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Task Manager and Regedit will not start

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9 replies

by callupchuck

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I have an eMachine that's a few years old, running XpPro sp3. While checking my system for clutter or malware, I found that I could no longer access Task Manager via the taskbar right-click nor crtl-alt-del. In searching for a fix for that I also found that regedit will no longer start either.

I've tried the unhook.inf utility, as well as the command line REG entry that was supposed to unlock it. I've also used Defender, Syamntec AV, and OneLiveCare to search for issues but nothing has been found. As a last resort, I ran a system restore to a point about one month ago. It failed upon rebooting.

Has anyone else experienced this and if so, how do I fix it.

9 replies

by rajagopalan.durairajan

rename regedit.exe to freedom.exe ( or any name you want to have it ) , execute freedom.exe - it will allow you to run.

Okay if you are able to run the above renamed executable then it should be simple .

Navigate the registry to

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32

see if there is any aux regkey - if so then delete that entry , things should work fine - don't forget to rename the regedit.exe file . ( recommend you to backup registry before doing the update )

-Raj

by callupchuck

And I've found the key you mention, but I notice t hat there are in fact, 6 "aux" keys there. They are Aux and Aux1-Aux5. Is that normal? Should they all be deleted or just the first one?

Thanks for the assist.

by rajagopalan.durairajan

happy that you tried my suggestion , sad that it did't work....

i think you are not in big trouble - Hopefully !?

Option 1:

download a simple combifix toll

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix

save it to c:\temp

Try to rename cmd.exe to hope.exe

run hope.exe , go to c:\temp & start comibfix.exe - carry on with the options shown.

Option 2: if the above won;t start ( as it is a dos based app it won;t sometime becz of renaming cmd.exe )

backup the registry or export only HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32

goahead and delete the aux entry

restart

if sound and everything works that is fine else just add aux = wdmaud.drv

-Raj

by callupchuck

Ther links took me to a lot of places to buy software utilities, but not of any use to me in this situation.

by seanferd

http://dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_taskmgrenab.htm

http://dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_emerutils.htm

Are you using XP Home or XP Pro? With XP Pro, we can give you an easier permanent fix using the Administrative Tools. But in the registry, look here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
find the value
DisableTaskMgr set to 0
DisableRegistryTools set to 0
If this is a malware-related problem, see this excellent post:
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=101&threadID=307846&messageID=3064231

If there is malware, you'll definitely need it removed first, but you may also be able to use this tool to fix the problems you are having:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2007/06/28/restore-task-manager-regedit-and-folder-options-disabled-by-virus/

by callupchuck

I'm using XP Pro.
I don't get the message satating that taskman was disabled. It just doesn't start up. And regedit only starts after I rename the exe file to anything else.

I'll check your suggestions and let you know.

by 93961

Your system is definitely infected by virus whivh doesnot allow exe files to run. Check with the latest antivirus software with all the latest antivirus definitions and patches installed. This will detect the virus but may or may not remove it totally. Then u will have to run the removal utilty for that particular virus form the same antivirus vendor preferably. This will also remove any registry entries like Run, RunOnce, etc also. I had the same problem in our organization about 5 Years ago. After we did this process in each every PC we had the systems secured perfectly to not getting infected at all.

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