Registry Cleaner Blues

[Bob Tyrka]

After installing a couple of free registry cleaning applications I
discovered that an old application didn't work--American Heritage
Dictionary--and I uninstalled it and attempted to reinstall it.

It would not reinstall; instead I got the following message:

"16 bit Windows Subsystem

C:Windows\System32\Autoexec.NT. The system file is not suitable for running
MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the
application."

I tried System Restore, going back as far as I could, but in every instance
I was unable to restore to an earlier date.

Is there some way to fix this, or must I spend the sixteen hours necessary
to do a format and clean install? If I must do a clean install, is there a
site that will provide me with DIY instructions?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Chris S.]

After installing a couple of free registry cleaning applications I
discovered that an old application didn't work--American Heritage
Dictionary--and I uninstalled it and attempted to reinstall it.

It would not reinstall; instead I got the following message:

"16 bit Windows Subsystem

C:Windows\System32\Autoexec.NT. The system file is not suitable for
running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to
terminate the application."

I tried System Restore, going back as far as I could, but in every
instance I was unable to restore to an earlier date.

Is there some way to fix this, or must I spend the sixteen hours necessary
to do a format and clean install? If I must do a clean install, is there
a site that will provide me with DIY instructions?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Copy autoexec.nt from windows\repair to windows\ststem32

Chris

 

[kurttrail]

After installing a couple of free registry cleaning applications I
discovered that an old application didn't work--American Heritage
Dictionary--and I uninstalled it and attempted to reinstall it.

It would not reinstall; instead I got the following message:

"16 bit Windows Subsystem

C:Windows\System32\Autoexec.NT. The system file is not suitable for
running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to
terminate the application."

I tried System Restore, going back as far as I could, but in every
instance I was unable to restore to an earlier date.

Is there some way to fix this, or must I spend the sixteen hours
necessary to do a format and clean install? If I must do a clean
install, is there a site that will provide me with DIY instructions?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Learn from your mistake. Don't use freeware registry cleaners. Hell, I
wouldn't use a pay-for one either. Registry cleaners tend to create
more problems than they claim to fix.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[Clark Griswold]

After installing a couple of free registry cleaning applications I
discovered that an old application didn't work--American Heritage
Dictionary--and I uninstalled it and attempted to reinstall it.

It would not reinstall; instead I got the following message:

"16 bit Windows Subsystem

C:Windows\System32\Autoexec.NT. The system file is not suitable for
running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to
terminate the application."

I tried System Restore, going back as far as I could, but in every
instance I was unable to restore to an earlier date.

Is there some way to fix this, or must I spend the sixteen hours necessary
to do a format and clean install? If I must do a clean install, is there
a site that will provide me with DIY instructions?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Another unhappy "Registry Cleaner" customer. Been there, done that. My
advice is to stay away from all registry cleaners, they create nothing but
trouble. Check out this Microsoft link: http://tinyurl.com/59bzw
If that doesn't work try a repair install. I think this is your best option
as you may have damaged more than just the error you're seeing.
Another option is to type "command", not "cmd" at the Start, Run box. This
will invoke the 16 bit command processor in it's own DOS virtual machine.
Then find your install program and type it's name and hit the enter key.

 

[Guest]

go to the link given by clark and in the search field enter 324767 this
article deals with your problem and tells you how to fix. print it and follow
the instructions had the same problem and this is the fix.
jack

 

[Guest]

After installing a couple of free registry cleaning applications I
discovered that an old application didn't work--American Heritage
Dictionary--and I uninstalled it and attempted to reinstall it.

It would not reinstall; instead I got the following message:

"16 bit Windows Subsystem

This may be a case in which the problem goes beyond allowing a registry
cleaner to mess up your system (which itself is bad enough unless you know
exactly what you are doing and also create a System Restore point in
advance). Your American Heritage Dictionary software may be obsolete,
especially if you have extensively updated XP since originally installing the
program. You may want to get a newer version, or check with their website to
see if they have released any software updates or patches. This problem
wouldn't necessarily prevent it from working if it was already on your
machine prior to the updates, but may prevent it from being installed after
the updates.

Alternatively, see if you can use System Restore to restore your machine to
a prior state before the date on which you first began messing with registry
cleaners. If the American Heritage software isn't restored as part of the
System Restore process, then try installing it.

Ken

 

[Torgeir Bakken \(MVP\)]

After installing a couple of free registry cleaning applications I
discovered that an old application didn't work--American Heritage
Dictionary--and I uninstalled it and attempted to reinstall it.

It would not reinstall; instead I got the following message:

"16 bit Windows Subsystem

C:Windows\System32\Autoexec.NT. The system file is not suitable
for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose
'Close' to terminate the application."

Hi

Your autoexec.nt problem is most likely caused by a worm or if you have
WinXP SP2 and AVAST (antivirus software) installed, it also can cause
this error.

To solve the problem:

Error message when you install or start an MS-DOS or 16-bit
Windows-based program
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324767

Alternatively:

You can put back the standard version of autoexec.nt/config.nt by
copying a backup copy held in %windir%\repair\ to %windir%\system32\
(%windir% is typically C:\Windows) instead of using the procedure in
the KB article above (see further down for instructions on how).


Could be caused a trojan or something similar, e.g.
TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dia.a, more about this here:
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]

Also, AVAST (antivirus software) can be the cause if you
have WinXP SP2 installed:
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]


If you want to copy the file from the repair folder, you can use
this procedure:

Open a command prompt, using e.g. Start/Run --> cmd.exe

In the command prompt, type in the following two commands exactly as
you see them in this post (you need to press enter for each command
to execute them):

cd /d %windir%
copy repair\autoexec.nt system32\*.*


Here is a "screen dump" from how it looks when I do it on my computer: