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Cannot open 'cmd'

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by sam.mereki

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Hi mates:

I cannot execute the 'cmd' and 'regedit' on my PC which is running on a Windows XP SP2 system.

I would appreciate if someone could help me solve this problem. The error message that keeps on popping up is:

1. "Windows cannot find 'cmd'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again."

2. "Windows cannot find 'regedit'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.

The strange thing is that 'regedit.exe' exists in C:\Windows\ directory and 'cmd.exe' in C:\Windows\System32\ when I searched the disk, but they cannot be executed.

Can someone please help me?

Thank you.....

10 replies

by oh smeg

What User Rights have been granted to the Users Account?

If it is part of a Domain what has been set in AD or GP?

Col

by captbilly1eye

Are you able to open/run other executables?

If you have followed OH Smeg's advice and checked your permissions, and verified you have system privileges to run these programs...
Try copying Regedit.exe to the Desktop, renaming it to Regedit2.exe. Are you then able to run it? If that's the case, your issue may be related to a virus.

by sam.mereki

Hi Bill:

Your suggestion works on both files. I can run them from desktop after renaming. The thing is if the cause is related to a virus, my updated Free AVG 8.0 Anti-virus software has not been able to detect the infection. I will try it again and keep you updated on the results. Thanks mate.

by captbilly1eye

Are you able to open msconfig from the Run line?
If not, you may want to review this similar situation someone else had and fixed:
http://tinyurl.com/4sct7c

If you suspect a virus is involved, here are the usual steps:
Using Avast 4 Free (http://tinyurl.com/8z9h5) or your own anti-virus program, with the latest virus definitions, perform a full system scan in Safe Mode. You can also use McAfee Stinger (http://tinyurl.com/1x4v).

I would also use this tool: RootKitRevealer (http://tinyurl.com/y3hgq9) or this new free one from McAfee (http://tinyurl.com/2v6n8x).

If you determine that there is indeed a virus involved,
I recommend you go here:
http://tinyurl.com/hnsvd .
TrendMicro has always been my favorite source for virus information and removal.

My second choice would be BitDefender. Here's a link to their extensive library of free removal tools:
http://tinyurl.com/y6opnp

If the issue remains, I recommend you download and run HiJackThis (http://tinyurl.com/b9h3s) and post the log file it creates in one of the many forums dedicated for that purpose. I recommend that you post your HiJackThis log where there are many people who specialize in working with them. Try here: http://tinyurl.com/2nxzqt
You'll have to create a login but I think you'll find it to be the easiest and best way to resolve your issue.

When you finally get everything cleaned up and running smooth, here are great tools to help you avoid getting that garbage again:

SpywareBlaster:
http://tinyurl.com/g1d9

SpywareGuard:
http://tinyurl.com/3yj37

and to quickly clean out the places where their installers usually hide before you shut down or reboot - ATF-Cleaner:
http://tinyurl.com/2clx6g

Please let me know what you find.

by sdrucker

files with .exe have been associated to a virus application that has been recently cleaned up.
You can try to boot XP to "safe mode command prompt only" or to a bootable CD (like Bart's PE and others)
If you can get to a command prompt on the C: drive, go to c:\windows (or \windows\system32) and type
"copy cmd.exe cmdexe.com"
"copy regedt32.exe regedt32exe.com"

After rebooting, you should be able to get to edit the registry (run "regedt32exe"), and edit

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile]

You probably want to compare the settings there to a working PC, or export from a working PC, or just do a system recovery rollback to back before you get infected.

by thumbsup2

Go to Control Panel -> System (or just right click My Computer and choose properties). Choose the Advanced tab, then click Environment Variables. Highlight the PATH in the list, then click Edit.

The default should say:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%

Those entries need to be first. If there are more entries afterwards, it might be needed for some program that you've installed (Intel does this). So, be carefull while editing. Just make sure the first two entries are what is shown above with each entry after it separated by a semi-colon. For example, mine says:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;C:\Program Files\Intel\DMIX;C:\Program Files\ZipGenius 6\

by sam.mereki

Hi mate:

The tools are wonderful. I still cannot manage to execute 'cmd' and 'regedit'. I however, did find few viruses with the tools you recommended. Any further suggestions?

Sam

by Former member

If you get the error:
Windows could not start because the following files is missing or corrupt
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE

1.Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.

2.At the first R=Repair option, press the R key

3.Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1

4.Enter in the administrator password when requested

5.cd \windows\system32\config

6.Depending on which section was corrupted:
ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad

7.Depending on which section was corrupted
copy \windows\repair\system
copy \windows\repair\software

8.Take out the CD ROM and type exit
Hope this helps you.

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

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