a difference between "drag and drop onto a CD" then
"burn". I did the drag and drop to my CD. Don't know if that really matters
or not.
Off to eat, thanks for everything guys, I really do appreciate all you have
done.
Debbie
I already have put both yours and what Jose suggested on 2 seperate CD's, I
can not get my computer to bootup with them. I have tried every option, F8,
F10 and Boot Menu. I really do appreciate what you and all have done to help
me, but I am just not that savi to do what you are telling me to do.
I can't even figure out how to execute/run the new file you just told me to
download. I am totally bummed out and tired
Tell me, is there a difference between "drag and drop onto a CD" then
"burn". I did the drag and drop to my CD. Don't know if that really matters
or not.
Off to eat, thanks for everything guys, I really do appreciate all you have
done.
Debbie
P
Peter Foldes
Friggin fraud and an impersonator you are Patrick Christopher Butts. Anybody
touching your links via opening them gets their system infected with your stolen
programs that can have p0rn in it.
Thief,Liar and an all around sicko
touching your links via opening them gets their system infected with your stolen
programs that can have p0rn in it.
Thief,Liar and an all around sicko
J
Jose
Tim,
I already have put both yours and what Jose suggested on 2 seperate CD's,I
can not get my computer to bootup with them. I have tried every option, F8,
F10 and Boot Menu. I really do appreciate what you and all have done to help
me, but I am just not that savi to do what you are telling me to do.
I can't even figure out how to execute/run the new file you just told me to
download. I am totally bummed out and tired
Tell me, is there a difference between "drag and drop onto a CD" then
"burn". I did the drag and drop to my CD. Don't know if that reallymatters
or not.
Off to eat, thanks for everything guys, I really do appreciate all you have
done.
Debbie
I do not know how what you downloaded is supposed to work, so I will
keep quiet about that.
How did you plan on "just reformatting in a few weeks" without a
bootable Windows XP CD? If you had one, we would be done
yesterday.
Do you have ANY bootable XP CD anywhere (like for the PC you are using
now) - it does not have to be one that came with this piece of
hardware. I have used a 5 year old XP Pro CD on a store bought laptop
just months old (not to reinstall, just to get it running). They
didn't get one with their purchase either.
Any XP CD that matches your OS will do, then it is easy to fix.
Jose
S
siamoose
Hello Jose,
I am writing from work now. What I meant by reformatting is taking my
machine down to like the first day I had it. I've been wanting to do this
for quite awhile as I've had this machine for about 5+ years. If I can't get
to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. BUT I
have been reading about a "non ivasive" (I think it is called, I've been
reading about it on the net) reformatting that sounds like it does save your
files for you.
I don't know of a person that has a bootable CD, they kind of looked at me
today like "UH"?
I will keep asking and I am going to check to see how much it would cost to
take the HD in and see if they can pull the files out for me, then I can do a
format without losing my stuff.
Jose and all,
Thank you guys for trying to help a very leary, not savie computer person
Debbie
I am writing from work now. What I meant by reformatting is taking my
machine down to like the first day I had it. I've been wanting to do this
for quite awhile as I've had this machine for about 5+ years. If I can't get
to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. BUT I
have been reading about a "non ivasive" (I think it is called, I've been
reading about it on the net) reformatting that sounds like it does save your
files for you.
I don't know of a person that has a bootable CD, they kind of looked at me
today like "UH"?
I will keep asking and I am going to check to see how much it would cost to
take the HD in and see if they can pull the files out for me, then I can do a
format without losing my stuff.
Jose and all,
Thank you guys for trying to help a very leary, not savie computer person
Debbie
J
Jose
Hello Jose,
I am writing from work now. What I meant by reformatting is taking my
machine down to like the first day I had it. I've been wanting to do this
for quite awhile as I've had this machine for about 5+ years. If I can't get
to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. BUTI
have been reading about a "non ivasive" (I think it is called, I've been
reading about it on the net) reformatting that sounds like it does save your
files for you.
I don't know of a person that has a bootable CD, they kind of looked at me
today like "UH"?
I will keep asking and I am going to check to see how much it would cost to
take the HD in and see if they can pull the files out for me, then I can do a
format without losing my stuff.
Jose and all,
Thank you guys for trying to help a very leary, not savie computer person
Debbie
Here is what I think.
The malware has done 2 things.
First, it put the wsupdater.exe in your \windows\systeem32 folder. It
may have deleted userinit.exe, corrupted it, but that is only part of
the problem.
The next thing it dis was modify your registry so that what gets run
with XP starts is not userinit, but wsupdater instead.
Just replacing userinit will not fix it, because the registry is still
pointing to wsupdater. So, if you make a copy of userinint and copy
it over the top of wsupdater, the FILE called wsupdater will get
executed but it is really the copy of userinit (are you with me?). XP
logs in fine now.
That may be fine for some people - it works, whew! But the registry
still has a reference to wsupdater.exe and shouldn't so you should
really fix that also, then delete the wsupdater.exe file leaving the
good userint and registry setting pointing to the proper file. If you
copy the userinint, XP will login, then fix the registry then delete
the unused On May 26, 2:00 pm, siamoose
Hello Jose,
I am writing from work now. What I meant by reformatting is taking my
machine down to like the first day I had it. I've been wanting to do this
for quite awhile as I've had this machine for about 5+ years. If I can'tget
to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. BUTI
have been reading about a "non ivasive" (I think it is called, I've been
reading about it on the net) reformatting that sounds like it does save your
files for you.
I don't know of a person that has a bootable CD, they kind of looked at me
today like "UH"?
I will keep asking and I am going to check to see how much it would cost to
take the HD in and see if they can pull the files out for me, then I can do a
format without losing my stuff.
Jose and all,
Thank you guys for trying to help a very leary, not savie computer person
Debbie
Here is what I think.
The malware is know by two distinct things and your machine has all
the symptoms.
First, it put the wsupdater.exe in your \windows\systeem32 folder. It
may have deleted userinit.exe, corrupted it, but that is only part of
the problem. Userinit is what the registry says to run when XP starts
so you can login.
Remember the last time you logged in and that message? Where did that
message come from? That was wsupdater NOT userinit. Maybe you didn't
answer the questions properly (buy my stuff), so it fixed you!
The next thing it did was modify your registry so that what gets run
with XP starts is not userinit, but wsupdater instead.
Just replacing userinit will not fix it, because the registry is still
pointing to wsupdater. So, if you make a copy of the known good
userinint over the top of wsupdater, the FILE called wsupdater will
get executed (from the registry) but it is really userinit and the
registry is still wrong (but it "works). Are you with me?
That may be fine for some people - it works, whew! But the registry
is has a reference to wsupdater.exe and shouldn't, so you should
really fix that also, then delete the wsupdater.exe file leaving the
good userint and registry setting pointing to the proper file. The
registry fix takes minutes (or less).
This explains why you cant' even boot in safe mode. The userinit
still gets executed at boot time in safe mode, but with this
infection, wsupdater gets run instead no matter how you let XP boot.
To fix it with no screwdrivers, without leaving the house and no data
loss, you must boot some kind of XP that is able to
at least access the hard disk to replace, copy or whatever a userinit
that works. THEN, fix the registry (or you could do it at the same
time). System Restore, Repair, Last known Good.. my butt. You can't
even get that far and it is NOT your problem.
The XP bootable CD Recovery Console will let you start "XP" enough to
allow you access to the disk (that is why it is there). That is the
cleanest way. You need to somehow get to the file system on the HDD.
There are ways to make some bootable XP like CD (like was referenced
before), but that reads like it just puts s new userinit file out
there which is not going to fix anything. I guess it would work if
userinit was just missing, but that is not how this malware works. I
have not had a need to try those methods, but might look into it.
You need a bootable XP CD of some kind - you need a bootable XP Pro
(if that is what you have) even to format your disk to reinstall - you
gotta have/borrow one. If you can borrow one even if it is years old,
it should work fine. It is not tied to a machine until you install
and license it, but you won't get anywhere near that. You just need
the recovery console. The rest is easy (maybe just one helpful
email).
If you can burn CDs, maybe you cam make one of those bootable things,
but you need more than a userinit.exe file. Making a bootable CD
sounds like a lot of trouble that "might" work, maybe, but... I
prefer the sure thing.
Jose jumps off soapbox.
Jose
J
Jose
Hello Jose,
I am writing from work now. What I meant by reformatting is taking my
machine down to like the first day I had it. I've been wanting to do this
for quite awhile as I've had this machine for about 5+ years. If I can't get
to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. BUTI
have been reading about a "non ivasive" (I think it is called, I've been
reading about it on the net) reformatting that sounds like it does save your
files for you.
I don't know of a person that has a bootable CD, they kind of looked at me
today like "UH"?
I will keep asking and I am going to check to see how much it would cost to
take the HD in and see if they can pull the files out for me, then I can do a
format without losing my stuff.
Jose and all,
Thank you guys for trying to help a very leary, not savie computer person
Debbie
Here's a thought - instead of asking for a bootable XD CD, ask for an
XP Installation, or just an XP CD (XP Pro, right)? Maybe it is the
terminology. I need to reinstall XP - let me borrow your CD. Of
course you probably don't need to reinstall, but that may help the
understanding.
You would not be able to install XP on your system if you reformatted
it, so you need one, or find the right person in your IT group and
maybe you can borrow one.
Jose
M
Mark Adams
siamoose said:Hello Jose,
I am writing from work now. What I meant by reformatting is taking my
machine down to like the first day I had it. I've been wanting to do this
for quite awhile as I've had this machine for about 5+ years. If I can't get
to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. BUT I
have been reading about a "non ivasive" (I think it is called, I've been
reading about it on the net) reformatting that sounds like it does save your
files for you.
I don't know of a person that has a bootable CD, they kind of looked at me
today like "UH"?
I will keep asking and I am going to check to see how much it would cost to
take the HD in and see if they can pull the files out for me, then I can do a
format without losing my stuff.
Jose and all,
Thank you guys for trying to help a very leary, not savie computer person
Debbie
Debbie, "Boot Menu" is the choice that you want. Start the computer and
place a bootable CD in the drive. Restart the computer with the CD in the
drive and press whatever keys it takes to get to the "Boot Menu", select the
CD drive and press "Enter" The computer should now boot off of the disk. If
it goes back to Windows trying to load, it means the disk wasn't bootable
after all. Probably constructed wrong. To create the bootable disk, you must
first download a bootable image file of the program. These are the .iso files
that Elmo suggested. Use the "Burn Image to Disk" feature of Nero or similar
burning software. I like ISO Recorder for this. It's very easy to use; it
adds "Burn ISO Image" to the right-click menu. Simply place a blank disk in
the drive, right click on the downloaded .iso image, and select "Burn ISO
Image". A wizard then opens and follow the prompts. When the burn is done,
the drawer opens and you now have a bootable disk. I may also suggest
downloading the .iso for making a Knoppix (Google for it) boot disk. The
Knoppix disk will allow you to boot the computer and run off the disk. You
should be able to see all your data on the hard drive and to copy it off onto
an external USB hard drive, or even flash drives. Once your data is safe,
then you can use the restore partition to return your computer to "as
shipped" condition. Then you can copy your data back. Remember, this is like
starting from scratch. Make sure your data is safe before doing anything else.
T
Tim Meddick
Drag and dropping and burning are NOT the same thing when it comes to iso
files. The files you downloaded from my site are in a zip format, they must
be unzipped first. To unzip them first you need to save it in a location
that is easy to find. When you click on the download link choose save, that
will bring up a window, in that window on the left side you should see
"Desktop" select desktop then click save. That will save the file to your
desktop. Once the file is saved right click on it and choose extract all,
that will unzip the files to a folder. Inside that folder you will see a
file called burncdcc, double click on that file and it will open the iso
burning utility. Click browse on that window and navigate to that same
folder and select the iso file. Click start and it will burn that file to a
blank cd. Once that is done put that cd in the broken computer and reboot
it. If it boots from the cd you will know it because the screen will be
different. Follow the instructions to replace that file.
--
The Real Truth http://pcbutts1-therealtruth.blogspot.com/
*WARNING* Do NOT follow any advice given by the people listed below.
They do NOT have the expertise or knowledge to fix your issue. Do not waste
your time.
David H Lipman, Malke, PA Bear, Beauregard T. Shagnasty, Leythos.
files. The files you downloaded from my site are in a zip format, they must
be unzipped first. To unzip them first you need to save it in a location
that is easy to find. When you click on the download link choose save, that
will bring up a window, in that window on the left side you should see
"Desktop" select desktop then click save. That will save the file to your
desktop. Once the file is saved right click on it and choose extract all,
that will unzip the files to a folder. Inside that folder you will see a
file called burncdcc, double click on that file and it will open the iso
burning utility. Click browse on that window and navigate to that same
folder and select the iso file. Click start and it will burn that file to a
blank cd. Once that is done put that cd in the broken computer and reboot
it. If it boots from the cd you will know it because the screen will be
different. Follow the instructions to replace that file.
--
The Real Truth http://pcbutts1-therealtruth.blogspot.com/
*WARNING* Do NOT follow any advice given by the people listed below.
They do NOT have the expertise or knowledge to fix your issue. Do not waste
your time.
David H Lipman, Malke, PA Bear, Beauregard T. Shagnasty, Leythos.
J
Jose
Hello Jose,
I am writing from work now. What I meant by reformatting is taking my
machine down to like the first day I had it. I've been wanting to do this
for quite awhile as I've had this machine for about 5+ years. If I can't get
to my machine to download my files and such, it will be a great loss. BUTI
have been reading about a "non ivasive" (I think it is called, I've been
reading about it on the net) reformatting that sounds like it does save your
files for you.
I don't know of a person that has a bootable CD, they kind of looked at me
today like "UH"?
I will keep asking and I am going to check to see how much it would cost to
take the HD in and see if they can pull the files out for me, then I can do a
format without losing my stuff.
Jose and all,
Thank you guys for trying to help a very leary, not savie computer person
Debbie
If you can come up with an XP installation CD, you can
probably fix this in less time that it takes the XP CD to boot.
Savvy not required.
S
siamoose
Jose, Tim and Mark,
It finally sunk in on what you guys were saying about how to reboot...took
me awhile uh?
I followed all instructions from all, of course not all at the same time,
and nada, I still can not get past the welcome screen. It would take me to my
desktop just for less than a minute then would kick me out to the welcome
screen.
Mark and Jose, BitDefender would just stop working after about 40 minutes. I
tride twice with that. Though after 40 minutes it did not show one malware or
suspicious file.
Mark, I could click on the icon for my HD, could see all my program files
but didn't know how to transfer them over to my external drive.
Well at least I learned from you guys how to reboot the right way!
Debbie
It finally sunk in on what you guys were saying about how to reboot...took
me awhile uh?
I followed all instructions from all, of course not all at the same time,
and nada, I still can not get past the welcome screen. It would take me to my
desktop just for less than a minute then would kick me out to the welcome
screen.
Mark and Jose, BitDefender would just stop working after about 40 minutes. I
tride twice with that. Though after 40 minutes it did not show one malware or
suspicious file.
Mark, I could click on the icon for my HD, could see all my program files
but didn't know how to transfer them over to my external drive.
Well at least I learned from you guys how to reboot the right way!
Debbie
J
Jose
Jose, Tim and Mark,
It finally sunk in on what you guys were saying about how to reboot...took
me awhile uh?
I followed all instructions from all, of course not all at the same time,
and nada, I still can not get past the welcome screen. It would take me to my
desktop just for less than a minute then would kick me out to the welcome
screen.
Mark and Jose, BitDefender would just stop working after about 40 minutes.. I
tride twice with that. Though after 40 minutes it did not show one malware or
suspicious file.
Mark, I could click on the icon for my HD, could see all my program files
but didn't know how to transfer them over to my external drive.
Well at least I learned from you guys how to reboot the right way!
Debbie
I'll just wait.
Jose
M
Mark Adams
siamoose said:Jose, Tim and Mark,
It finally sunk in on what you guys were saying about how to reboot...took
me awhile uh?
I followed all instructions from all, of course not all at the same time,
and nada, I still can not get past the welcome screen. It would take me to my
desktop just for less than a minute then would kick me out to the welcome
screen.
Mark and Jose, BitDefender would just stop working after about 40 minutes. I
tride twice with that. Though after 40 minutes it did not show one malware or
suspicious file.
Mark, I could click on the icon for my HD, could see all my program files
but didn't know how to transfer them over to my external drive.
I take it from this that you did construct a Knoppix disk and are viewing
your files on the hard drive while running Knoppix, correct? You must connect
and turn on your external USB hard drive before booting to the Knoppix disk,
or it may not recognize the external drive. It's been awhile since I've used
one for copying data. Check the various menus available, right click also.
There is a copy or move file feature somewhere in the menus (sorry, I don't
have a disk with me, or I'd find it and post here). Maneuver by clicking on
icons, move data with the copy feature. I believe it can drag and drop as
well. Open a source window and a destination window, drag and drop. Some of
the other posters have suggested to repair your install with a Windows XP CD,
if you can borrow one. This is good advice, but copy your data first to be
safe. Since you have an external drive, you should be making backup images of
your install with products like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost. They can
really save your bacon!
J
Jose
I am not recommending a repair.
If an XP CD is located, I am opting for the Recover Console.
Jose
M
Mark Adams
Well, using the Recovery Console to make a repair to an install of XP doesJose said:
constitute a repair. It's just not a Repair Install. ;-) Not to confuse
things!
J
Jose
Symantics (sort of).
I am choosing the simplest and most efficient method based on the
facts provided and familiarity with the problem. The end result will
be zero data loss, no form of reinstallation, no downloads, no CD
burning, no backups, no just in case, no try this, etc., etc.
There are indeed several more unpleasant alternatives. Given a choice
I always try to choose the method that is the simplest and increases
the chances of a satisfactory outcome in as few steps as possible.
However, Recovery Console does require an XP CD, which so far has
eluded Siamoose.
Jose
B
Barry Schwarz
This post was forged.
This not the MVP site despite its fake logos.
The correct MVP site is http://www.mvps.org/
B
Barry Schwarz
This post was forged.