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Windows XP Recovery malware, Blue Screen, No Icons, System Restore Dissabled and More

Windows XP SP3 with IE8

The screen is black and without icons and right clicking on the screen is disabled. The “Start” menu does not have my program icons only those that the Malware added to the menu.  The “Start” menu has a Windows XP Recovery icon and its target is 15785764.exe.  The 15785764.exe is not a Microsoft program.  McAfee found it and quarantined it but not before it disabled “System Restore” and “Windows Update” among other things..

System Restore starts but will not go beyond selecting a date to restore even if you start it from the “Run” rstrui command or in the safe mode or from the administrator account or a different user account.  Selecting a different user account the desktop is active and the icons are present but system restore and windows update will not work. 

I tried to go to Windows Update but was unsuccessful because Add-ons and Active X were disabled.  I discovered the Start Menu icon for IE8 had a  -addons switch in its command line.  After removing the switch I was not bugged by add-ons or Active X but I am still not able to use Windows Update. 

I downloaded the Windows Malicious Software removal tool and ran it on this computer but the damage had already been done. 

I suspect that if I am able to do a system restore from a XP boot CD I might be able to regain control of the computer again.  I was able to make new icons for Word and Excel by using windows explorer to find the .exe file and creating an icon in the start menu but I cannot put an icon on the desktop. The programs work correctly and I am able to do almost everything except windows update and system restore even though I do not have desktop icons.

Answer
Answer

I fixed the XP I was working on for a friend with the MSSS Tool a stand alone system sweeper.

Go to the Microsoft link below with a different computer and download the 32 or 64 bit tool and then follow the instructions to burn a startup disk with the tool on it.

 

Microsoft Stand Alone System Sweeper  “MSSS Tool”

http://connect.microsoft.com/systemsweeper

 

I would also uninstall your current anti-virus and replace it with Microsoft Security Essentials a very good free anti-virus.

 

I was never able to use his account and populate it with his previous icons so I made a new Admin account and from there I could open all of his documents and populate his new desktop with the icons he needed.  Then in the control panel / Users I deleted his account and if I remember correctly I had the opportunity at that point to move all his documents to the new user account.  But maybe I did it manually, a lot of water has passed over the dam since then.  Good Luck.

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Question Info

Last updated March 8, 2019 Views 4,292 Applies to: