Alright...
Basically, parts of my system32 were deleted that play a key role in EVERYTHING. Things that are effected by this are opening certain programs, using the X button etc. Does it matter HOW they were deleted?
...
Probably.
Alright, well, I opened Audacity to record a youtube video and:
Avira: OH MY GOD! YOUR SYSTEM32 HAS A VIRUS! WANNA DELETE IT!?
Ciara: K, delete.
*1 minute later*
Ciara: Okay, something is terribly wrong.
Avira:



Now, I have a feeling of complete and utter dread. Avira deleted key files in my system32. I remember the key file that was deleted was something like
C:\WINDOWS\System32\rundll32.exe and some other file I am drawing a blank on.
Must I reinstall my whole computer? If I do, that will put a halt to my whole life because I make a living off of Photoshop and stuff.

Isn't there a 'repair windows' thing somewhere?

Forget your computer. I'd break his kneecaps.

Yeah, when you're at the Windows Install Disc screen, just select the first option, Set Up Windows(or something like that), and then it should auto-detect that you have another installation already present and ask if you want to repair it, do that, and it should return all your system files.


His? Anvira is an anti-virus

Haha. Classic, I never use the system restore tools so I don't know if they would work for that, but I'd doubt it. Reinstall Windows, the cure-all for whatever ails your PC. I do it about once a year anyway just to keep it fresh and running nice.

It takes all of a day to reinstall. If you don't reformat, you can usually "repair" an installation, or do an update without losing your installed programs.

Grab your windows disc. If you don't have one, get one through any means necessary. Follow this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

It should be able to restore missing files.

Finally, common sense rules that microsoft seems to not beat into people:

Turn off "hide extensions for known file types" so that you don't run an exe. If you ever download anything off of the internet which has the exe or bat file extension, scan it first with an antivirus, unless you are certain it is safe (downloaded off majorgeeks.com or from the official site. Some common sense should be applied here which I can't teach).

Stop using Safari and/or IE. Both have serious exploits available in them which the parent company tends to hide before they fix, rather than announcing it. Try SRWIron/Chrome, Opera, or Firefox. Firefox is quite popular, which decreases its safety by obscurity which macs are steadily losing. If you use firefox, I suggest you install noscript and get to know it well. It will block all obtrusive ads unless you allow them, and it won't block simple ads (so make sure you click them!). Noscript will block almost everything that makes the web advanced (videos, music, flash) unless you specifically allow it. It breaks an awful lot of sites, but it also means that nothing will run without you wanting it to, meaning any sort of flash or java exploit available in the browser will not run. It's extremely useful for sketchy sites.

System restore doesn't work. Anti-Virus programs don't work. The only viruses which can do serious damage are the ones you run some exe for, which Anti-Viruses can't stop. They may detect the virus, but any decent virus will be rootkitted and recreate itself after it is deleted, or the file will be "in use" so you can't delete it. While an alternative OS will be able to delete said files, there is no way to be certain you deleted them all, and your system will be forever compromised until you reformat and reinstall.

CMD wont open.


If I reformat, I am screwed.
Really, I have too much valuable stuff on this comp. Too much for 3 USBs.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-system-restore/
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Mar 6 2010, 2:23 am by Centreri.

The process we're talking about isn't a reformat, it simply replaces the guts of your XP installation, leaving all other files present, simply go through the normal Windows install as if you're doing a fresh installation, and after selecting the first option to setup Windows, it will search for already existing Windows installations, and ask if you want to repair them instead of completely reformatting. This is what you want.

W00t!
That seemed to work.
Thanks to everyone for helping.