Booting Problems after Disinfection

Hi! This is my first time in the Software Forums. I am trying to rescue my neighbor's computer after she got some nasty infections. When I got the computer, it was not booting.

After much wrangling, the computer is now clean. But I am still having trouble with getting Windows to start much of the time. When I get it booted completely, the computer works fine. It's just the getting there that is the problem.

Sometimes it will hang at the POST screen before it detects the drives. Other times it makes it past the POST screen and then gives me a Windows Boot Manager message. It's either file \windows\system32\winload.exe is possibly corrupt, the checksum didn't match; or bootmgr, windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file. I've also gotten a screen that says "BOOTMGR image is corrupt. The system cannot boot." I have gotten a couple of BSODs.

Sometimes on these messages I can just hit Enter to continue, and it will boot. Other times I have to use my Vista Recovery Disk (thank goodness I found that online! I wouldn't have gotten this far without it.). Sometimes Chkdsk.

I cannot do a reformat and reinstall. I do not (and neither does the owner) have a copy of Vista, nor do I know anyone who does.

Can anyone help me get this machine back on its feet? Thank you incredibly much in advance!!!

 

Hey Miss M, welcome to the software forums


Im not the best with vista fixes, but it sounds like reinstalling the Bootloader might help with this

You can do this quite easily with EasyBCD, which you can download here --> http://neosmart.net/downloads/software/EasyBCD/EasyBCD 1.7.2.exe

Also Take a look at this guide to using it --> http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Recovering+the+Vista+Bootloader+with+EasyBCD

EasyBCD is designed for repairing the bootloader after installing another OS, but it is perfectly suitable and able to repair it regardless of the situation



Q

 

Hi, Q, and thank you! I will give that a try in a little while (can't right this second) and will post back the results!

 

LOL... I assumed at first with the "BCD" part of the name that I was supposed to make a bootable CD with it (I use UBCD4WIN occasionally). Okay, just got the computer back up. Now to download over there and give it a whirl.

 

Okay.. I tried Type 1, and when I rebooted, I got a BSOD. I reset and it booted. I tried Type 2, and rebooted. It hung after POST, I reset, and it booted. I tried Type 3, but it gave me this message: "Boot Files Located. Boot files already present. EasyBCD will not be recreating the Windows Vista BCD files."

Is this the situation for which this is intended: "If EasyBCD fails, that means a process has locked your BOOT folder. Manually delete this folder with a Live CD, recovery console, or other method, then try Type Three again." ?

Would I boot from UBCD4WIN and use that environment to navigate to EasyBCD to run it? Would it run from a virtual XP environment?

Thank you again for your help! I've had to crash-learn Vista to work on this machine.

 

I am looking into it, but tbh im a bit perplexed by that result!

Have you ran chkdsk /r/f?

To do this, get to a command prompt and type...

Code:

chkdsk /r/f

Also I know you have said that you can't get a Vista disc, but im struggling to think of anything short of running a repair install or installing Vista again to a newly created partition, which would definitley restore the correct boot'


Hopefully somone a bit more wise in the weird ways of Vista will pop in shortly

 

I have run that, but I'm sure that EasyBCD has done something, so let me run it again and see if that's all it needs to get going again.

(I'm so glad I don't have Vista.....) LOL

 

I ran it again, and, as usual, it did plenty of stuff! Unfortunately, when it rebooted, I got a Windows Boot Manager message saying that winload.exe couldn't be loaded because it was missing or corrupt. I reset, and the computer booted. So, apparently, chkdsk can't fix what is ailing it.

I got the scandisk log, in case it is useful to anyone, and I'm attaching it.

I asked the owner if she might know anyone she could bum a Vista disk off of, and she's going to try at work. Hopefully I can do a repair install.

I don't even know the key on this computer... I'm going to have to run that little program to recover it.

 

Miss M, what is the make and model of the computer?

Have you checked any of the drivers for updates?

Q

 

Well, it isn't a make/model computer... more like a geek friend's garage special. She told me a friend built it for her. I've since deduced that he built it from parts he had laying around from other projects.

Intel P4, 2.8 GHz
2 GB RAM
Raidmax 350W (2003)
ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 512 MB AGP
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 120 GB (warranty expired 2006)
Albatron PX865PE Pro R1.24 Motherboard (2005)
Cooler Master case

I'm worried that the Vista is not legal. But, if it wasn't legal, it wouldn't update, would it? I can update Vista on this computer. :confused It doesn't say anything about not passing the Windows Genuine Advantage test.

As for drivers, I wiped the display drivers off (the ATI drivers) with DriverSweeper and installed a fresh copy. That did take care of some of the problems I was having. I have not done any other drivers. Should I? If so, where should I start?

 

It is possible that a bad pirate copy of windows has caused this, however if it is, then little other than a reinstall is gonna help


As for the drivers, just go to the device manager and tight click each item and select check for updates. (you may have to expand each item first)


To get to the Device manager...


Go to run (or the search box i think its called in Vista) and type..

Code:

[B]devmgmt.msc

[/B]

 

I've done that in my XP device manager on our computers, and never had it update a single driver... I had begun to wonder if it actually worked. I'll give it a shot in this Vista machine.

I really, really hope this isn't a pirated copy of Vista. I don't want to break that to the owner.

 

If ther is no newer drivers available (which alot of the time ther isn't) then it will not find anything.

But make sure to check them all.

 

I just want to let you know, I'm sorry I haven't gotten back, I was preparing for a bunch of family to come over. Now they're here, but another member of the family is deathly ill now, and we are all leaving. I will be back in a few weeks at the most to continue, but I have to put my thread on hold for now.

Thank you for your help thus far, and Merry Christmas!

 

Thank you for not closing my thread... I don't know at what point that happens. It's been a difficult Christmas. The family member who was ill, my grandmother, passed away Sunday. Then my mother-in-law, who was going to fly down to spend two weeks with us Tuesday, passed away suddenly Tuesday morning.

I still have family coming over through the 3rd or so, so I'll be out until after then.