Profapi.dll Error? Virus or?
 

My parents have a Win 7 computer that on startup or trying to run most programs pops up a Profapi.dll error. Specifically it says it can't start because profapi.dll is missing.

Is there something I can download to fix this, or what is the plan of attack... I can't seem to find a clear answer in my usual fix via google approach...

More than likely a WinAntivirus variant. Malwarebytes should get it. If you have issues updating malwarebytes, just try to get the latest version installed without updating, run it and see if it cleans stuff up. If so and the machine becomes stable, update and run it again. Ditch AVG and just install MSE. Nothing's perfect in the Windows environment, but it is as good as the pay programs today.

If your AV doesn't pick anything up, go start->Accessories->Command Prompt (right click, run as administrator) and type in sfc /scannow . It will check all the major DLL files to see if any are corrupted/messed up.

Sound like it might have been corrupted. Windows Repair/Recovery should help.

Multiple attempts to run MWB and I keep getting the runtime error 53, file not found:mbamcore... Trying things I'm finding on the MWB forums....

at 51% it says

It's malware. Don't bother with sfc.

still pounding my head against the desk... can't seem to get MWB to load...

Now getting an error writing to the registry key...

The joys of Windows. :)

Google the error. Is it a RegSetValueEx error?

yes... 5

Apparently there is a malware that corrupts that dll.

Try using MWB Cameleon:
http://downloads.malwarebytes.org/file/chameleon

It works when the malware is blocking MWB. If you can't get to it from your machine you may need to download it from a clean machine and run it off a jump drive. As a rule, I always try to clean a machine while in Safe Mode.

Run this... follow the link, download to a thumb drive and follow the instructions carefully...

Norton Power Eraser | Free Tool |Easily remove scamware that traditional virus scanning can

Chameleon wont work on this either....

NPE wont run the .exe because of the missing .DLL

Pretty sure the dll is not actually missing. The malware is messing with the system.

If you have another Windows pc handy, you can take this drive and hook it up
To the other pc as a secondary drive and attempt to scan the drive from the other pc. It may pick up the right bits of the malware to corrupt it, then with the drive back in the original pc, you may have better luck with the removal programs.

I've got another one handy....

More than likely, the malware stripped the "system" user permissions from various files. If "system" does not have rights to a file, it can't run it and since these files are crucial to Windows, Windows can't run right.

Worst case, you may have to do an "inplace install" of Win 7. It'll reset the permissions and leave most of the installed programs intact. After the install, you should be able to run scans and should.

Yep, do what Dave has suggested...

Scanning it from another computer seems to have worked. The malware bytes flagged a file called weather-install.

I put the HD back up and it fires up with no errors, and programs that wouldn't work before work now.....

Good deal! Just make sure to scan it again now.

Yup... Going to use it carefully for a few days before returning it to normal duty



Thanks for the help!

Your welcome. Glad it worked out. Hopefully it's clean and won't be a problem.

Good work, virus hunter!!

Install Microsoft Security Essentials, it's free and it updates itself. It's pretty good...

You guys are amazing. Without taking a lot of anyone's time can you tell me how you do this "If you have another Windows pc handy, you can take this drive and hook it up
To the other pc as a secondary drive and attempt to scan the drive from the other pc."

If its too detailed just forget about it.

Paul,
It's very easy if you have a "USB to hard drive adapter", you don't even have to open up the PC to do it, you simply hook up the "infected" hard drive to the adapter and your PC will see the drive. Use the AV tool of your choice (I use MalWareBytes, Norton Power Eraser and Microsoft Security Essentials) and start the program and select the drive you want to scan and clean, then select the infected drive that you hooked up to the PC and you're all set.

If you don't have the adapter, you have to open the PC and hook up the hard drive as an additional drive and this can be a lot more intimidating, especially if you're not familiar with the innards of a PC. The adapters are very inexpensive and I buy them through Amazon. One of the tools in my PC toolkit...

Art,
Thanks very much. Happy New Year to you and your clan!
Paul B.

Art nailed it...... This was the first SATA hard drive I had to do so I had no USB adapter, I just opened the other case, plugged in the SATA cable and used the power plug for a second hard drive and it was all good to go. :)