Is C:\WINDOWS\system32\explorer.exe important?

[Jeremy]

Hello. I was working on my computer just now when I got a
virus warning from my Norton 2002 saying that I had been
infected by the "W32.Spybot.Worm" virus and it infected
the file, "C:\Windows\System32\Explorer.exe." Norton
couldn't repair the file so I quarantined it. I followed
Norton's instructions to remove it (though I didn't find
the hotkeys or whatever in the Registry Editor that the
instructions said I would find ::sweats:. Norton
explained that this virus destroys the file it infects so
I had no choice but to follow Norton's instructions and
delete explorer.exe from the C:\Windows\System32\ folder.
Now I'm afraid to reboot my computer. Will it start up
again? Was explorer.exe important? If so, how do I
replace it? I'm running Windows XP Pro Full Install. If
anyone can give any little piece of information I would
be eternally grateful. Thank you very much for you help.

Jeremy

I'll keep my computer turned on.

 

[John Barnett - MVP]

Explorer Exe is the main front of XP. Without it XP won't
work. I suppose you have two options. 1/ Try a repair, or
2/Reinstall XP. Now personally, i always found that
the 'repair' option took longer than a complete reinstall
and, if i were in your position, i would not hesitate to
reinstall. The only major hitch is whether you backed up
your personal data or whether you can afford to loose
whatever was previously on your hard drive. For future it
may be worth creating a small seperate partition where
you can store backups of your data. failing that, you
need to make sure you regularly backup inportant data to
a cd.
To repair the system insert your XP CD into your CD-rom
and reboot your machine. The installation process will
begin. Keep a close eye on the screens and you will see
an option to either Repair or Install. Select whichever
you want.

Hope this helps

John Barnett - MVP
Associate Expert

 

[Jeremy]

Thank you, John for the information. I don't have a
decent backup of the data on my HD. I have about 25GB of
data I can't bare to lose. I was only just starting to
look into data storage hardware. If I reboot from the
CDROM and run XP's "repair," do I risk losing data? Why
do you recommend reinstallation so high over repair?
Should I just buy a 2nd HD and hook it up as the master
and hook up this crippled one as a slave and install XP
on the new HD? Thanks again.

Jeremy

 

[Sharon F]

Hello. I was working on my computer just now when I got a
virus warning from my Norton 2002 saying that I had been
infected by the "W32.Spybot.Worm" virus and it infected
the file, "C:\Windows\System32\Explorer.exe." Norton
couldn't repair the file so I quarantined it. I followed
Norton's instructions to remove it (though I didn't find
the hotkeys or whatever in the Registry Editor that the
instructions said I would find ::sweats:. Norton
explained that this virus destroys the file it infects so
I had no choice but to follow Norton's instructions and
delete explorer.exe from the C:\Windows\System32\ folder.
Now I'm afraid to reboot my computer. Will it start up
again? Was explorer.exe important? If so, how do I
replace it? I'm running Windows XP Pro Full Install. If
anyone can give any little piece of information I would
be eternally grateful. Thank you very much for you help.

Jeremy

I'll keep my computer turned on.

While Explorer.exe is a core Windows file, the copy that is uses is
located in the Windows folder - not the Windows\System32 folder.

Thoughts:
1) You don't want the file back since it is a part of the virus. You
need to remove the call to the file.

2) "C:\Windows\System32\Explorer.exe" is not a characteristic of the
w32.spybot.worm. I ran a search at the Symantec site for that path and
here's the link to the single article it pulled up:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.hllw.spirit.html
Removal directions are towards the bottom of the page.

Sharon F
MS MVP
[Windows XP - Shell/User]

 

[Kelly]

All has been resolved, Ms. Sharon. )

/xp_tweaks.htm

Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/top10faqs.htm

Hello. I was working on my computer just now when I got a
virus warning from my Norton 2002 saying that I had been
infected by the "W32.Spybot.Worm" virus and it infected
the file, "C:\Windows\System32\Explorer.exe." Norton
couldn't repair the file so I quarantined it. I followed
Norton's instructions to remove it (though I didn't find
the hotkeys or whatever in the Registry Editor that the
instructions said I would find ::sweats:. Norton
explained that this virus destroys the file it infects so
I had no choice but to follow Norton's instructions and
delete explorer.exe from the C:\Windows\System32\ folder.
Now I'm afraid to reboot my computer. Will it start up
again? Was explorer.exe important? If so, how do I
replace it? I'm running Windows XP Pro Full Install. If
anyone can give any little piece of information I would
be eternally grateful. Thank you very much for you help.

Jeremy

I'll keep my computer turned on.

While Explorer.exe is a core Windows file, the copy that is uses is
located in the Windows folder - not the Windows\System32 folder.

Thoughts:
1) You don't want the file back since it is a part of the virus. You
need to remove the call to the file.

2) "C:\Windows\System32\Explorer.exe" is not a characteristic of the
w32.spybot.worm. I ran a search at the Symantec site for that path and
here's the link to the single article it pulled up:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.hllw.spirit.html
Removal directions are towards the bottom of the page.

Sharon F
MS MVP
[Windows XP - Shell/User]

 

[Sharon F]

All has been resolved, Ms. Sharon. )

Okie doke, Ms. Kelly! =)

Sharon F
MS MVP
[Windows XP - Shell/User]

 

[Kelly]

<LOL> )

/xp_tweaks.htm

Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/top10faqs.htm

All has been resolved, Ms. Sharon. )

Okie doke, Ms. Kelly! =)

Sharon F
MS MVP
[Windows XP - Shell/User]