Other Norton Products

[Jules257]

I have a Vista(x32) machine, no service packs( long story) which has now developed the Black Screen of Death.

I suspect it might be malware, the winlogon and userinit keys keep resetting (I am able to access regedit via the Command Prompt via the Recover Console)

For my latest attempt to fix the problem I have downloaded The Norton Recovery Disks via this laptop (Windows 7) creating an USB stick for the vista machine.

It recognises the USB stick, but after a minute or so, it comes up with this exact error message.

NortonTM Recovery Tools cannot be run on this operating system. It requires 32-bit versions of Windows XP SP2 or later.

Which it shouldn't do as my machine is Vista 32 bit (no service packs).

Any help is appreciated, and any fixing help even more appreciated. .

[dickevans Super RootKit Eradicator]

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Jules257 wrote:

I have a Vista(x32) machine, no service packs( long story) which has now developed the Black Screen of Death.

I suspect it might be malware, the winlogon and userinit keys keep resetting (I am able to access regedit via the Command Prompt via the Recover Console)

For my latest attempt to fix the problem I have downloaded The Norton Recovery Disks via this laptop (Windows 7) creating an USB stick for the vista machine.

It recognises the USB stick, but after a minute or so, it comes up with this exact error message.

NortonTM Recovery Tools cannot be run on this operating system. It requires 32-bit versions of Windows XP SP2 or later.

Which it shouldn't do as my machine is Vista 32 bit (no service packs).

Any help is appreciated, and any fixing help even more appreciated. .

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Hi,

It almost sounds like it's time to use the installation disks to restore your system.

I don't think that NBRT will work on Vist without the service packs installed.

Hope this helps

[NUser Symantec Employee]

Hi Jules257,

Can you please try running Norton Power Eraser in the Vista machine. I am assuming the (Vista) system still has network connectivity.

Norton Power Eraser can be downloaded from http://security.symantec.com/nbrt/npe.aspx

Regards!

[Jules257]

Thank you for your reply, apologies for not responding sooner but after last reply had given up a bit.

I have no network capability on my desktop computer,the one I am trying to fix. I am accessing the forum on my laptop.

Would the Power Eraser work from a disk if I download from the laptop.

Thanks in advance.

[NUser Symantec Employee]

Hi Jules257,

NPE requires a network connection for it to work.

Can you please upgrade your OS to have the latest service pack (SP2 for Vista OS) and then try running NBRT?

Regards!

[Jules257]

I cannot log into VIsta at all, i just freezes before the login screen, with the Black Screen of Death even when I try to load safe mode.

My only access to the computer is via Command prompt in the system Recovery.

[andreash_utah]

Do you have access to a Windows Vista installation disk? If you boot to this disk, it has some great tools on it to detect and repair boot problems. However, if you can get to the Windows logo screen, it may be something more corrupt than the boot process.

Did you create a backup before all of this started?

[Jules257]

I have access to a repair disk, but none of the options using Command prompt I have also been able to copy my files, but don't want to do the inevitable of a Factory Restore.

I tihnk the problem might be malware, I can access regedit and the HKLM key software/microsoft//windowsnt/currentversion/winlogon reverting to cmd.exe /k start cmd.exe

Admittedly this is via the Rexcovery Console.

Is it worth carrying on or should I just restore to factory settings.

[andreash_utah]

When you boot up the machine and press the F8 key, choose the 'Last Known Good Configuration'. See if that works. When you tried to get into safe mode you saw drivers loading as the scrolled by on the screen. What is the last driver it was loading when it locked?

Connected hardware can also cause boot problems. (Running regedit from the recovery console loads the WinPE registry, which is separate from the registry on your computer). If you recently plugged in any 3rd party hardware, disconnect and try again.

If you do end up doing a factory restore, first boot to the Ghost CD and create an image of your hard drive. After the factory restore, you can then pull files and folders out of that image file after you install computer security software.

[Jules257]

CRCDISK.SYS is the last file "loaded" under Safe Mode

Last Good Configuration does not work.

Thanks again for everyone's help.