Regedit.exe - Application Error. Failed to initialize properly

[Edmee]

One of our clients had an error message pop up this morning I have not encountered before:

Regedit.exe - Application Error
The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click on OK to terminate the application.

The client told me the error message just appeared while she was not doing anything. Could this be spyware/malware/virus related?

Any help/suggestions very much appreciated!

Edmée de Klerk
Storage Management Lead - AP
IBM Global Services

 

[Edmee]

Additionally, the client uses XP Pro SP1.

Edmée de Klerk
Storage Management Lead - AP
IBM Global Services

 

[firewolfrl]

Try SFC /scannow with the XP cd in the drive

Scan for virus's. there are a number of virus's that disable regedit

 

[linney]

It is strange if the operator did not launch RegEdit, maybe it is called by some script either genuine or malware.

You don't say whether this was a one off occurrence? A search of the machine might turn up a zero byte corrupt version of RegEdit.exe somewhere.

What happens if you click on the exe located in the Windows folder?

Removing adware & spyware
faq608-4650

Why does Task Manager, MSCONFIG, or REGEDIT disappear while opening?

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/ToolsQuit.htm

Microsoft (GIANT Antispyware) Beta available
Thread779-979113

 

[Edmee]

Yes, I'll recommend all the usual to the client; run ad-aware, HijackThis, etc. but this is a rather unusual error message and I therefore wanted to find out if anyone else had experienced this before.

NAV is installed on the machine and is updated on a regular basis with automatic scanning once a week.


Edmée de Klerk

IT Specialist
IBM Australia