DaveP57

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Aug 14, 2001
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I'm writing this post on behalf of a friend in another state. We keep in contact via e-mail and he has notified me that his computer running XP Home is looking for a file on boot up, behaving eratically and running slow. Since his machine is malfunctioning, I agreed to post a question for him here at Toms Hardware. Here is the error messages he is receiving on boot up: "windows cannot find'c:\windows\system 32\un32info.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again to search for the file, click the start button, then click search". After clicking OK to the above warning, he then receives the following message: "could not load or run'c\windows\system 32\un32info.exe' specified in the registry. Make sure the file exists on your computer or remove the reference to it in the registry". My friend is a novice computer user, and I'm not sure exactly what he did to cause this problem. He also states the there is a reference to the file in the control panel-add/remove programs list, but it is uninstalled(?). I don't know why it would be in the add remove programs list, it sounds like a part of the O.S. I had him download, install, and run a spyware scanner but the problem persisits. I also suggested he do a complete virus scan, which he says he will do next. Any ideas on what's going on? Is there a fix? Thanks for any help!
 

kinetic_tw

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From what I can tell, "un32info.exe" is related to a trojan of some sort. If you pop that file name into google it'll return a few websites with people who indirectly refer to this item.

You friend's error messages and the false Add/Remove programs entry could be remedied by searching and editing the registry to remove mentions of "un32info.exe". But, depending on your friend's level of experience, it may be better to wait and see if an easier solution avails itself before you send him through his registry.
 

DaveP57

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Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Kinetic! A Google search brought me to a tech site with a bunch of guys who are familiar with the file. Yup, looks to be some sort of virus or trojan. I'm going to see if anyone at the tech site can help. In the meantime, if anyone has any ideas, please post. Thanks again.
 

DaveP57

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Thanks for your reply 777! I've received several suggestions from another tech site, the easiest being to see if there is a reference to the file in the msconfig startup. I'll try your suggestion if the msconfig fix fails. Thanks again!