error during startup

[Guest]

I'm running XP pro. I tried a trial version of Steganos anti-virus. It
repeatedly reported a problem with a trojan 'BBB' affecting
c:\windows\system32\acvtg.dll. It always promised to fix it on reboot, but
never did. Now I've ended the trial and gone back to AVG. I now get a
protracted boot-up time, and eventually get this message: "Error loading
c:\windows\system32\acvtg.dll Access is denied". When I click okay, things
then seem to proceed normally, but are punctuated by screen blackouts. My
computer supplier can only suggest re-installing Windows. Does anyone know an
easier answer? Thanks.

 

[Elmo]

I'm running XP pro. I tried a trial version of Steganos anti-virus. It
repeatedly reported a problem with a trojan 'BBB' affecting
c:\windows\system32\acvtg.dll. It always promised to fix it on reboot, but
never did. Now I've ended the trial and gone back to AVG. I now get a
protracted boot-up time, and eventually get this message: "Error loading
c:\windows\system32\acvtg.dll Access is denied". When I click okay, things
then seem to proceed normally, but are punctuated by screen blackouts. My
computer supplier can only suggest re-installing Windows. Does anyone know an
easier answer? Thanks.

This might help:

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, attach
the file to a post in this thread; someone might note whether it's safe
to delete first. 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.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for this Joe. I searched for 'acvtg.dll', exactly as you said, but the
search returned nil results, even though I didn't click 'Match Whole
String.' Have I followed your suggestion correctly here?
Roy B

 

[Guest]

Thanks for this, Joe. As your instructions I searched for 'acvtg.dll'. I
didn't click the 'Match Whole String Only' box. I presume any results should
come up within the search window, but after a while I simply got 'Finished
Searching the Registry'.

 

[Elmo]

Thanks for this, Joe. As your instructions I searched for 'acvtg.dll'. I
didn't click the 'Match Whole String Only' box. I presume any results should
come up within the search window, but after a while I simply got 'Finished
Searching the Registry'.

You did the search correctly; the .dll is either not registered, or
never was.

Actually, after looking back on your error message, it states "Access
Denied". That suggests your a/v has blocked, or simply removed the dll.
It isn't mentioned in the registry, but some process is still calling
for the file. You will probably need to find out what process is
calling for the file and remove its entry. Process Explorer might help
find the offending process, though I've never see the program, just read
about it here. You could also run MSCONFIG and stop some processes
under the Startup tab to see if you can find it that way.

 

[Guest]

Okay, thanks. There's nothing in the startup list that catches the eye. I've
downloaded Process Explorer (never heard of it before - thanks for that) so
I'll see if it can find anything. failing that, I'll try switching off some
startups and see if anything changes. Are there any obvious startups that
can't be turned off? (I guess 'System', for example).
Roy B

 

[Elmo]

Okay, thanks. There's nothing in the startup list that catches the eye. I've
downloaded Process Explorer (never heard of it before - thanks for that) so
I'll see if it can find anything. failing that, I'll try switching off some
startups and see if anything changes. Are there any obvious startups that
can't be turned off? (I guess 'System', for example).
Roy B

Any process in the MSconfig Startup list can be turned off. If you have
one titled "System", I doubt it should be there. None of those are
started in Safe Mode.

 

[Guest]

Turning off all startup items have made no difference. Perhaps this is why
(should have noted this sooner!): the error box comes up before all my
desktop icons have appeared, or the icons on the taskbar. When I click OK on
the error box, then they come up.
What about the msconfig 'services' tab? I presume these come up before the
desktop stuff. Can I turn all (or nearly all) of these off?
Roy B

 

[Guest]

Turning off all startup items have made no difference. Perhaps this is why
(should have noted this sooner!): the error box comes up before all my
desktop icons have appeared, or the icons on the taskbar. When I click OK on
the error box, then they come up.
What about the msconfig 'services' tab? I presume these come up before the
desktop stuff. Can I turn all (or nearly all) of these off?
Roy B

 

[Elmo]

Turning off all startup items have made no difference. Perhaps this is why
(should have noted this sooner!): the error box comes up before all my
desktop icons have appeared, or the icons on the taskbar. When I click OK on
the error box, then they come up.
What about the msconfig 'services' tab? I presume these come up before the
desktop stuff. Can I turn all (or nearly all) of these off?
Roy B

If you turn off the wrong services, you may not get XP started again.
Still, if you tried one at a time, that could work.. What happens when
you start up in Safe Mode? Any errors?

Try the free Avast a/v software; it'll schedule a boot scan and may fix
the problem.