Error loading EXE files. XP Home

I have a computer that is experiencing a curious problem. When Windows is loading, I get the following errors:

"Windows cannot find 'C:\Windows\system32\msdvmdl.exe.' Make sure you typed the name correctly and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search."

I click "Okay" and get:

"Could not load or run 'C:\Windows\system32\msdvmdl.exe' specified in the registry. Make sure the file exists on your computer or remove the reference to it in the registry."

I click "Okay" and get:


"Windows cannot find 'C:\Windows\system32\msipfzhj.exe.' Make sure you typed the name correctly and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search."

I click "Okay" and get:

"Could not load or run 'C:\Windows\system32\msipfzhj.exe' specified in the registry. Make sure the file exists on your computer or remove the reference to it in the registry."

Windows then appears to load normally, but when I try to run anything, I get:

"Windows cannot find 'C:\XXXXX.exe.' Make sure you typed the name correctly and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search."

In place of XXXXX, is the name and path of whichever executable I am trying to run.

Any assistance in this matter will be greatly appreciated. I'm a newbie here, so feel free to treat me as such and tell me exactly what I need to do, ie.. "download this, run this, etc..."

Thank you again.

 

I can start the system in safe mode, but if I try to run anything, I get the same message, "Windows cannot find...". The only way I've been able to run anything is by starting in safe mode w/ command prompt. From there, I can run things like "regedit", etc..

 

msdvmdl.exe and msipfzhj.exe is probably malware
Malware uses 8 random letters. When I tried to find those files, there is no mention of them anywhere, which tells me it is not a legitimate Windows file and therefore does not belong in the \system32 directory.

Will windows load? If so, once it loads, press ctrl+alt+del and list (aside from system idle) what you see as processes in task manager.

Once we turn off what is trying to load the malware, we will send you to the malware forum for a good cleaning.

 

Windows does indeed load. Launching task manager shows the following tasks running:

taskmgr.exe
explorer.exe
userinit.exe
svchost.exe
lsass.exe
services.exe
winlogon.exe
csrss.exe
smss.exe
System
System Idle Process

 

Something could be hiding in services.
Open control panel then admin tools, then Services. Look through the list and see if any strange service is trying to run.

The fact that msdvmdl.exe and msipfzhj.exe can't be found might simply mean that a security program cleaned them out but something is trying to start them running.

I would still suggest that you head to the malware section of the board and post the required logs. The guys that hang out there are experts and will be able to discover what is trying to get those two exe files to run.

 

Yeah,

I pulled this drive from this machine and loaded it in a clean machine with Malwarebytes and AVG. Ran scans until the drive came up clean, so all the really nasty stuff should be quarantined. Unfortunately, I think there is something in the registry that is preventing .exe files from running. Since I can run programs in safe mode w/ command prompt, I'm going to try and run msconfig and see if I can restrict some of the startup services.

Thanks for your assistance. It's nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of in these times.