Win2000 will not start after infected files files sent to the chest

system · 2007-06-04T12:19:52.000Z

I was running Win 2000Pro on a PIII laptop with no virus protection without any major problems. I installed Avast! today and ran it for the first time. It identified many files, icluding some Windows files, as being infected with various viruses. I sent each file to the Chest. Now when I try to start the computer, it goes through the bios boot stage, starts to start Windows, but gets to the blue desktop background then stops and cycles through this repeatedely. It does the same on all the options(safe, debug etc) in the advanced start up options.
By running a boot CD I am able to access all the files on the hard drive, but cannot run any programs. I am able to copy the Chest contents onto a SD card, but when I look at them using another computer (Win98) I cannot identify what and where these files were originally. I was hoping to be able to rewrite them onto the corrupt hard drive.
Any other sugestions please!!

Lisandro · 2007-06-04T13:18:06.000Z

maligaya post:1:

I was running Win 2000Pro on a PIII laptop with no virus protection without any major problems.

This does not mean that the computer was not infected.

maligaya post:1:

blue desktop background then stops and cycles through this repeatedely. It does the same on all the options (safe, debug etc) in the advanced start up options.

Did you remember the name of the system files that were infected?
Any error message in the blue screen or before it?

maligaya post:1:

By running a boot CD I am able to access all the files on the hard drive, but cannot run any programs. I am able to copy the Chest contents onto a SD card, but when I look at them using another computer (Win98) I cannot identify what and where these files were originally. I was hoping to be able to rewrite them onto the corrupt hard drive.
Any other sugestions please!!

You need to have avast installed in the other computer.
The files are in this folder by default: C:\Program files\Alwil Software\avast4\Data\Chest
The original name/path will be displayed in the new computer Chest and the files will be ordered by the number of the file name into Chest folder (All files, including the clean ones into the System folder of the Chest).

system · 2007-06-04T21:38:40.000Z

There are no error messages displayed in the cycle at all, the blue is the background that came up prior to the desktop being displayed.
Unfortunately I cannot recall the names of the windows files that were sent to the chest.
I have Avast on the other computer, and I have copied the files from the Chest of the problem computer into the other chest folder. However when I open the chest it does not display any details of these files that I have copied into it. It displays details of the three system files that are put in the Chest by Avast.
I was hoping to at least be able to retrieve the original names of the infected files.

system · 2007-06-05T00:13:26.000Z

An update…
By deleting the three system files in the chest of the good computer, and then copying all the files from the sick computer into that chest, I was able to get the file details. I then extracted the win sys32 files (Ipresume still virus infected) onto the SD card and wrote them back into Win Sys32 folder on the sick computer, and hey presto it works now.
My question now is…what is the best way of getting rid of the viruses that I presume are still in these files…obviously I don’t want to send them to the chest again! I obviously have to be very careful with these infected files, because if I loose them I cannot open windows.
Any advice please?

DavidR · 2007-06-05T01:14:03.000Z

The three system files you refer to, I’m assuming they are in the System Files section of the chest (kernel32.dll, winsock.dll and wsock32.dll) ?
If so they are back-ups avast copies of important system files and not infected. The chest is made up od sections and the main one of concern is Infected Files, the name speaks for itself. The User Files section, is for files that you the user thinks are suspect (but undetected) and you can manually add them to the User Files section of the chest.

If 1. above is correct then this also wasn’t causing the failure to boot, so I can’t see how copying them back (effectively overwriting the originals) had that effect, so it may just have been a computer glitch. However if that is incorrect, yes that could have the effect you mention though there are occasions when malware puts file in the system folders to confuse the user into thinking they were system files.

If by the first time you ran avast, you mean the boot-time scan after the installation, check the C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\report\aswBoot.txt file that should list what was detected.

If you happen to be in this can’t boot situation again, you might be able to boot into safe mode, keep pecking away at the F8 key on boot to interrupt the boot, select boot into safe mode. once in safe mode start avast and open the chest, etc. you should be able to report the original file name and location.

Lisandro · 2007-06-05T01:33:07.000Z

maligaya post:3:

I was hoping to at least be able to retrieve the original names of the infected files.

They should be there… I mean, the original path info.

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