Startup repair - Certificate recovery

[TACC]

Hello

I'm having a problem. When I boot some PC, startup repair starts. It doesn't matter if I start it in safe mode, last good known config or any other option. The sad part is that startup repair always fails to identify the problem. Her is the result of the startup repair:

Problem Event Name: StartupRepairOffline
Problem Signature 01: 6.1.7600.16385
Problem Signature 02: 6.1.7600.16385
Problem Signature 03: unknown
Problem Signature 04: 21200842
Problem Signature 05: AutoFailover
Problem Signature 06: 61
Problem Signature 07: CorruptFile
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1060.

I would gladly put a fresh system on that PC but...

There is some data (digital bank certificate) I need to recover. So I'm wondering if I start the repair from the win7 boot DVD and try to repair the problem will I lose that data? My main concern are the registry storages and user profiles on that system.

I'm also wondering does anyone know how to extract a bank certificate from the hard drive if i connect it to another working system? I need to extract a certificate from IE8 or firefox. To bad the user didn't have a backup. Some say that it is possible to extract it from firefox but not from IE8. Any help on this matter would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance for any advice on this matter!

Regards, Teo!

 

[allend66]

Hi Teo & welcome to the forums

I have succesfully used a Linux Live boot CD to recover data from a non-booting Windows installation. Once the live CD boots (making no changes to your harddrive) you can mount the NTFS non-functioning Windows volume and recover your data.

 

[TACC]

Hi allend66 and thank you for the welcome

The problem is that I have to extract the certificate from the IE8 or firefox running on the corrupted system because the certificates are connected to the windows registry which store the key for the certificate if I understood correctly. Unless you know another way for private certificate extraction? I have already pluged the HDD in a working XP machine... extracted all important data, except the certificate which is hidden and encrypted very well. As i said in the previous post the user did not backup the certificate so i can't copy it. Thank you for the fast response

 

[allend66]

Are you refering to *.pfx certificates to decode EFS?

 

[TACC]

I'm sorry but i don't know much about certificates (don't know what EFS is). I never had a problem like this... I always exported the certificate from IE->tools->internet options->content->certificates into *pfx. I know that I need to export the certificate from IE8 or firefox in to *pfx certificate so I can import it back later after a new install. I's a internet banking certificate. I hope I have anwserd the question. Is that even possible if i can't start the system?

I really hate users that don't do backups of important files :S

 

[allend66]

OK, so I think we're talking about the same thing then. (By the way, EFS = Encrypted File System. Microsoft's way of adding security to your NTFS volume which is unlocked by the pfx certificate.)

You don't have to export via IE8. One could type certmgr.msc in the run box to open the certificates MMC snap-in, though this does of course assume you have a functioning windows installation. If you (they?) haven't previously exported/backed up you might be out of luck.

If it's a banking certificate couldn't you/they contact the vendor to expedite a replacement?

 

[TACC]

Well yes... they can but I want to avoid that... I know it's a small price that wouldn't be much of a problem I'm just trying to fix it if i can otherwise they will have to contact the vendor for a new one.
Is it possible to run the cermgr.msc in cmd in system repair?
One more thing...If i run a system repair from a win7 dvd will this data be lost?

Thanks for helping me

 

[allend66]

Sorry to get sidetracked - but your 1st post said startup repair. Have you tried a repair install? - This would leave certificates intact. You might havr to run it up to 3 times for it to work - some people give up after the first try when the Windows still fails to boot.

 

[TACC]

well i tried the option launch startup repair(recommended) at windows error recovery when booting about 10 times, but not from the win 7 dvd... I'm trying this at the moment.

 

[allend66]

well i tried the option launch startup repair(recommended) at windows error recovery when booting about 10 times, but not from the win 7 dvd... I'm trying that this at the moment.

If at first you don't succeed.. run it twice more.

 

[TACC]

Ok, will do

 

[gregrocker]

When Startup Repair won't work from Win7, try running it from DVD Repair console or Repair CD where it doesn't depend on OS files which may be corrupted/infected: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html?ltr=S

Install Malwarebytes, update and run a Full Scan. http://www.malwarebytes.org/

If this doesn't solve the issue, then try System Restore to before the problem occurred: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/700-system-restore.html

Next try reinstalling or resetting the browser. For IE8 go Tools>Internet Options>Advanced.

If this doesn't help, try these Win7 troubleshooting steps.