Member Avatar for Slave2society7

I really need your help, please help me if ya can! Anyway, I ran a virus/spyware scan and it deleted the threat, but ever since then I've had a problem. Whenever I logon to windows it shows the desktop (icons, taskbar, start menu ect.) then it dissapears and reapears a few times then stops re-apearing and I can't do anything. The computer is not in a frozen state because CTRL-ALT-DEL works fine. So anyway, I basically can not use my computer. I run windows XP pro and I have no system restore points to try and use The only think that might help you help me is the error I got one of the times while trying to login. it said at the top "DLL Initialization failed" under that to the left it says userinit.exe and to the right it says "the application failed to initialize because the window station is shutting down" I've tried everything I can think of and I'd have to have to re-install windows and lose all my files. pleeeease help me Thanks in advance.
Colin

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reported a desktop that briefly appears after logon and then disappears while Ctrl+Alt+Del still works. That pattern plus the attempt to start the interactive shell failing points to a missing or damaged logon/startup component (often a system DLL or the userinit/shell configuration) — exactly the sort of thing anti‑malware cleanups can remove or quarantine. ’s System Restore idea would be best if a restore point existed; since there isn’t one, ’s repair approach is the safest next move that preserves user data.

Step sequence (least to most invasive):

  • Press F8 and try “Last Known Good Configuration” and “Safe Mode.” If Safe Mode works, run sfc /scannow and a full AV scan, then check the Winlogon values in the registry (see note below).
  • When the desktop disappears, use Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del → Task Manager → File → New Task) to run explorer.exe — this can restore the shell long enough to copy important files to an external drive.
  • If Safe Mode is unavailable, boot from the XP CD and either do a Repair Install (setup → choose Repair) or use the Recovery Console to restore key files. Example Recovery Console command (CD drive may be D: on some systems):
expand D:\i386\userinit.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\userinit.exe

Repeat for explorer.exe if needed (expand D:\i386\explorer.ex_ C:\Windows\explorer.exe).

Notes and cautions:

  • Check the AV quarantine logs from a working environment or bootable rescue disk before overwriting files.
  • The Winlogon registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon should have Shell = explorer.exe and Userinit = C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe, (the trailing comma matters). Edit the registry only from Safe Mode or an offline editor and back up the hive first.
  • When unsure, copy personal data off the drive (bootable Linux/WinPE or attaching the drive to another PC) before attempting repair or reinstall.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for WebDave

Have you tried doing a system restore?

Member Avatar for Suspishio

I suspect that the cleanup removed a system file that had been infected. So perhaps it is worth taking your XP Pro CD, booting off the CD with the /R option and repair your Windows.

Member Avatar for Slave2society7

Have you tried doing a system restore?

I didn't create a restore point :( I really regret not doing that.

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