Error - Program not found - skipping AUTOCHECK (and more!!)

[majorerrors]

Hi All,

This one has me baffled. Something may have infected my laptop and changed my registry, but here's what I know and did. As an FYI, I googled the web, and couldn't find anyone with the same problem. Similar, but not the same.

1. When I start up and log on to my laptop (running Windows 2000 professional, of course) I get a black screen with white letters. All it says is:

"Windows Program not found. Skipping AUTOCHECK \SystemRoot\Windows\System32\Autochk.exe"

It then continues the startup procedure, but when I get to my desktop screen, I can't run any executables. Anything with a .exe extension is not recognized by the computer at all. I get an error that says:

"blah blah blah, check folder options" (I didn't write it all down).

Anyway, when I go to check the folder options, I find that the extension .exe is not there. So I add it, and select advanced to associate it with Applications. Makes sense, right? The problem is, I can't save it. Every time I get out of this window, the .exe assignment is gone.

So, I did some kicking around on the internet and found something close to what I have. Unfortunately, the solutions were for 98 and XP, so it didn't work. It requires a registry change, and I changed as much as I could before I realized that the solutions for the two operating systems were different. Fortunately, I wrote down all of the changes I made.

Here is where I am. I can log in, but autochk.exe won't run. The operating system does not recognize the .exe extension, so all executables are unusable. I can log into it in safe mode, and I can also get in with the command prompt, which is how I was able to run regedit (it won't work any other way). One thing I noticed with regedit, was that above the entry for .exe, there was an entry for .ex_ Is that supposed to be there and what does it do?

Any solutions out there that you can all help me with? I am bouncing between two computers right now because I can't get to the internet on my main laptop.

Thanks all!

Major Errors

 

[majorerrors]

Update:

I seem to have fixed the problem with finding autocheck. Windows 2000 now starts normally. This required a registry change, and I can go through it if someone asks. I don't have the notes in front of me.

However, I'm still having trouble with the operating system finding .exe files. Very few execute at all, and none execute after the desktop is up and running. I still get the same error as the one I listed in my first post.

I've also tweeked the registry file and the folder options from the Control Panel. I still cannot get the .exe extention to be permanently held in the registered file types, but while in safe mode, I was able to change the icon for executables. The problem is that now even though .exe files are unexecutable, all executables have the same icon. No idea how that happened.

Obviously, the problem lies with a corrupt registry. I've noticed a couple of fixes on the web, at a site called

http://www.filext.com,

however this site only supplies solutions for 98 and XP.

One more thing I've noticed. I changed a registry key, rebooted, and the key was changed back to the original value. This may indicate a virus, but scanning turns up nothing.

If anyone can give me some help here, I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[majorerrors]

ok.. I'm going to close this thread. Since I figured out one problem, I'm going to start a thread on the other problem.