Startup Error

[RCartledge]

Whenever i turn on my laptop i get an error message saying that it can't find system32.exe. to me this sounds realy serious but i can still use my laptop for a limited period of time before my computer starts to freeze.

Every thing was working fine until i ran a spyware program (Spybott - Search and Destroy) now i get this error message every time i load my laptop up. any suggestions.

ps. when i search for the file, it can't be found

[Gizmo]

The only thing I can think of is to do an over-the-top install of your OS, that will then put the file you stated, back onto the system.

[RCartledge]

that's what i was thinking.

it occured to me whilst waiting for a reply to this thread that i also ran registry mechanic and deleted a couple of things that it brought up. could this of caused the error?

[TPM]

Don't know where to do it but I just wanted to say The new PC format is very user friendly. I like It!! Sorry I can't be of help with your problem though

[Miz]

The error message is telling you that Windows is being told to start up "system32.exe" but it can't because it's not there. "System32.exe" is a component of MARI , SYSXXX and a few other viruses. The legit "system32" is a folder, not a file.

Mari is an Internet worm spreading with emails as an attached .exe file. Whereas SysXXX is a backdoor Trojan program that was written in the Delphi language, Backdoor.SysXXX gives a hacker complete access to your computer. By default, the Trojan opens two TCP ports, 31,556 and 6,051, that it uses to communicate with the hacker. The application notifies the hacker through email or ICQ.

Apparently, Spybot removed some components of the virus/worm/spyware/whatever's using "system32.exe" without removing the reference to it in the startup instructions. Since Spybot is a spyware removal tool, not an anti-virus program, it really can't be expected to get rid of viruses/trojans/worms.

For those, you need to do is a full system scan with an up-to-date anti-virus program. If you don't have one installed, there are free online scans at Panda and Housecall (Housecall seems to be a little faster).

I also suggest you download, install, immediately update and then run Ad-Aware. Let it remove the spyware it finds then run Spybot again, updating it and letting it remove the spyware it finds as well.

Due to the different ways they scan, Spybot and Ad-Aware tend to find things the other misses. Using them in tandem usually gets rid of spyware properly and thoroughly.