oops - - my start at a message just vanished, this is a redo with more
info,
if the first one also arrived!
Thanks for the excellent Administrator Account directions - worked
perfectly
and I did have the password. However, the account had no 'permissions'
and
no applications files were accessible from the it, after log-on. From my
account I was able to re-establish application access and priorities for
it-
- I'm sure that I've overlooked some, but at least that account 'sees' and
has access to the most obvious areas now.
Now (finally) back to the original problem - - when I attempt to open an
Excel File, unless the application is already open, the dozen or so "can't
find" message windows pop up sequentially but now a new twist. At the end
of
the "can't find" sequence the "Install Microsoft XP" window opens. This
occurs from either account - Admin or mine.
I have attempted to do an Office "Repair" in Add /Remove again, as that
fixed the problem when you suggested it to me a couple of weeks ago, the
first time the problem appeared. I've attempted that from both
Administrator
and My own account and after putting in the the disk when the Error
message
appears - both get the same error result. I have double checked all
permissions for Office and related sub folders - both Administrator and I
(with admin privileges on my own account) have Full Privileges on all
folders
in Office XP. Somehow it is being read that neither is authorized. When it
gets down to some of the files, the "Repair" is blocked and "Fatal error
during installation" appears: for example 1304 = C: . . .\Templates\ 1033
\Asset Tracking.mdz ]. When I check the 'verify access', my authorizations
appear with Full permission and Ownership. I had done the ownership
changes
you suggested and appear as the owner. I keep hitting roadblocks in the
'Repair' process and I can only imagine what else.
Are there any 'work-arounds' for that or am I heading off in the wrong
direction?
As an aside I now have ownership on various files & folders but still
cannot
change the 'Read only' and no customization options are available when
'Advanced' is selected. However, if I create a shortcut, I can change the
icon on it but not the original. Interestingly if I go into the
Administrator account and access my files from there, I can change icons,
etc. even though I appear as the owner, not the Administrator.
Thanks for all of your suggested solutions, each has worked. The
frustrating thing is that the more I work on this, the high-jacking
consequences seem to be exponential. I teach online and virtually live
on
my computer [no pun intended] so shipping it off for tech support (none
available locally) isn't an option.
I appreciate all your help and picture your riding around on a 'white
horse'.
later. . . kris
Mark L. Ferguson said:
The Administrator account should appear in Safe Mode. If it does not, you
will have to do a registry addition to make it appear. Even after that,
it
may have a password assigned that you do not know. In that event, you
will
have to create a boot disk on CD to boot to, to blank the default
administrator password again.
Anyone attempting to hack out a virus needs to be familiar with editing
the
registry, and using the command line. If you feel unqualified to do those
kinds of things, you should try to find someone local to help you, or
perhaps consider saving data and making a clean reinstall.
Make the admin appear on safe mode welcome screen.
In regedit:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList]
"Administrator"=dword:00000001
Boot disk to download, and set "*" (a blank) for administrator password.
Offline NT pw & reg-editor, bootdisk password:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html
--
Please use the Communities guidelines when posting.
http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm
Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson
Kris - Idaho said:
Thanks for your help and I think that it will probably work once I have
the
following fixed. I've been working on the file and folder ownership
that
you
suggested [#308421] but I discovered that the Administrator account is
missing - I didn't think about it before but it hasn't been appearing
at
log-on since the hijacking. When I log on, my account also doesn't
indicate
administrator privileges [which it did previously in the name line],
but
when
I go into User accounts it indicates that my log-on does have
administrator
permission. I have XP Pro. What happened? What do I do now?
:
Your malware attack has changed the 'Permissions" of your files and
folders.
As an admin, you can change that back as you see fit. In Home Edition
of
XP
you must log on in Safe Mode, if Pro Edition, simply rightclick an
object
for Properties, and the Security tab does the 'ownership' changing.
HOW TO Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q308421
--
Please use the Communities guidelines when posting.
http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm
Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson
Don't know the correct place to post this problem - - I posted it
yesterday
in "XP Performance & Maintenance" but haven't heard anything yet.
For the past few days, all files (Word & Excel) and folders now
appear
as
'read only',when I click on properties. Also the Advanced Properties
tab
no
longer allows me to change icons, except for shortcuts, which I can
still
change.Instead the only options for Advanced Properties are now
Archive
&
Index or Compress or Encrypt.
When I attempt to change a file name, I get the "Cannot rename -
Access
is
Denied" message.
When attempting to open Excel files, the message is "
'c\Documents.x\s'
could not be found." When I ok that, it is followed by many more
individual
messages in a series: " 'and.xls' could not be found",
" 'Settings\Kris.xls' could not be found", etc. for 6 -10 more
message
errors.
I am running Windows XP Pro, Office 2002 Pro, with Windows Defender.
I
think
that the 'Properties' problems started right after running the 'XP
service
Pak' update (not sure which iteration but it was the one which
appeared
on
the automatic Microsoft updates).
I have been attempting to undue all of the fall-out from a recent
smithfraud attack 3 weeks ago, which I thought I had accomplished.
In
attempting to remove multiple trojans which followed the initial
hijacking,
I added Spybot3 a week ago and today BitDefender Antivirus 2008.
I'm not sure what to do and live in an extremely rural area where
taking
my
computer to be 'fixed' is not an option.
thanks for taking a look at this. . . later. . .kris
