Missing DLL's / Programs won't open after windows update installed

[Chef Dave]

I have recently received 2 windows updates and have
installed them as instructed, upon boot up after
installation it said that one or more of my disks had
errors and needed to be checked, I allowed this to happen
in the process it changed, deleted or removed a lot of
DLL files, start up files and so on, it also removed all
previous restore points so I am unable to restore my
system to a previous date. Can any one offer any help on
this problem or suggest someone that may be able to
help. The programs that won't open, of course, are the
ones I use in my business every day.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
Dave

 

[Malke]

I have recently received 2 windows updates and have
installed them as instructed, upon boot up after
installation it said that one or more of my disks had
errors and needed to be checked, I allowed this to happen
in the process it changed, deleted or removed a lot of
DLL files, start up files and so on, it also removed all
previous restore points so I am unable to restore my
system to a previous date. Can any one offer any help on
this problem or suggest someone that may be able to
help. The programs that won't open, of course, are the
ones I use in my business every day.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
Dave

When you say you "received" updates, do you mean as attachments in
emails? If yes, then you are infected with at least one virus.
Microsoft never sends patches in emails. Please scan with a current
antivirus (post-2002 version using updated definitions) to be sure your
machine is clean. If this is not what happened, then post back with
more details about what updates, where you got them, etc.

Malke

 

[Chef Dave]

No the updates were from MS and received throught Auto-
Update, they were received on 11/14/03 and again on
11/27/03 I really thought the latter was going to
straighten out what had happened on the first one...but
not so...instead it deleted additional DLL and Start Up
files so now my problem is worse then it was after the
update on the 14th. I really need some help...bad...I
have also asked MS for help with thsi problem but have
not received any replies from them at this point.
any help you can offer would be great. I do run anti-
virus at all times.
Thanks,
Chef Dave

 

[Malke]

No the updates were from MS and received throught Auto-
Update, they were received on 11/14/03 and again on
11/27/03 I really thought the latter was going to
straighten out what had happened on the first one...but
not so...instead it deleted additional DLL and Start Up
files so now my problem is worse then it was after the
update on the 14th. I really need some help...bad...I
have also asked MS for help with thsi problem but have
not received any replies from them at this point.
any help you can offer would be great. I do run anti-
virus at all times.
Thanks,
Chef Dave

Since I'm not at your house and can't troubleshoot the computer myself,
it's very hard to say what happened. However, it's unlikely that
official MS updates would cause the problems you've described. What it
actually sounds like is that you had a virus and the updates triggered
a destructive payload. However, since you say you always run av and I
assume it is a current version and the definitions are kept updated...
So, perhaps the hard drive is failing and the updates were
coincidental. Start hardware diagnosis with a RAM test - Memtest86 is
good. Follow up with a hard drive test (you can download a utility from
the mftr.). If all hardware tests ok, then format the drive and
reinstall Windows, reinstall programs from cd's, restore data from
backups. If you can't do this yourself, then it would be best to take
the machine to a good local computer repair shop (not Best Buy or
CompUSA).

Malke

 

[Chef Dave]

Thank you for your reply, I guess I have been try to put
of the inevitable, I was afraid that the fix would be to
re-install everything, that of course is the pits!! But I
do appreciate your response to my problem and the fixes
you have offered.
Thank You
Chef Dave

 

[Malke]

Thank you for your reply, I guess I have been try to put
of the inevitable, I was afraid that the fix would be to
re-install everything, that of course is the pits!! But I
do appreciate your response to my problem and the fixes
you have offered.
Thank You
Chef Dave

Thanks for the acknowledgement; I'm sorry it wasn't an easy answer.
Don't forget to do hardware diagnoses *first* - there's no point going
through the whole reinstall thing if your hardware is bad to start
with.

Malke