After spending four days re-installing Windows XP into a Virtual PC 2007 VM, working my way up from SPx1 through SP2 and finally SP3, I managed to get it all running just fine.
I installed that latest version of Avast! free (7.0.1474) and let it update itself. Then I went along and installed all the software I needed for my development. Halfway through a project, Avast! popped up with a long sit of items it called a ROOTKIT. I scanned the list, but couldn’t make out just what they were.
Here’s where I made the mistake of trusting Avast! I pressed the ‘OK’ button. I didn’t notice the drop-down was set to “Delete”. What happened is that all information concerning my own user account was instantly wiped out. EVERYTHING.
If I go to User Accounts there is nothing but a blank page. There is NO way to even create a new account. Nothing shows in the Task Manager. There are NO services, no drivers, no anything running.
So, unless someone comes up with a dandy way to recreate all the items that Avast! deleted, I’m really faced with a total rebuild of the system. The SFC applet runs, but it does not replace anything in the User arena (by design). I cannot get any of the Windows wizards to run manually through a Command window because there is no structure for it to run under.
Has anyone else had this “suspicious ROOTKIT” pop up from Avast!? And, if so, did you recover from it?
Bill