Replaced Windows System files

[JohnD]

Norton Antivirus presented me with a message that it had founf 5 or 6
infections that were graded as low severity. I chose to have it fix them.
When it had finished I got a Windows message that certain Windows files had
been replaced by new files and I was told to repair this to protect the
stability of the operating system by inserting my SP3 CD. When I did this I
got a message that I had inserted the wrong disk. Which I had not.
Then up came another message to insert my Windows XP Pro install CD. When I
did that I got a message that I had inserted the wrong disk and to insert my
Windows XP Pro install CD.
After a few iterations of this I chose the Install XP option, but this could
not be done because the version in the machine is newer than that on the disc.
Help. anyone?

 

[Jose]

Norton Antivirus presented me with a message that it had founf 5 or 6
infections that were graded as low severity.  I chose to have it fix them.  
When it had finished I got a Windows message that certain Windows files had
been replaced by new files and I was told to repair this to protect the
stability of the operating system by inserting my SP3 CD.  When I did this I
got a message that I had inserted the wrong disk.  Which I had not.
Then up came another message to insert my Windows XP Pro install CD.  When I
did that I got a message that I had inserted the wrong disk and to insertmy
Windows XP Pro install CD.
After a few iterations of this I chose the Install XP option, but this could
not be done because the version in the machine is newer than that on the disc.
Help. anyone?

Windows has a File Protection feature that protects certain files from
being overwritten by rouge files of the same name, so at least that
part is working. Windows doesn't like it. I personally don't like
Norton products, but that is my opinion and we should fix your
problem.

Unless you made or someone made an XP SP3 CD for you, you probably do
not have one. Did that happen?

Depending on how you acquired your XP CD, you probably have a SP1a or
SP2, but your machine may have SP3 installed from a Microsoft update,
download, etc. That puts your CD behind by at least one SP. This is
typical for most people.

I would not choose any kind of XP install option for this problem.

If you are lucky enough to have an original XP installation CD, we can
make a new XP installation CD that has XP3 on it (good idea).

We need to figure out what your installed SP is and what the CD
situation is and then let XP fix it with the System File Checker
utility - this is what it does.

Click Start, Run and enter winver in the box to see what you have
installed.

Is there any writing on the CD you have that will reveal it's
features?

Before proceeding to fix, let's make a different check for malicious
software as follows:

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware
detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

 

[JohnD]

Windows has a File Protection feature that protects certain files from
being overwritten by rouge files of the same name, so at least that
part is working. Windows doesn't like it. I personally don't like
Norton products, but that is my opinion and we should fix your
problem.

Unless you made or someone made an XP SP3 CD for you, you probably do
not have one. Did that happen?

Depending on how you acquired your XP CD, you probably have a SP1a or
SP2, but your machine may have SP3 installed from a Microsoft update,
download, etc. That puts your CD behind by at least one SP. This is
typical for most people.

I would not choose any kind of XP install option for this problem.

If you are lucky enough to have an original XP installation CD, we can
make a new XP installation CD that has XP3 on it (good idea).

We need to figure out what your installed SP is and what the CD
situation is and then let XP fix it with the System File Checker
utility - this is what it does.

Click Start, Run and enter winver in the box to see what you have
installed.

Is there any writing on the CD you have that will reveal it's
features?

Before proceeding to fix, let's make a different check for malicious
software as follows:

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware
detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

I have a genuine XP SP3 CD that I got from Microsoft because of a different
problem, but the SP3 on the machine came by way of a regular update from
Windows Update before I obtained the CD. This CD is the one that was not
acceptable.
I also have the original XP Pro install CD that I used to set up the machine
originally. And this also was the CD that was found unacceptable, probably
because of all the regular updates that have been done since it was
installed?
I will try running MBAM and SAS and post the results.

 

[Daave]

Norton Antivirus presented me with a message that it had founf 5 or 6
infections that were graded as low severity. I chose to have it fix
them. When it had finished I got a Windows message that certain
Windows files had been replaced by new files and I was told to repair
this to protect the stability of the operating system by inserting my
SP3 CD. When I did this I got a message that I had inserted the
wrong disk. Which I had not.

Norton strikes again! If you haven't already done so, consider
uninstalling Norton, running their special removal tool if necessary,
and replace with a suitable alternative.

When you are asked to insert the "SP3" CD, I would imagine you are being
asked to insert the Windows XP Pro CD (which needs to be at the SP 3
level). If you don't have one of those, you should be able to create
one, using the "slipstream" method. See:

http://www.winsupersite.com/xp/sp3_slipstream.asp

(Also, note there are programs to automate this procedure such as
AutoStreamer and NLite.)

Then up came another message to insert my Windows XP Pro install CD.
When I did that I got a message that I had inserted the wrong disk
and to insert my Windows XP Pro install CD.

That would be frustrating!

After a few iterations of this I chose the Install XP option, but
this could not be done because the version in the machine is newer
than that on the disc.

That happens whenever one neglects to boot off the CD to perform a
Repair Install *and* the Service Pack levels doesn't match. If you were
to use an XP Pro installation CD which has had SP3 slipstreamed to it,
you would not get that message.

However, that is a lot of work for your particular situation. Have you
tried performing a simple Windows System Restore? I am aware that Norton
can interfere with this function, but there are ways around it. See
(especially the second link!):

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/symantecdoc1.html

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Norton Antivirus presented me with a message that it had founf 5 or 6
infections that were graded as low severity. I chose to have it fix them.

In my view, Norton Anti-Virus is the worst anti-virus program
available. Once you've gotten past this problem, I strongly recommend
that you reply it with NOD32, if you are willing to spend a little
money, or Avast, if you want freeware.

When it had finished I got a Windows message that certain Windows files had
been replaced by new files and I was told to repair this to protect the
stability of the operating system by inserting my SP3 CD. When I did this I
got a message that I had inserted the wrong disk. Which I had not.

Almost certainly it meant the installation CD containing SP3 for
Windows, not just SP3 itself.

Then up came another message to insert my Windows XP Pro install CD. When I
did that I got a message that I had inserted the wrong disk and to insert my
Windows XP Pro install CD.
After a few iterations of this I chose the Install XP option, but this could
not be done because the version in the machine is newer than that on the disc.
Help. anyone?

Two points:

1. The reason you get the message is that you have installed a service
pack that the CD doesn't have.

2. It doesn't matter whether you've installed the service pack,
because you are doing the reinstallation incorrectly. If you do it
correctly, it begins by formatting the drive and whatever is on it to
begin with doesn't matter.

Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if
necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean
installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

 

[JohnD]

Windows has a File Protection feature that protects certain files from
being overwritten by rouge files of the same name, so at least that
part is working. Windows doesn't like it. I personally don't like
Norton products, but that is my opinion and we should fix your
problem.

Unless you made or someone made an XP SP3 CD for you, you probably do
not have one. Did that happen?

Depending on how you acquired your XP CD, you probably have a SP1a or
SP2, but your machine may have SP3 installed from a Microsoft update,
download, etc. That puts your CD behind by at least one SP. This is
typical for most people.

I would not choose any kind of XP install option for this problem.

If you are lucky enough to have an original XP installation CD, we can
make a new XP installation CD that has XP3 on it (good idea).

We need to figure out what your installed SP is and what the CD
situation is and then let XP fix it with the System File Checker
utility - this is what it does.

Click Start, Run and enter winver in the box to see what you have
installed.

Is there any writing on the CD you have that will reveal it's
features?

Before proceeding to fix, let's make a different check for malicious
software as follows:

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware
detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

Followup to my previous response:

MBAM wouldn't run because msvbvm60.dll was not present on the machine. Do
you think this is significant? I copied this file off another machine into
the System32 folder and into the servicepackfiles\i386 folder and then it
worked.

The MBAM scan found an infection Rogue-Reg Tool and offers an option to
remove it. Is this the appropriate time to allow it to do so?

 

[JohnD]

Norton strikes again! If you haven't already done so, consider
uninstalling Norton, running their special removal tool if necessary,
and replace with a suitable alternative.

When you are asked to insert the "SP3" CD, I would imagine you are being
asked to insert the Windows XP Pro CD (which needs to be at the SP 3
level). If you don't have one of those, you should be able to create
one, using the "slipstream" method. See:

http://www.winsupersite.com/xp/sp3_slipstream.asp

(Also, note there are programs to automate this procedure such as
AutoStreamer and NLite.)


That would be frustrating!


That happens whenever one neglects to boot off the CD to perform a
Repair Install *and* the Service Pack levels doesn't match. If you were
to use an XP Pro installation CD which has had SP3 slipstreamed to it,
you would not get that message.

However, that is a lot of work for your particular situation. Have you
tried performing a simple Windows System Restore? I am aware that Norton
can interfere with this function, but there are ways around it. See
(especially the second link!):

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/symantecdoc1.html

I made a slipstream disk and inserted that in the drive - didn't work any
better than the previousCD's. So I found the file it was looking for -
MSWINCRT.MAN on the CD and copied it to the location it wanted it in.
Pressed "Retry". The error message went away and everything looked fine.
Then I went to reboot and now I get message that prevents successful boot.
"A problem is preventing windows from accurately checking the license for
this computer. Error code: 0x8007007e." I thought maybe I could boot in
safe mode but I don't seem to have that option any more. Seems I 'm really
in trouble now!

 

[Daave]

I made a slipstream disk and inserted that in the drive - didn't work
any better than the previousCD's. So I found the file it was looking
for - MSWINCRT.MAN on the CD and copied it to the location it wanted
it in. Pressed "Retry". The error message went away and everything
looked fine. Then I went to reboot and now I get message that
prevents successful boot. "A problem is preventing windows from
accurately checking the license for this computer. Error code:
0x8007007e." I thought maybe I could boot in safe mode but I don't
seem to have that option any more. Seems I 'm really in trouble now!

Hmmm, either you have a more severe malware infestation than is apparent
or Norton set into motion a number of events to mess up your PC. If the
latter, have a look at this page and attempt what some call a manual
System Restore:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545