462 fatal error message

[kka]

 first time, please take it easy. computers not my field.

my lap top has got a virus which has taken over. now it will not even let me boot up without givin this 462 fatal error message can anybody enlighten me...

i been told by a it guy that the virus is called system 32 doom.. whatever that means. i am happy to reformat but would like the data off if possible. help or am i doomed to lose the data

[CBMatt]

Download HijackThis to its own folder, scan with it, and post a log here.  Don't make any changes until told to do so.  We'll take it from there.

[kka]

cannot do anything like that on the laptop, talking here from another machine. laptop will not let me do anything any more.

[CBMatt]

Can you boot up in Safe Mode?

[kka]

theanswer to that is no, nor can i now boot up in dos

[CBMatt]

And what about Last Known Good Configuration?  Does that also not work?
I should've asked before...what is the exact error message you get?  Knowing this could be very helpful.

Also, what OS (Windows 98, XP, etc) is on this computer, and what CD's do you have for it?  You could try the Recovery Console or reinstalling Windows, but I'm not sure how well that would work in your situation.  You may have to resort to reformatting.  You can likely back up your data by slaving your laptop as a data drive, but you'd need to pick up one of these from a computer shop...


(Image courtesy of patio.)

[CBMatt]

Taken from a PM...

tried to post this, but got it wrong, hope you do not mind pm.

the os on my laptop is xp sp2

if i slave the hd to another machine (does it have to be a laptop) will the virus migrate to the master hd.

will i be able to remove my data, which is all i want before i re format and start again.

If you slave your laptop, it is entirely possible that it could infect another machine.  At this point, however, I'm not certain whether or not it actually is a virus.  Without knowing the exact error message, it's hard to diagnose.  So, if you could post that, it would be a lot of help.

If/when you do slave your laptop, you'll want to use a desktop PC.  And, of course, you'll need that cable.  It will likely come with instructions.  If not, it shouldn't be too difficult for one of us to explain it to you.

Unless something goes wrong, you should be able to backup your data just fine.  But before you do anything, I'm still wondering what the error message is.  "462 fatal error message" doesn't give us a lot to work with.

[kka]

sorry have noy being on fra while, work commitments.
thanks or all help received its much appriated.

cbmatt

this is the message i now get on my laptop..

the signature for windows xp home edition is invalid
the error code is 426
the system has not being started

fatal errr
set upfailed to start the product catalog. this isa fatel error the
set up log files should contain more imformation

could a virus have done this.

[CBMatt]

What exactly were you doing before this started?  That message is typically associated with a bad install of Windows (sometimes caused by using an invalid/used key).  Although it may be possible for an infection to cause this, I don't know of any offhand (certainly not Mydoom).  I think your best bet would be slaving your laptop to backup your personal data and then doing a fresh install of Windows XP (you will need your Windows CD to do this).  You might even want to try giving Microsoft a call at 1-800-MICROSOFT and see if they can assist you.

[kka]

to tell the story. in brief, one of my cousin thought it would be funny, a laught, to click yes to a advert on the net, a site which was not acceptable to me. i took it to a pal of mine who is mircrosoft certified, asked him to completely remove the website. left my laptop with him. apparently when he removed the site it left this so called doom virus on my system. the laptop went down hill from there, to the point i am at know.
my two question, could and would this happen? or has he done something somewhere to my laptop, if so any ideas

[CBMatt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mydoom

If you read the above page, you will see that such activity isn't associated with the Mydoom (or W32.Doom) infection.  Although fairly bad when it was created, it's not really much of a threat these days.  It's pretty easy to download Microsoft's removal tool, and if he's Microsoft certified, then he should know this and I can't understand why he wouldn't simply remove the infection. 

Also, he should know that even if you do have Mydoom, it wouldn't be causing these problems.  Although it is possible, it's pretty unlikely.  Maybe I'm overly paranoid, but it all sounds a little suspicious to me.  How well do you know this guy?

I could be wrong, but I'm not convinced that it's an infection.  And if it is, I can't do much other than what I've already suggested (backup and reinstall).  Perhaps you should take your problem over to the Windows section to get a second opinion.

[kka]

it is now a system..32doom type s trojan virus. apparently it is responding t key presses. how tue is or possible is this?

[CBMatt]

It's possible for an infection to respond to keystrokes, but I'm not quite sure just how common it is.  In what way is your infection responding to keystrokes?  Does the computer restart as soon as you use the keyboard?

[kka]

it goes throught a couple of messages first, but yes it does restarts

[CBMatt]

Well, without being able to load your OS, there isn't an easy fix.  You can try using a different keyboard, but that's a longshot.  Do you have any computer savvy friends who would know how to slave a harddrive so you can backup your data?  If not, you may need to take it in somewhere, which could end up being a bit pricey.  Unless you think you can do it yourself, these are the only options I can think of offhand to backup your important files.  Once that's taken care of, you can reinstall Windows (which might not fix anything) or reformat (which definitely should fix everything).