Weird issue with xp pro, weird error messages

[m3g4b0r3]

I have windows xp pro, fairly fresh install less than a month old.

1.47 ghz
512mb Sdram
XP-SP1 installed

This issue came about suddenly, if i run a virus scan with NAV2003 pro, it reboots the pc. Cannot run online virus scans either it does the exact same thing it reboots. I cannot run .exe files from the desktop, however i can still run "some" programs. Games will start and play, don't know how long they will run but it seems to be for a bit. one of the weird error messages i am getting when i click on a .exe is
"The parameter is incorrect"
and "Only part of a Readprocessmemory or Writeprocessmemory request was completed".

Also it appears that when i reboot all the files that i recently deleted, are back, and any IE favorites i saved between last reboot are gone.

I tried to run Virus scans but am unable to complete one, and have used a bunch of the removal tools listed on

http://www.sarc.com,

such as sobig,sircam, and bugbear.

I tried to run adaware but it just runs through and finds nothing.

I also tried to run a chkdsk. but upon rebooting it doesn't run, and it runs without the error correcting just fine. I also tried to run defrag, but it just hangs at 3% and never continues.

I'm very much at a loss as to what to do. I really don't want to have to try and back up everything, and reformat again.

ANY help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[bcastner]

Please do steps #1 - #3 in FAQ faq608-4650

In step #1, do the Trend Micro and Panda online antivirus scans from smah's FAQ: faq760-3862

I honestly believe there is some virus or other malware responsible, but I have a niggling feeling that it might as well be a hard disk issue.

It would help a lot to do a Control Panel, Administative Tools, Event Viewer, to see specific compalints from the OS for your reboots running AV or other programs.

Start with the advice above. And plan on a good backup scheme for the possibility that you may need a clean reinstallation of XP. (The Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup use of the native Windows Backup tool is surprisingly good).

I am keeping my fingers crossed you do not have to go this far.

 

[micker377]

First go to Task Manager and turn off any reference to blast or blaster. Then go to the Symantec site and download "Stinger". You can also go to Run > type in shutdown -A (notice the space between shutdown and -A). This should keep you on long enough to run a virus scan. I have found "Sobig" - "Blaster" and "Welchia" will all try to keep you from running a virus scan.

 

[m3g4b0r3]

I went to the event viewer and found these 2 recent event issues.

1:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: ESENT
Event Category: Database Corruption
Event ID: 447
Date: 2/2/2004
Time: 11:20:45 PM
User: N/A
Computer: B0R3
Description:
Catalog Database (864) A bad page link (error -338) has been detected in a B-Tree (ObjectId: 1, PgnoRoot: 1) of database C:\WINDOWS\System32\CatRoot2\tmp.edb (0 => 2, 18).
-----------------------------------------------------------
2:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: MSDTC
Event Category: Tracing Infrastructure
Event ID: 4404
Date: 2/2/2004
Time: 11:25:42 PM
User: N/A
Computer: B0R3
Description:
MS DTC Tracing infrastructure : the initialization of the tracing infrastructure failed. Internal Information : msdtc_trace : File: d:\nt\com\com1x\dtc\dtc\trace\src\tracelib.cpp, Line: 1115, StartTrace Failed, hr=0x8007001f
-----------------------------------------------------------
Can i get some help translating these lol, or does it really mean what i've been fearing(that my HD is about to die)?

I tried to do online virus scan with panda and some of the others and they wont let me run them it just says an error has occured.

Tried the "shutdown -a" trick as well and it still rebooted once it reached about 5000+- files.

I wish i could pinpoint exactly what was going "wrong". Is there anymore info i can provide to you wonderfull people who are willing to give me a hand here?

Thanks again for all your help guys.

 

[micker377]

OK - now we'll do it the hard way. (Print these out)
Click Start > Run. Type:
Services.msc /s - click OK (The services window opens)
In the right pane, locate the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service.
Caution: Don't confuse this with Remote Procedure Call Locator.
Right-click on the Remote Procedure Call service and then click Properties.
Click the Recovery tab.
Using the drop-down list, change First Failure, Second Failure and Subsequent failures to "Restart the Service."
Click apply, and then click OK.

Don't forget to change Recovery back to "Restart the Computer" when you are done.

If this doesn't work, bcastner may be right about a bad hard drive. Speaking of which, can you stay on long enough to download Hard Drive diagnostics from your HD manufacturer?

 

[bcastner]

These are genuinly strange error messages. They are coming from the Jet database engine, which is used on an XP workstation for very rare tasks.

Download from the hard drive manufacturer's web site their diagnostic tool. Be sure to write down any error messages thrown by the non-destrutive tests you do.

Prepare a good backup plan. You will have to replace the hard disk drive.