HD Problem:

[Navyguy]

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with XP, SP3 running Windows Firewall,
Avira antivirus,
Spybot and Hive Cleanup and all the programs work well together and
are up to date.

Recently, while updating Spybot the step for passive Immunization
wouldn’t complete. I tried powering off and using the Task Manager to
close the session but when I did so it can back with

Application failed to initialize properly (0xc000012d). Click ok to
terminate application – I clicked ok and nothing happened.

I clicked for Spybot update and it came back with:

The application or DLL C: Windows\system32\SETUPAPI.dll is not a valid
Windows image. Please check against your installation diskette.

Error – unable to launch restat.exe

I click tried clicking the Recovery button on Spybot and it gave me
the following

Failed to load C: \Program files\Spybot – Search_Destroy\DelZip179.dll

I tried clicking Word to see if other parts of the computer were
acting erratic and it gave me the following

Microsoft Word has not been installed for the current user. Please run
setup to install the application.

I clicked Word again and it gave me this

Word failed to start correctly last time. Starting Word in Safe Mode
will help you correct or isolate a startup problem in order to
successfully start the program. Some functionality may be disabled in
this mode.

Do you wan to start Word in Safe Mode? Yes/No I clicked no

All to no avail as the computer seemed hung up so I pressed the reset
button but nothing happened (perhaps I didn’t press it long enough?).
In any case, I powered off the system and waited a minute before
powering it back up and when I did I received a

“ Stream write error during registry back up message”.

I then uninstalled Spybot thinking it was corrupted and downloaded a
fresh version and installed it.

I ran a Spybot Search and Destroy scan with no threats found then ran
the immunization again but again it failed to complete with 103361
items unprotected. The computer hung up again and I reset it by
pressing the reset button until powered off.

When I brought it back up it went into checking the file system.

Type of file sys is NTFS

One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency etc ,……. And it
didn’t respond it any key to return to a normal boot. I also tried
going into Safe Mode but it just hung up but when hitting the Esc
button it somehow returned me to a normal boot selection.

So my question is this, is my HD fried or is it recoverable and how do
I do it? I do have some spares if it’s necessary to replace it but
I’ll loose all my links as I don’t have a decidcated only the ability
to put folders on disk (Nero). Any thoughts or suggestions would be
appreciated.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Jan Alter]

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with XP, SP3 running Windows Firewall,
Avira antivirus,
Spybot and Hive Cleanup and all the programs work well together and
are up to date.

Recently, while updating Spybot the step for passive Immunization
wouldn’t complete. I tried powering off and using the Task Manager to
close the session but when I did so it can back with

Application failed to initialize properly (0xc000012d). Click ok to
terminate application – I clicked ok and nothing happened.

I clicked for Spybot update and it came back with:

The application or DLL C: Windows\system32\SETUPAPI.dll is not a valid
Windows image. Please check against your installation diskette.

Error – unable to launch restat.exe

I click tried clicking the Recovery button on Spybot and it gave me
the following

Failed to load C: \Program files\Spybot – Search_Destroy\DelZip179.dll

I tried clicking Word to see if other parts of the computer were
acting erratic and it gave me the following

Microsoft Word has not been installed for the current user. Please run
setup to install the application.

I clicked Word again and it gave me this

Word failed to start correctly last time. Starting Word in Safe Mode
will help you correct or isolate a startup problem in order to
successfully start the program. Some functionality may be disabled in
this mode.

Do you wan to start Word in Safe Mode? Yes/No I clicked no

All to no avail as the computer seemed hung up so I pressed the reset
button but nothing happened (perhaps I didn’t press it long enough?).
In any case, I powered off the system and waited a minute before
powering it back up and when I did I received a

“ Stream write error during registry back up message”.

I then uninstalled Spybot thinking it was corrupted and downloaded a
fresh version and installed it.

I ran a Spybot Search and Destroy scan with no threats found then ran
the immunization again but again it failed to complete with 103361
items unprotected. The computer hung up again and I reset it by
pressing the reset button until powered off.

When I brought it back up it went into checking the file system.

Type of file sys is NTFS

One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency etc ,……. And it
didn’t respond it any key to return to a normal boot. I also tried
going into Safe Mode but it just hung up but when hitting the Esc
button it somehow returned me to a normal boot selection.

So my question is this, is my HD fried or is it recoverable and how do
I do it? I do have some spares if it’s necessary to replace it but
I’ll loose all my links as I don’t have a decidcated only the ability
to put folders on disk (Nero). Any thoughts or suggestions would be
appreciated.

Thanks,
Robert



Hi Robert,

Start by downloading the hdd maker's utility program to test if the disk is
OK.Most hdd makers offer a free diagnostic utility free.
It can be run from a floppy or CD after downloading an ISO and burning it
to disk.

If the disk tests out OK I would run memtest86 to see if the RAM is
contiguous and there are no faults. If the problem turns out to be RAM and
you have two chips installed try removing one of them to see if things
change. If not, then change out one chip for the other and see if there's a
difference in operation.
If the RAM checks out OK then I'd continue to investigate if there is a
viral infection, rootkit, trojan, etc.
I personally use Malwarebytes rather than Spybot, but have heard good
thoughts about Spybot.
Any anti-virus program can miss one or more viruses so you might want to
consider a different anti-virus program. You could also remove the disk and
attach it to another computer and check it with that computer's anti-virus
program while also removing any important data that you want to keep if it
is still accesible.
Additionally, to try to get the disk running back with Windows, if the hdd
and RAM are OK and you found a virus problem you can try running a Repair
install from the XP installation disk.

Good luck,

 

[glee]

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with XP, SP3 running Windows Firewall,
Avira antivirus,
Spybot and Hive Cleanup and all the programs work well together and
are up to date.

Recently, while updating Spybot the step for passive Immunization
wouldn’t complete. I tried powering off and using the Task Manager to
close the session but when I did so it can back with

Application failed to initialize properly (0xc000012d). Click ok to
terminate application – I clicked ok and nothing happened.

I clicked for Spybot update and it came back with:

The application or DLL C: Windows\system32\SETUPAPI.dll is not a valid
Windows image. Please check against your installation diskette.

Error – unable to launch restat.exe

I click tried clicking the Recovery button on Spybot and it gave me
the following

Failed to load C: \Program files\Spybot – Search_Destroy\DelZip179.dll

I tried clicking Word to see if other parts of the computer were
acting erratic and it gave me the following

Microsoft Word has not been installed for the current user. Please run
setup to install the application.

I clicked Word again and it gave me this

Word failed to start correctly last time. Starting Word in Safe Mode
will help you correct or isolate a startup problem in order to
successfully start the program. Some functionality may be disabled in
this mode.

Do you wan to start Word in Safe Mode? Yes/No I clicked no

All to no avail as the computer seemed hung up so I pressed the reset
button but nothing happened (perhaps I didn’t press it long enough?).
In any case, I powered off the system and waited a minute before
powering it back up and when I did I received a

“ Stream write error during registry back up message”.

I then uninstalled Spybot thinking it was corrupted and downloaded a
fresh version and installed it.

I ran a Spybot Search and Destroy scan with no threats found then ran
the immunization again but again it failed to complete with 103361
items unprotected. The computer hung up again and I reset it by
pressing the reset button until powered off.

When I brought it back up it went into checking the file system.

Type of file sys is NTFS

One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency etc ,……. And it
didn’t respond it any key to return to a normal boot. I also tried
going into Safe Mode but it just hung up but when hitting the Esc
button it somehow returned me to a normal boot selection.

So my question is this, is my HD fried or is it recoverable and how do
I do it? I do have some spares if it’s necessary to replace it but
I’ll loose all my links as I don’t have a decidcated only the ability
to put folders on disk (Nero). Any thoughts or suggestions would be
appreciated.

How much free space do you have on the C: drive (assuming you have
Windows installed on C?

The "Stream Write" error is likely coming from some program that is
starting with Windows, not from Windows itself.

I assume you meant to write "restart.exe", NOT "restat.exe"
Restart.exe is a name used by some legitimate programs, but it is also a
name used by some malware.

 

[Navyguy]

At present,

It seems to boot normally, However when starting Word, an activation
window pops up which of course shouldn't. I checked for updates and
I’ve run an Avira Anti-virus full system scan as well as Spybot Search
and Destroy and both came up clean. However, it failed to complete the
passive immunization once again. In addition, the computer will not
let me do a System Restore. I thought doing a Defrag might help if the
files were corrupted but it said that I didn’t need to so I didn’t do
that. In passing, I normally check for updates every three days, and
make a restore point each time. When last time it let me try, it
showed no restore points!

I did upgrade my RAM awhile ago to its maximum which I forget now what
it is 1072? I do seem to remember having a HD software utility of some
kind. I’ll check these things out and report back with further
developments. I do hope it’s not the RAM however.


Thanks Guys,
Robert

 

[glee]

At present,

It seems to boot normally, However when starting Word, an activation
window pops up which of course shouldn't. I checked for updates and
I’ve run an Avira Anti-virus full system scan as well as Spybot Search
and Destroy and both came up clean. However, it failed to complete the
passive immunization once again. In addition, the computer will not
let me do a System Restore. I thought doing a Defrag might help if the
files were corrupted but it said that I didn’t need to so I didn’t do
that. In passing, I normally check for updates every three days, and
make a restore point each time. When last time it let me try, it
showed no restore points!

I did upgrade my RAM awhile ago to its maximum which I forget now what
it is 1072? I do seem to remember having a HD software utility of some
kind. I’ll check these things out and report back with further
developments. I do hope it’s not the RAM however.

Asking a second time:
How much free space do you have on the C: drive (assuming you have
Windows installed on C?

 

[Navyguy]

Asking a second time:
How much free space do you have on the C: drive (assuming you have
Windows installed on C?

--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP  Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I apoligize, I meant to include that in my previous message and just
forgot. I have a total of 127 Gb with 109Gb free.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Navyguy]

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with XP, SP3 running Windows Firewall,
Avira antivirus,
Spybot and Hive Cleanup and all the programs work well together and
are up to date.

Recently, while updating Spybot the step for passive Immunization
wouldn’t complete.  I tried powering off and using the Task Manager to
close the session but when I did so it can back with

Application failed to initialize properly (0xc000012d). Click ok to
terminate application – I clicked ok and nothing happened.

I clicked for Spybot update and it came back with:

The application or DLL C: Windows\system32\SETUPAPI.dll is not a valid
Windows image. Please check against your installation diskette.

Error – unable to launch restat.exe

I click tried clicking the Recovery button on Spybot and it gave me
the following

Failed to load C: \Program files\Spybot – Search_Destroy\DelZip179.dll

I tried clicking Word to see if other parts of the computer were
acting erratic and it gave me the following

Microsoft Word has not been installed for the current user. Please run
setup to install the application.

I clicked Word again and it gave me this

Word failed to start correctly last time. Starting Word in Safe Mode
will help you correct or isolate a startup problem in order to
successfully start the program. Some functionality may be disabled in
this mode.

Do you wan to start Word in Safe Mode? Yes/No I clicked no

All to no avail as the computer seemed hung up  so I pressed the reset
button but nothing happened (perhaps I didn’t press it long enough?).
In any case, I powered off the system and waited a minute before
powering it back up and when I did I received a

“ Stream write error during registry back up message”.

I then uninstalled Spybot thinking it was corrupted and downloaded a
fresh version and installed it.

I ran a Spybot Search and Destroy scan with no threats found then ran
the immunization again but again it failed to complete with 103361
items unprotected.  The computer hung up again and I reset it by
pressing the reset button until powered off.

When I brought it back up it went into checking the file system.

Type of file sys is NTFS

One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency etc ,……. And it
didn’t respond it any key to return to a normal boot. I also tried
going into Safe Mode but it just hung up but when hitting the Esc
button it somehow returned me to a normal boot selection.

So my question is this, is my HD fried or is it recoverable and how do
I do it? I do have some spares if it’s necessary to replace it but
I’ll loose all my links as I don’t have a decidcated only the ability
to put folders on disk (Nero). Any  thoughts or suggestions would be
appreciated.

Thanks,
Robert

I used Seagtes Seatools utility program to do a long generic scan of
the system and it came back with

PATA/SATA Model # Firmwarmware Revision
Drive Status

5RX9FJY4 ST3160815A
3AA Long Generic - Pass

I then tried to download and run memtest86 but I must be doing
something wrong. I dont get any kind of diagnosic page at all. Is it
dot org ?

Robert

 

[Navyguy]

I just wanted to add that it let me make a restore point tonight.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Paul]

I then tried to download and run memtest86 but I must be doing
something wrong. I dont get any kind of diagnosic page at all. Is it
dot org ?

Robert

Memtest86+ comes from memtest.org . Actually, there are two development
streams for the program, and memtest.org hosts one of them.

Scroll half way down the memtest.org web page, to find the downloads.

The floppy version, contains a floppy formatter. You *do not* just
copy it to an existing floppy. There is a special install procedure.

http://memtest.org/download/4.10/memtest86+-4.10.floppy.zip

The install.bat is a short installer script. It uses this command,
to do the actual writing: "rawrite -f memtestp.bin"
It will erase the floppy (as it is just overwriting sectors on it).
So make sure you don't need anything on that floppy, before
running the installer.

The contents of the floppy are now rather unique. There is no
file system on the floppy. You can't "list" the floppy. If
you do that, Windows will ask you if you want to format it.
And that's because Windows can't see a file system.

When you later boot the computer with that floppy, again, it's
a relatively unique situation. The memtest program is loaded,
as if it is the operating system. It takes control of the machine,
but isn't an operating system, because it doesn't offer any services
to other programs. It likely uses some kind of "VESA mode" to operate
the screen. The screen runs 640x480.

The program will run forever, if you don't attempt to stop it. It
has a pass counter, to count how many times all the tests got run.
The program doesn't seem to be that good as a "pure stress test",
and my personal opinion is, running it for hundreds of hours,
wouldn't prove much of anything. One or two passes are plenty.
I feel the main value of the program, is detecting "stuck-at"
faults, where a memory bit refuses to change state. I don't
feel it's quite as good for transient faults. Prime95 or one
of the other available stress testers, might be better for
that.

Press the escape key, to initiate a reboot at the end of testing.
Remove the floppy, before the BIOS POST screen starts to render.
Then, you'll be booting back into Windows.

Naturally, the floppy diskette isn't going to boot, unless
the floppy drive is in the boot order. I leave my BIOS
boot order set to: floppy, CDROM, hard drive so that
as soon as removable media is installed, the computer
will boot from it. If you have different preferences
than that, you may need to enter the BIOS to set up
a boot order that includes the floppy.

Paul

 

[Navyguy]

I went to www dot memtest86 dot org and clicked memtest86 download, I
then clicked fix memtest86 download which opened another window, and I
clicked to download the memtest86 download tool, which finally gave me
RegGenie. I ran the scan and it gave me the following.


Application path entries - 4 errors

Application uninstall entries – 61 errors

COM/Active X entries – 422 errors

Empty Key entries – 217 errors

File Association entries – 17 errors

File/Folder paths entries – 3 errors

Invalid class entries – 14 errors

Shared DLL’s – 19 errors

Sound/Audio entries – 3 errors

Type Library entries – 4 errors


Thoughts/Suggestions?

Robert

 

[glee]

I went to www dot memtest86 dot org and clicked memtest86 download, I
then clicked fix memtest86 download which opened another window, and I
clicked to download the memtest86 download tool, which finally gave me
RegGenie. I ran the scan and it gave me the following.
snip

You went to the wrong web address. A couple of us now have given you
the web address to go to, and that's not where you went. memtest86 dot
org is NOT a valid site....it is a placeholder page full of advertising.
You clicked on a download link for a snake-oil "registry cleaner".
Uninstall that junk immediately.

Go to http://www.memtest.org/#downiso as we already explained. If you
want to make a bootable CD, download the Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO
(.zip) file to your hard drive, then unzip the ISO and use an ISO image
burning application to make a bootable CD from the ISO file. If you
don't know how to do that, seek assistance from someone local who does.

If you have a floppy drive and want to make a bootable floppy instead,
download the Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win), and save the
..zip file to your hard drive. Unzip all the contents of the .zip to a
folder on your hard drive, insert a blank floppy disk in your floppy
drive, and double-click the "install.bat" file in the folder where you
unzipped. Follow the instructions on-screen to make the floppy and boot
from it. If you don't know how to do that, seek assistance from someone
local who does.

 

[Navyguy]

You went to the wrong web address.  A couple of us now have given you
the web address to go to, and that's not where you went. memtest86 dot
org is NOT a valid site....it is a placeholder page full of advertising.
You clicked on a download link for a snake-oil "registry cleaner".
Uninstall that junk immediately.

Go tohttp://www.memtest.org/#downisoas we already explained.  If you
want to make a bootable CD, download the  Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO
(.zip) file to your hard drive, then unzip the ISO and use an ISO image
burning application to make a bootable CD from the ISO file.  If you
don't know how to do that, seek assistance from someone local who does.

If you have a floppy drive and want to make a bootable floppy instead,
download the Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win), and save the
.zip file to your hard drive.  Unzip all the contents of the .zip to a
folder on your hard drive, insert a blank floppy disk in your floppy
drive, and double-click the "install.bat" file in the folder where you
unzipped.  Follow the instructions on-screen to make the floppy and boot
from it.  If you don't know how to do that, seek assistance from someone
local who does.

I believe I understand the procedures but I first need to purchase
some CD - R/RW disks to burn a CD. In passing, I also tried to follow
your second set of instructions to determine which I preferred but it
didnt reconize my D: drive and would only except A or B.


Thanks,

Robert

 

[glee]

I believe I understand the procedures but I first need to purchase
some CD - R/RW disks to burn a CD. In passing, I also tried to follow
your second set of instructions to determine which I preferred but it
didnt reconize my D: drive and would only except A or B.

My second procedure described using their program to make a bootable
floppy disk. An internal floppy drive will be either drive A: or B:.
What drive is your D: drive??

 

[Navyguy]

My second procedure described using their program to make a bootable
floppy disk. An internal floppy drive will be either drive A: or B:.
What drive is your D: drive??

--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP  Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I guess I'm not understanding this procedure as clearly as I thought
but I still think I can do this with a little help and and
clarification for my part. In addition, there is no one else I can
turn this problem over to which is why I came here for assistance.
Please just bear with me.

When I went to buy a CD-R-RW at Radio Shack the only thing I could see
were R and RW's and the sales person said that she had never heard of
or seen a CD-R-RW. I confess I dont know much about buying these as I
hardly use them but I obviously need to go back and get the correct
one this time.

In any case, when trying to do the first prcedure it gave me the
folowing message

Sorry, your compilation cannot be written on this kind of disc. Please
insert a disc of the correct type or modify the settings of your
complilation to make it compatible with the current dic.

Disc required for complilation CD-R-RW

Disc type in the recorder DVD-RW

Regarding the second procedure; I expanded the install64 file, then
clicked on it ro run which opened up another box to create the floppy
disc. I press enter to continue and it comes back with:

rawwrite dd for windows version 0.5
Written by John Newbigin <[email protected]>
This program is covered by the GPL . See copying .txt for details
Error opening output file : 2 The system cannot find the file
specified
Done!
To run Memtest86+, leave the floppy in the drive and reboot.
Press any key to continue.....

When I click install and Run, it asks "Enter tarket diskette drive
and I enter D: (DVD drive) and it comes back with
Drive was 'D" must be A or B
Installation failed
Press any key to continue

Then I tried selecting A and inserted a disc and it says:

Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and press enter
Can't figure out how many sectors /track for this diskette.
Installation failed!
Press any key to continue,....

Ok, I realize that I need the right kind of CD which I will do
tomorrow, but I always thought to install a program you click install
which is what I did. However there are two installs so which one do I
pick? The only problem I see is that I choose the wrong kind of CD.
Any helpful thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.


Thanks,

Robert

 

[Navyguy]

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with XP, SP3 running Windows Firewall,
Avira antivirus,
Spybot and Hive Cleanup and all the programs work well together and
are up to date.

Recently, while updating Spybot the step for passive Immunization
wouldn’t complete.  I tried powering off and using the Task Manager to
close the session but when I did so it can back with

Application failed to initialize properly (0xc000012d). Click ok to
terminate application – I clicked ok and nothing happened.

I clicked for Spybot update and it came back with:

The application or DLL C: Windows\system32\SETUPAPI.dll is not a valid
Windows image. Please check against your installation diskette.

Error – unable to launch restat.exe

I click tried clicking the Recovery button on Spybot and it gave me
the following

Failed to load C: \Program files\Spybot – Search_Destroy\DelZip179.dll

I tried clicking Word to see if other parts of the computer were
acting erratic and it gave me the following

Microsoft Word has not been installed for the current user. Please run
setup to install the application.

I clicked Word again and it gave me this

Word failed to start correctly last time. Starting Word in Safe Mode
will help you correct or isolate a startup problem in order to
successfully start the program. Some functionality may be disabled in
this mode.

Do you wan to start Word in Safe Mode? Yes/No I clicked no

All to no avail as the computer seemed hung up  so I pressed the reset
button but nothing happened (perhaps I didn’t press it long enough?).
In any case, I powered off the system and waited a minute before
powering it back up and when I did I received a

“ Stream write error during registry back up message”.

I then uninstalled Spybot thinking it was corrupted and downloaded a
fresh version and installed it.

I ran a Spybot Search and Destroy scan with no threats found then ran
the immunization again but again it failed to complete with 103361
items unprotected.  The computer hung up again and I reset it by
pressing the reset button until powered off.

When I brought it back up it went into checking the file system.

Type of file sys is NTFS

One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency etc ,……. And it
didn’t respond it any key to return to a normal boot. I also tried
going into Safe Mode but it just hung up but when hitting the Esc
button it somehow returned me to a normal boot selection.

So my question is this, is my HD fried or is it recoverable and how do
I do it? I do have some spares if it’s necessary to replace it but
I’ll loose all my links as I don’t have a decidcated only the ability
to put folders on disk (Nero). Any  thoughts or suggestions would be
appreciated.

Thanks,
Robert

I created the bootable CD and ran Memtest twice and each time it came
back with

Pass complete, no errors, press Esc to exit. So what do I do now to
resolve the problem as posted?

Thoughts/Suggestions?

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Hot-Text]

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8200/codes.htm#1101572

Reinstall XP, SP1
and start live over!

 

[Navyguy]

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8200/codes.htm#1101572

 Reinstall XP, SP1
and start live over!  

I looked up the codes on the link you provided and according to my
computer it's functioning normally. Well, obviously not and I had
thought I might have to format/reinstall a new hd but having run and
passed Memtest doesn't it confirm that my files aren't corrupted? Also
if it's as cut and dry as that then why did they have me run the
Memtest at all? Could it be something else that fixable?


Suggestions/Thoughts?

Robert

 

[Paul]

I looked up the codes on the link you provided and according to my
computer it's functioning normally. Well, obviously not and I had
thought I might have to format/reinstall a new hd but having run and
passed Memtest doesn't it confirm that my files aren't corrupted? Also
if it's as cut and dry as that then why did they have me run the
Memtest at all? Could it be something else that fixable?


Suggestions/Thoughts?

Robert

Doing a quick search, a lot of those messages come from files
that are really damaged. And the damage may be caused by malware.
I'd probably give it a scan first, to see if it's something detectable.
I wasn't able to find examples of other means of causing invalid executables
like the errors you're seeing ("is not a valid Windows image").

The virus definitions on this are dated Nov 27, 2010. Download size ~200MB.

http://rescuedisk.kaspersky-labs.com/rescuedisk/updatable/kav_rescue_10.iso

That is an offline virus scanner. ("Offline" means, WinXP is not running,
and the computer is booted with some other OS.) When you use your ISO9660
program, to prepare and burn a bootable CD disc with that, then boot the
computer with it, your computer runs the Gentoo Linux operating system
on the CD. A dedicated application on the CD, and running under Linux, can
then scan Windows partitions, looking for viruses. That's the CD I use,
if I'm getting "strange" behavior on the computer.

For that disc to work, you need a network setup that has working Internet
as soon as the CD is booted. My router supports DHCP and the setting up of
automatic IP addresses (and that is the way my Windows is configured).
When the Kaspersky disc boots, it tries to connect to their site, to get
virus definition updates. While the 200MB CD has definitions on it, there
are megabytes more of updates to download, and then the CD can run a scan for
you. The "drive letters" shown in the selection screen of that scanning
application, aren't your regular drive letters. My WinXP C: partition, is
actually at E: in the Gentoo Linux thing. So I have to click E: in there,
to get my WinXP partition scanned. If you don't have that many partitions
or that much data on the disk, you can just click all the drive letters,
and let it scan everything.

Paul

 

[Navyguy]

Doing a quick search, a lot of those messages come from files
that are really damaged. And the damage may be caused by malware.
I'd probably give it a scan first, to see if it's something detectable.
I wasn't able to find examples of other means of causing invalid executables
like the errors you're seeing ("is not a valid Windows image").

The virus definitions on this are dated Nov 27, 2010. Download size ~200MB.

http://rescuedisk.kaspersky-labs.com/rescuedisk/updatable/kav_rescue_...

That is an offline virus scanner. ("Offline" means, WinXP is not running,
and the computer is booted with some other OS.) When you use your ISO9660
program, to prepare and burn a bootable CD disc with that, then boot the
computer with it, your computer runs the Gentoo Linux operating system
on the CD. A dedicated application on the CD, and running under Linux, can
then scan Windows partitions, looking for viruses. That's the CD I use,
if I'm getting "strange" behavior on the computer.

For that disc to work, you need a network setup that has working Internet
as soon as the CD is booted. My router supports DHCP and the setting up of
automatic IP addresses (and that is the way my Windows is configured).
When the Kaspersky disc boots, it tries to connect to their site, to get
virus definition updates. While the 200MB CD has definitions on it, there
are megabytes more of updates to download, and then the CD can run a scanfor
you. The "drive letters" shown in the selection screen of that scanning
application, aren't your regular drive letters. My WinXP C: partition, is
actually at E: in the Gentoo Linux thing. So I have to click E: in there,
to get my WinXP partition scanned. If you don't have that many partitions
or that much data on the disk, you can just click all the drive letters,
and let it scan everything.

    Paul- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ok, I think I can follow this, and will give it a try. I'll post any
problems and/or the results.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Hot-Text]

DO not format
Just reinstall form I386 and it will be XP, SP1