I’ve been posting about an avast issue that I’ve received a lot of help on. So I may look (sound) familiar.
Now I have a problem that I think may be major, and I don’t know what to do.
I have a Dell Pentium III, Windows 2000 OS, use avast!, Spybot, and AdAware, and have a dial-up connection. If I had the money, I would have a newer computer and operating system and a broadband connection. I’m not hanging on to this for sentimental reasons. Also, I am not a computer wiz, just a struggling user/learner.
Background: I acquired my computer four years ago from a company that was selling their older pcs. When I got it, it had the Windows 2000 Operating system on it and was registered in my name. I was given a CD that had “Win 2K Pro” written on it. I don’t know how to use it, meaning one time when an ISP tech rep wanted me to insert it to try to do something he was trying to accomplish (over the phone, of course), it didn’t Run like it should have. Also, someone else once looked at it, and he wasn’t sure how to use it either, though he was a computer wiz.
Anyway, this year I have had a mess with malware (understatement). A guy who worked on cleaning up the pc had my computer during the summer, but though I sent the Windows 2000 CD to him with the computer, he didn’t use it when he reinstalled the operating system after scrubbing the hard drive. He said he used one he had because it had more of all of the subsequent information that he otherwise would have had to spend a long time trying to update into it. I was unsure about this, but he returned it to me this way, and that was his explanation. (This person is not available for help any longer. Let’s just say he disqualified himself.)
Since he’s returned the pc, I’ve still had recurring warnings of viruses and Trojans from the antivirus program. I’ve run several scans and moved all that were found to the Virus Chest, then deleted them after a while. From time to time, more warnings alert me to viruses, etc., and I move them to the chest. I don’t know if they are the same ones coming at me from hidden areas on the pc or new ones with the same names coming from the internet.
I am trying to deal with a number of tasks that need to be done: finding out why Microsoft .NET Framework update fails, why my Office updates fail, removing the Office version I have and replacing it, updating AdAware, and hooking up my printer, a process that should be easy, but long story short, it won’t be. Point is that I am in the midst of these things and much more and can’t seem to make headway, even after spending weeks trying to do so.
I’m relating all of this info because just now I got this message:
Windows Files Protection
Files that are required for Windows to run properly have been replaced by unrecognized versions. To maintain system stability, Windows must restore the original versions of these files.
Insert your Windows 2000 Professional CD now.
It has a More Information button which gives this info:
Possible Reasons:
-You have inserted the wrong CD (i.e., a different Windows 2000 product CD than the version installed).
-The CD-ROM drive in your system is not functioning.
I am panicked and don’t know what to do! I don’t have any CDs inserted. I don’t know how to use the Windows 2000 CD that I do have, as explained already. And even if I did, it’s not the one that was used to install the current OS.
I don’t know if viruses could cause this??
I don’t think it’s cause of the guy using another CD to install the OS since whenever the system is scanned by the Microsoft website for needed updates, they treat it like it’s okay.
The only other thing I can think of is that a couple of days ago I went into My Computer>Tools>Folder Options>Advanced Settings and selected “SHOWALL” to show hidden files and folders because I was trying to find a file that just had to be in the avast! folder but wasn’t showing up when I searched for it. I will set it back to hide the hidden files and folders. But I haven’t changed or deleted anything that I know of that could have replaced anything with “unrecognized versions.”
Except for using email, Word, and posting on the forum, I’m stuck cause I assume it’s dangerous to really do anything on the pc because of this warning. I normally turn off the pc at night. But I am afraid to turn it off now for fear of causing more problems by shutting it down and having it try to start up with this problem looming. Now I can’t press on with the computer work I must do. I just hope that using it for email or Word won’t make it worse.
Does anyone have any insight into this problem. I.e., do you know what this message means and what could have caused it? But even so, I don’t know how to remedy it using the Windows 2000 CD that I have—cause I don’t know how to use it.
I have other questions that I need help with, but I will start another post and ask a miscellaneous bunch of questions there, although until this problem is solved, I can’t doing anything else that relates to the other issues.
Thank you for any and all help.
System files are needed and used by Windows to operate itself and other programs…