Problems with XP - Restore & Search Function

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Im having problems with XP since i think some Malware has got on the system. About two days XP, started closing down with an error relating to the serviices.exe file. The owner of the PCdeleted the services.exe file as they read somewhere it was a virus.

From that point on xp would not boot up at all, not even from a cd. Eventually the system did boot up, took about an hour to load and i replaced the sevrices.exe file from another good pc as i believed that was the problem

Now however, there is no search function, im unable to enter system restore as it just shows up blank, and i cant access the event viewer.

The system recovery disk that came with the pc, just dosnt seem to have XP setup on it, im at a lost as i cant seem to repair any of the bad system files. Im assuming there are corrupted files and would prefer not to completly reinstall as all i haveis an xp recovery disk from my fujitsu laptop, but im wondering would it be ok to use this? id hate to try installing setup from there and it corrupts something on the system.


any help would be appreciated as its annoying

 

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Hi C,
have you got Winternals ERD, or UBCDWIN CD?
always works for me, well, 9/10....

Kat

 

Hi,
Try System File Checker before any format! In DOS window type sfc /scannow and make sure you have the XP disk ready..

Microsoft(R) Windows XP Windows File Checker Version 5.1
(C) 1999-2000 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved

Scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct
crosoft versions.

SFC [/SCANNOW] [/SCANONCE] [/SCANBOOT] [/REVERT] [/PURGECACHE] [/CACHESIZE=x]


/SCANNOW Scans all protected system files immediately.
/SCANONCE Scans all protected system files once at the next boot.
/SCANBOOT Scans all protected system files at every boot.
/REVERT Return scan to default setting.
/PURGECACHE Purges the file cache.
/CACHESIZE=x Sets the file cache size.

Cheers

G

 

With malware, you *should* completely reinstall. You don't know what crap is hiding in there undetected. I'd wholeheartedly recommend salvaging the data files, wiping the drive, and reinstalling.

 

I tried running the System File checker, and with the recovery disk that came with the PC it just kept saying insert correct windows CD


Im just wondering would it be possible to copy the window folder from my xp install on the Laptop, striaght to the PC or would this cause errors with drivers?

 

No, dont do that. It sounds as though you havent got XP recovery disk, but in any case I would certainly follow the advice from BrainBeacon Michael. Doing that now will save you trouble & time later if/when the problems return..

G

 

Hi i want to do that, im concered with the recovery disk though. When Xp was refusing to boot, it didnt seem to boot from the recovery cd that came with the PC either. Just worried that i will format the drive and not be able to re-install XP

 

Just a thought,
Have you ensured that the PC is set to boot from CD ROM in the BIOS? Make sure you do set CD ROM to top of the boot order, then reboot with CD in..

Failing that, check the CD ROM contents first or have you another PC you could "dry run" with this CD ROM to see what version of XP is on it? make sure you abort the install when you know!!

G

 

Has this machine been modified in any way since it was bought?

If so it is probable that the recovery disk won't work.

To get it to work you usualy need to put the machine back into original condition.

What make and model is it?

One of the problems with BBM's advice is that if the recovery disk doesn't work you will need to buy an ordinary copy of XP and find all the drivers for the machine.

Harry.

 

Thanks for the replies guys

GaryB - Ive checked the Bios, and the Cd-rom is set to first boot, but it still seems to be bypassing the cdrom and booting XP from the hard drive. There is a recovery console set up, so i can choose to boot xp or the recovery console.

Its strange but all i can say is, it seems as if every attempt to try an repair the files have been disabled, if that makes sense.

Hbroom -

The pc has had a new Cd-writer drive fitted and extra ram added, just over 6 months ago.

The original recovery disk dosnt have any mention of XP in the contents, just drivers and a folder relating to win2000. However the owner assures me they have reinstalled windows XP in the past from this cd. There is actually 2 cds although these seem similar in content, and the machine is an emachines model.

Im just wondering if the windows xp files are actually lying hidden on another partition and this disk "grabs" them.
The owner is fine for me to backup data and format, but i would hate to do this and xp cannot be reinstalled.

As i said i do have a XP recovery disk for my fujitsu laptop, it does actually load up setup when loaded onto the PC, but would it cause errors running that laptop recovery disk on the PC?

 

i reckon taht aslong you can safely back the users data up, and boot up from cd, you'll be ok. all you'll need is a proper copy of XP.

your xp reco disk for your lappie is percific for your laptop. you wont get know where trying to install in on the e-machine as the hardware is totally different.

 

Yeah i thought that about the fujitsu recovery disk, i was just wondering if i could somhow get that disk to reinstall any missing or corrupted files, but felt it may make it worse


Im just not sure the owner will want to shell out money for a new XP disk, seeing as they have the emachines recovery disk which should in theory boot it.

If the machine booted from the cdrom, i think i would be a little bit more at ease. but ah well

The disk does contain a bootcat file, a bootinin file and a "windows" file. But again it just dosnt seem to boot, not even with autorun set

 

how are you booting the e-machine recov disk?

 

Have you checked to see if there is a 'system recovery program' in the start menu or as an option on boot up. Sometimes there is a hidden partition on the HDD that contains the necessary files to recover the computer to a new state but you need to run the associated program to get it to kick in.

As has been said, back up the user data first or it will be overwitten.

 

Mr cheeks - the emachines recovery disk wont boot at all, i can only see the files in explorer.


Bluerinse - Cant see a startup recovery option or anything similar but system restore which wont work at all.

I can now get into the recovery console if thats any help, which is displayed as an option on boot.

 

I would contact emachines and ask for recovery instructions as clearly they are non standard.

 

What's the exact model? eMachines has support manuals online for each model of computer.

For the record, eMachines are complete crap. Gateway got what they deserved when they bought them.

 

Hi,
As someone advised earlier its likely that Emachines have recovery partitions similiar to IBMs, if this is damaged in any way I'm not sure how you would recover as the CDs work alongside this partition.

In the past I've heard these machine's need to be taken back to factory hardware settings for the recovery which means removing the CDRW & any RAM added before starting the recovery process.. I cant confirm this, as never had an emachine, but its probably worth a go if your stuck & if it worked you can add them back later..

Good luck..

G

 

First of, can i thank everyone for responding on this

I have now sorted it, after threating to throw the PC in the bath, ive managed to reboot the XP setup program from the recovery disks.

Its probably something that was so simple, and i should have checked foirst, but at leeast i know for future reference and have noted it down.

Anyway enough babble, heres i got it going

I checked the bios again to make sure i had the cd to boot foirst, which i did and had a looked around and realised something id not even looked at

The Cd drive was not showing at all on the bios screen, primary master was set to the harddrive, but secondary master and the slaves were set to none. I remebered that the owner had installed a drive about 6 months back, so i whipped out the drive checked the jumpers and realise they had been set incorrectly. So set the jumpers, p[ut it back in, booted the machine, set the bios to cd-drive and rebooted.

The tension in the room, was unbearable.........even the goldfish was biting his fins.....
but low and behold the recovery program booted up and here i am typing to you on the machine.

Im happy, the owner is happy and te only problem i have now is the bloody nero program i have, has been able to backup the data, but wont let me restore it as the program is apparently a demo

Bugger, but at least the PC is back


Again thankyou all