Lost Some Video Files in Windows XP Pro

Did you try to restore your computer to an earlier date? This sometimes works. It's called system restore.

I never activated the system restore.That's why my name is Moron69.

I also tried to get them back from the recycle bin,but I had already deleted them.I also tried a free file recover software,again -no luck.

If the video off the internet is running so badly,I must have deleted some important files. Everything else works good.

If I put my Windows disk in,can I just recover the missing files?,without causing a bigger problem?

thanks,

Don

You should be able to find system restore in your control panel, or just type it into your search window. It's pretty self explanatory.

I'm not a computer expert either, but I know this won't do any further damage. Fixing this won't be hard if that doesn't work, either. You may need to delete and download a new driver, but don't do anything beyond system restore for now. If that doesn't work, someone here will be able to tell you exactly what to do.

System restore keeps copies of critical files for just this occasion. Pick a restore point just before you started screwing around with stuff. Once restore starts, leave the computer alone until it finishes.

I never activated the system restore,so I don't know if these files will be there?-I'll give it a try-I'll activate the system restore,and see what happens.-I don't think I will be able to go back if system restore was'nt activated in the first place.But,thanks,I'll give it a try.

Since I never activated System Restore,the only restore point I could go back to was today.

I never should have messed around with something I did'nt know about,or at least I should of had the System Restore in place.

Well,I'm ready to try the next attempted fix.

Don't mess with it anymore. It's just online video. Someone will show up to help.

Sorry I couldn't.

Dont worry, TCP/IP sometimes becomes corrupted, just have XP reset the TCP/IP stack. From your command prompt type "netsh int ip reset". Also bear in mind that you may have malware on your machine. I use a free program called "Malware bytes" as well as Spybot, between these two i have a clean machine.Sometimes you need to run your spyware programs in safemode.Trust this helps.

It would help to know what video display software you are using. Windows media player, Quicktime...

If it is Windows media player, then try doing an update to see if it picks up on the damage. If it is Quicktime, then try the Apple sauce site.

I'm surprised that it doesn't give you any error messages. Are you sure that it is from deleting the files? Perhaps you got a virus.

Repair disk is probably your last choice. It has never worked worth a hoot for me.

I think I made my mistake by deleting seldom used programs(according to Windows) by add/remove programs.-My streaming video worked great for an older computer until I deleted programs. Maybe they were being used.-Don't know,I'm not that computer literate. So,I don't know what I did,only after that the video runs slow on movies,online. I'm using Flash player,I have a Nvidia GE Force 5500 adapter.I guess I'll try and download Quicktime,and,Media Player,and see if I have them.I might have deleted Quicktime.-I probably should find a virus checker for the heck of it.-I'm using the free Avast virus software,and update it reguarly.thanks for the help,

Don

Well,

I downloaded/updated Quicktime 7,Media Player 11,Shockwave,and I did a full system scan for viruses. The videos I'm watching are in FLV format. They still don't play right,showing only pics,and stopping,not a streaming video. Could it be a coincidence that the videos stopped playing when I deleted who knows what?-I don't think so,but who knows though. The FLV format says it wants 2.3 Ghz,I have 1050 Meg,or is it my dsl banwidth??-But all I know is that it worked great before I was playing with the add/delete programs. It is an 8 year old computer,maybe it can't keep up with the new software upgrades. -Coincidence??-I don't think so,-I think I screwed something up somehow.

flv. is a Adobe flash video file update Adobe or completely remove and reinstall.

Normally, System Restore is activated by default. If you can only restore to "Today", with no other restore points available, there is a good chance that you have some malware that your antivirus software is not picking up- a root kit, possibly. Some of the malware is very, very good at hiding from conventional antivirus programs. Try downloading Rootkit Revealer (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897445.aspx).

Or, for older equipment, try a dual boot Linux system. I use Ubuntu, but I understand Peppermint, which is a derivative of Ubuntu, has a very good suite of video codecs. You could at Linux to your existing system without losing your existing Windows XP installation. Also, for the time being, Linux is generally not under attack by malware writers (some claim it is actually more secure, but I think the malware writers just don't think they will have a large enough target systems with Linux. This could change if Linux ever gets significant market share). Anyway, I find Ubuntu is much more tolerant of older hardware...

Thanks for the advice,I'll give it a try.

Ran the root kit revealer and 26 discrepancies were found.Looks like I do have Malware.-Now,How do I get rid of it?

1.)HKLM\security\policy\secrets\SAC-0 bytes-Key same contains embedded null

2.) HKLM\microsoft\crytography\RNG\Seed-80 Bytes-Data mismatch between windows and Raw hive data

3.)C.documents and settings Kitco.exe,Zone Identifier-26 Bytes-Hidden from windows API

All the rest say hidden from windows API and are 0 bytes

So,Now what do I do to get rid of it? I hope I don't have to reinstall windows? Any help appreciated,and thank you,

Don

It looks to me like "Kitco.exe" may be the bug. There appears to be a legitimate program called kitco.exe that deals with dimensions and weights of metals, but if you are not a jeweler, it is unlikely that you would have downloaded this. The name sounds weird, and *.exe files do not belong in "Documents and Settings". Is this a file you have intentionally installed? If not, can you delete it? If you can not delete it, it most likely is a virus. If you can not delete it during a normal session, try to delete it after booting in SAFE mode. If you can not delete it, then try the software package hijackthis. Another alternative is to Google "kitco.exe" and see if someone has further instructions for removing it.

If it is what I think it is, it is a trojan that hijacks your browser, which would give you the symptoms you have described. It is not easy to get rid of these things- if you are uncomfortable with this sort of thing, perhaps you have an associate with more experience that can guide you through the process...

I never installed the kitco.exe. A few years ago when I did have some scrap gold,I checked their site for gold prices-that's all.

I'll try to delete it,if not normally then under safe mode.-I know about safe mode.

What about the other 26 discrepancies that were found?-Is'nt that malware too?

I've read about how these things can evade anti-virus software ,and alot of other info on the micreosoft website.-Interesting,but I don't fully understand.

It(the malware,or virus) dos'nt seem to be slowing anything else down,only streaming video off the net.

Thanks for your help,

Don

I searched for the kitco.exe file,and found it in the Rootkit Reveal .It was in folder C:\windows\system 32.However I could not find it there to try and delete it. Looks like it's hiding in the Root Kit Reveal.

I suspect that the other discrepencies are connected to the same problem- the trojan re-writes entries in the Registry to help it accomplish its dastardly deeds. Solve one problem at a time- the most important is getting rid of the executable first. Also, there may be other copies of the executable hiding somewhere else in the system, so that just deleting the file does not fix the problem.

If you can not find the file where Rootkit Revealer says it is, it is most likely something you do not want on your machine. At this point, I suggest you search this particular virus with Google. You will find advertisements for the "legitimate" program leading the hits on your Google search, but about half-way down the page you will begin to find detailed instructions as to how to get rid of the trojan.

There are a number of tools out there that may be of assistance- previously mentioned "hijackthis", "ccleaner", and others that I don't remember. Quite honestly, I dumped Windows for Ubuntu about three or four years ago for this very same reason, and I am a bit rusty on cleanup procedures.

You may also find additional help in the "Software and Programming" section here on CR4- search for previous threads on "rootkits". Lots of valuable information, and a few experts much more expert on this subject than me...

Hello CWarner,

Thanks for all your advice! I ran hijackthis but don't have the expertise to fix this. I probably clicked on the wrong e-mail,or something else. Now,My printer is printing in foreign language,and backwards too!-So not only did it take control of my flash video,its got my printer too!-I wish these bastards would go to hell!

Meanwhile I will keep the "Puter" turned off"

thanks again for your help.-I've learned alittle,but not much about this problem. I can't tell what files are BAD,and which are good. on Hijackthis

Before you start fiddling with a suspected virus, which may only confuse your situation further - since you don't know if the suspected virus/malware was resident when everything as working... I would try to repair os first...

Something to consider:

I googled windows xp repair and found this:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

"A Repair Install will replace the system files with the files on the XP CD used for the Repair Install. It will leave your applications and settings intact, but Windows updates will need to be reapplied.

A Repair Install will replace files altered by adware and malware, but will not fix an adware, malware problem."

thanks Core,

I'll give it a try.

You may have simply corrupted your CODECs, in which case you would simply need to download and re-install a CODEC pack from Microsoft - it is free.

Possible Malware or bad Codec problems aside. You might try just defraging the Harddrive as this can cause problems with videos. You opened up (probley small) chunks of sectors cleaning out the files.

It must be Malware or a virus as my printer is printing backwards in some strange language,besides from the video problem.

Have you tried shutting everything down including your modem/router and rebooting?

I tried that,did'nt work. Now my printer is printing Backwards!,and videos are onlyslow moving pics.-I definately have a Virus.

How about deleting then reloading your printer drivers in control panel? just a way to isolate the cause...