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Computer help: Prunnet.exe, popups, Spybot S&D won't run, other problems..
prunnet.exe
by pmart15 - 1/28/09 11:59 AM In reply to: Additional tools by klaypigeonI have the same issues however I can't even run Malwarebytes. It won't install on the infected computer so I installed it onto a flash drive. The computer won't run the program because of an error message about stack overflow. I tried it in safe mode but it says it can't start the service. I can't run Adaware because I get a million error messages popping up.
Any suggestions?
good luck
by batman823 - 1/28/09 2:31 PM In reply to: prunnet.exe by pmart15It seems you're screwed. Once Prunnet gets to the stage you're at, it protects itself. Windows would not let me delete it. Prunnet cuts off all communications with outside sources and convinces certain versions of windows that it is a windows component. It is just the same as other program files that the admin level can't delete. The files that are strings of seemingly random characters are windows components as well, and admin can't delete those either.
What I would recommend doing is letting windows boot up. Click start. Type "r".
A dialog box will come up. Type "CMD" or "command".
This will bring a DOS Prompt.
Type "del c:\windows\system32\prunnet.exe"
If it deletes the file, you should be able to run a restore or reinstall the damaged programs. But make sure to run a virus scan and ensure that prunnet doesn't have any other components left by doing a search and going into the add/remove programs in the control panel.
I started a restore, realized I clicked the wrong one and hadn't backed up recently and my wife has five weddings worth of pictures and so on. This gave me the infamous "hal.dll" error which can mean a number of things.
My problem is that I can't get the DOS prompt to let me use wildcards or move folders to my thumb drive. I would have to move thousands of pictures one by one, typing the date stamp for each individual copy I want to make.
I need to figure out how to get a DOS boot disk without using a floppy in a different version of DOS than the one that's embedded in the recovery console.
If anyone knows how to do that, please inform.
As for Pmart15, the DOS prompt is your friend right now, but it might not fix your problem. Deleting Prunnet won't undo the damage, but you can reinstall IE and such. If not, you will have to do a destructive restore. I am in that boat and manually backing up data is no fun ride.
Good luck
by pmart15 - 1/31/09 7:40 AM In reply to: good luck by batman823Ok, so I fixed my problem and got rid of prunnet.exe and all associated files. I reluctantly connected the computer to the Internet and ran an online scan from I think http://eset.com/onlinescan and it found a bunch of infected files. After a restart it was running soooooo much better. I was able to install and use Malwarebytes and that found even more. McAfee is now installed and scanning regularly.
All this to say, each instance seems different so don't give up, keep trying different programs.
prunnet
by klaypigeon - 1/28/09 2:47 PM In reply to: prunnet.exe by pmart15In safe mode you can run AVG Free in command mode (C:\Program Files\AVG8\avgscanx.exe). You cannot run the GUI version though. The command line version uses the same virus files though. Also in safe mode you can do a regedit and remove prunnet entries, you can run autoruns to find wacked startup issues as well. Good luck. I seem to have removed mine.
Well, it's not just that. Nothing ever is
by batman823 - 1/30/09 7:42 PM In reply to: prunnet by klaypigeonThat's the problem, In safe mode or in the recovery console(New name for DOS Prompt, also command prompt) the dos doesn't allow for executables. There's no run, exe, execute, or other variant of that command allowed. Also, it allows no wildcards(*.jpg or file.*) or folder transfers. I have to pick one file at a time and transfer them over.
I would like to use my thumb drive or a CD as a boot disk. I can easily change the bios and tell it to use whatever drive I want. I just can't find the right CMD.CMD or command.cmd file that will boot up. The closest I've got is a blank screen with a blinking cursor. There's also the risk of the software being malware, disguised as a helpful, free boot disk.
I can't figure out why it's not working for me. The OS is moot, it's a boot. My PC should boot up any version that I have on a disk. There are very few compatibility issues, if any. I am just at a loss.
Maybe I have the idea wrong. I haven't actually utilized dos in about a decade. The electronics technician I did on the sub was totally different stuff and the database stuff I'm doing now is Microsoft Access and a few other pseudo-dos programs. But none of them run like dos or act like dos. So I'm really pissing in the dark here...
Is a dos boot disk just command.cmd on a disk or is there more to it? I have done a zip package that had more files than that, but it did the blank screen thing.
Once I get a working DOS boot program, I fully intend on simply saving the important files and doing a clean wipe, or a destructive restore. I want to be very sure that there's no remnant of the Prunnet virus left.
hmmm
by klaypigeon - 1/31/09 5:07 AM In reply to: Well, it's not just that. Nothing ever is by batman823So you are telling me that when you F8 into safe mode that you go to start>run>cmd. Once in that command prompt, you cannot execute any files like calc? You don't have to type "run calc" or anything like that. Also if you start "safe mode with networking" you should be able to use IE to grab stuff from the net. If your command prompt is that hosed, you do have serious issues. Type echo %PATH% and tell me what it returns. I'll help if I can.
that's correct
by batman823 - 2/1/09 3:36 PM In reply to: hmmm by klaypigeonNo version of dos I've ever used has been this frustrating. I type help for the command list and it's barely over a page long. Most of it is recovery and config stuff. Nothing has helped.
to make it worse, no exe, run or other command function exists. I've also tried to use copy and it will not allow copying folders or using wildcards. This sucks. If I want to copy a folder, I don't see a single reason I shouldn't be able to. They actually have to do extra work to program it that way. I have to copy one file at a time and it's not fun.
But if I can get a different version of dos to boot and change the bios to use my flash drive, which it does see and will use, then I should be able to get all my wife's files backed up in twenty minutes. Then I could start the destructive restore, walk away and come back to a PC with factory settings.
That shouldn't be such a big "IF" but it is what it is.
If anybody knows of a site I can trust that will provide working DOS boot software, I would be very appreciative and much happier.
The VA is buying me a new laptop for college, but that is not going to be the community computer. That one will be for me only, so I need this PC back up. I can do the restore, but I don't want to destroy all my wife's pictures. She's got most of them backed up, but two or three weddings and a couple of folders with family stuff haven't been backed up. So there's the dilemma.
None will work
by batman823 - 2/1/09 3:43 PM In reply to: hmmm by klaypigeonThe only thing that can start is the dos prompt. Anything with windows won't start because of the hal.dll error. hal.dll has been rebuilt and replaced, so I know it is something else, like a boot.ini issue. I've done the boot reconfig as well and that doesn't help.
So the explore grab doesn't work. I could just remove the hard drive and have some pc shop back up the data, but this should be simple.
I'll run the %path% tonight if I can, but once again, I don't think echo is a command allowed in this dos.
The windows xp is media center, and it should work better than this. I don't think there's anything wrong with dos, all the commads it allows work fine, but it's just really limited.
I appreciate the help. I'm just pissed because I know what I'm doing, one wrong click in the restore menu did this. I hoped that I powered down the PC before it did anything, but apparently not. Oh well, we pay for the stupid things we do.
boot disk
by klaypigeon - 2/1/09 5:31 PM In reply to: None will work by batman823http://www.bootdisk.com/pendrive.htm
Try this. I have always used these guys for my boot disks.
so...
by batman823 - 2/1/09 8:16 PM In reply to: prunnet by klaypigeonthe echo command is not available in my dos either. The link you gave looks good. On my Vista laptop, the command prompt doesn't allow making bootsectors in removable devices, so I'm trying to get it on a CD using the bootdisks site, I am not entirely sure if it'll work. It seems the term "Boot Disk" means something entirely different than I think when I say it.
I just want a dos prompt that works as I know it should. This is apparently a complicated task now that we don't use floppy disks anymore. The only computer I know of right now with a floppy is the one on my desk at work in the navy. They always use old, outdated stuff. They've got window's 2000 on them and have only had dvd-rw drives for a few years for us pawns to use.
Oh well... If there's a simple way to make a CD boot, please let me know.
linux
by klaypigeon - 2/1/09 9:15 PM In reply to: so... by batman823If your just after some files, then it might be easiest to just boot to a linux live-CD (runs the complete OS from the CD), transfer the files over the network or to a usb device and then proceed with re-installing. Using a Live-CD doesn't mean you have to know linux, it looks basically the same as windows. Many even prefer it. Here is a link to my favorite. http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html
ubd
by klaypigeon - 2/1/09 9:21 PM In reply to: linux by klaypigeonOh I forgot, you can also use this. It has freeDOS on it as well as a bunch of other utilities.
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/download.html
Thank you
by batman823 - 2/5/09 4:16 PM In reply to: ubd by klaypigeonI will try this as soon as I get some time. I've tried two different versions and I'm unsure what would cause a dos boot disk to fail.
The second attempt was a CD with an image file on it.
Is there any real reason why one version would work on my PC and another wouldn't? I thought the version of windows makes no difference because that's not what the machine is looking at with a dos boot...
Any thoughts?
read the whole thread
by klaypigeon - 2/6/09 7:12 AM In reply to: prunnet.exe by pmart15Sounds like you are having similar issues and I dont want to retype everything.
No, but thanks
by batman823 - 2/8/09 9:51 AM In reply to: read the whole thread by klaypigeonYes, I did have Prunnet, but I made a mistake.
I chose to do a destructive restore to get a clean slate for the PC. I couldn't get rid of all the adware anyway. But I started the wrong one and powered the PC down ASAP. Apparently, it was too late because I now have a "hal.dll" error, which isn't a problem with hal.dll.
So my problem now is getting DOS to boot up from a disk.
The installed dos will not do any functions that are actually helpful like wildcards or folder copies. It will only copy one file at a time and has a very short list of commands. Hence the search for a DOS only boot disk. Hopefully the link provided above works for me.
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