Serious registry problems

[dagcato]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum,

I read some threads and I think you guys may be the ones to help me with a problem I have. Ok, lets get started.

* I installed a new antivirus software who immediately discovered the worm Hybris.
* Quite a few files were infected, of whom particularly wsock32.dll. Unfortunately I deleted everything without asking too many question.
* When I rebooted, I got the error "An error occurred while trying to access the register. Windows will reboot and repair the register."
* After having restored the wsock32.dll from the cabfiles, I rebooted again. Oh, by the way, when registering (regsvr32) the file it said dllserverregister couldn't be exported or wsock32.dll could be corrupted.
* The problem is that after rebooting the error didn't disappear. It's there all the time.
* I tried scanreg /fix and /restore, but they don't work for me (they say they found an error in the registry). Also some different software as well as different versions of wsock32.dll.

I'm terribly afraid of having to reinstall windows (I don't have the cd where I'm at et.c.), so if anyone has any information whatsoever, don't hesitate to help a fellow 98er!

Thanx in advance,

Dag

 

[johnodq]

You should be able to re-install 98 with no major problems, it should detect the installation and just do an over install.



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Johnodq
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[dagcato]

Yep, that's what I was afraid of. I'm studying abroad, so I don't have access to my installation cd. Let me know if anyone else experienced the same problem and if he found a way around it, not involving a reinstallation.

Just a final thought: I kind of think the wsock32.dll in precopy1 in the cabs directory ought to fix it. But apparently it doesn't ? Isn't that supposed to be like a backup for cases like this ?

/Dag

 

[satrow]

Is there a setup.exe in the /cabs folder? Try running it - it is likely to be the Windows setup launcher.

Andy.

 

[mattjurado]

Do a search for *.cab. Do you have like 40 of them (i.e. win98_22.cab, win98_23.cab, etc...).

If so, run sfc.

Choose to extract one file.

Enter wsock32.dll, and hit next or ok.

In the restore from field, enter the path to those cab files. In the restore to, it should say c:\windows\system.

Hit ok through all the options, reboot, search for wsock32.dll on your c: drive. Delete all but the one in windows\system.

Matt J.

Please always take the time to backup any and all data before performing any actions suggested for ANY problem, regardless of how minor a change it might seem. Also test the backup to make sure it is intact.

 

[RoninBK]

Ouch

I feel for ya, dagcato. Sadly, there is no way that I know of to rescue a registry that badly corrupted without doing the "Hail Bill", (variation on the "Hail Mary".) Looks like you're going to have to hunt for a Win98 disk.

You can save yourself a lot of heartache in the future by doing the following steps.

1: After fdisking and formatting the HDD, and before you start the Setup dance, make a copy of the WIN98 folder onto the HDD into C:\WIN98. That way, you can repair any problem in the future by simply pointing to that directory when it asks for the Windows 98 CD and then asks you where the CAB is. In the event of another FUBAR, you should even be able to reinstall Windows, as long as you can get to a DOS prompt.

2: Copy down the Windows Product Key, the 25 character code that is broken up into five parts, and tape it to the inside of your computer case. I can't remember how many times I fumbled through my computer parts and miscellaneous crap stored away to find it in the event of an emergency. You might also want to do that with your other important registration codes.

3: Maybe this is the time to start looking at backup software? Just a hint...

 

[dagcato]

thanks for all the replies and the interest in my problem. I have more or less abondonned the idea of saving the system. Right now I'm thinking of how to save as much as possible while preparing to reinstall windows (maybe linux this time?).

As far as I understand, the registry is handled by system.dat. Maybe it got corrupted when wsock32 was deleted, because some other symptoms (not listed above) lead me to believe that. There is a backup copy of it in c:, but that didn't work either. Anyway, thanks again for your time and best wishes,

Dag