Hidden/Shown Quandries.

If there's any progs in here you're not allowed to show for sponser's sake, please delete. I'd rather help than battle over program names.

Mcafee Stinger
Regcleaner
counterspy
trendmicro (online and trial)
bitdefender (online)
mcafee (trial)
spybot search and destroy
xptcpiprepair
SUPERAntiSpyware
ExterminateIT
Windows LSP Repair (Run from Windows Website)
(It's funny, they would all find certain trojans, maleware etc that the other would not. It seems you have to own everything to get rid of it all.

(For certain files)
hijackthis
killbox

(-along with about 15 of your misc .exe/.reg file tools found within this site dealing with hidden folders and missing options etc. (Even though this site seem for XP users and not Windows 7.)
I have no restore points although it was a feature I used twice, once when I bought the computer and once when all the programs I use regularily were installed. (They are no longer accessible to me.))


No virus's but 7 or 8 generic were found and removed. None named zbot.
Tons of Malware.
Hijack this still points to various unfound files, but why won't they disapear when fixed?? Last question you may ask. All file noted above were run in both admin/my account in safemode with networking and plain safemode.

Ok, main question(s).
1. I have no control over Hidden/Shown files through, nor within the drop down-->Start list in Control Panel under "Folder and Options" tab that used to exist in my Control Panel Drop Down Menu or Main Window. CUrrently everything is hidden and can only be seen in either accounts (Admin/Mine) in Safe Mode.
My organize Button in my Windows 7 windows has the 'Folder and Search Options' greyed out. I followed the directions on the pages on this site to no avail.
At one point I had no access to my regedit however after looking for tips and tricks I was able to overcome this and can access regedit once more. secpol gpedit in run line give me the same "File cannot be found..."
Is there any information I can give you to help me?

I am still running Spybot, Counterspy, Trend Micro-Online, Mcafee Stinger, and Counterspy, but aside from cookies, nothing is found. I contemplated reinstalling ExterminateIT to see if it still finds that file in /window/system23/? I have been at this for 2 days, and what led me to where I am now is something called zbot, a trojan found from exterminateit, from what I understand collects and sits and wait to send passwords on a livestream. I thought I might throw that out there in case it helps. However I cannot find any information on it that matters to me in unintalling it when I cannot see hidden files, do not have dual computers so as to have me write down the pages of information it seems to carry with it and is the only program that found an exe within my windows\system32\ subfolder. Also, ALL issues are run from a central point if found... C:\users\me\appdata\local\temp but cannot find the main file(s) that start this problem. Ah, more issues you may find interesting?

At every boot a window pops up saying elzgp.dll cannot be found.
Adobe and DivX windows used to pop-up every 2-3 minutes asking me to update. If I pressed yes they would leave me alone for a few hours and begin again.

I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium

Ah, sleep, I'll recheck in the afternoon, after work!

Hi, 2inch. Welcome to Seven Forums.

Let's start with Exterminate-It. Take a look at the reports at WOT: exterminate-it.com | WOT Reputation Scorecard | WOT Web of Trust. That isn't a program I would want on my computer.

Why would you use XP TCPIP Repair on a Windows 7 64-bit machine?

As to the registry cleaner, it is my opinion that those tools do more damage than good. Modifying registry keys incorrectly can cause Windows instability, or make Windows unbootable. No registry cleaner is completely safe and the potential is ever present to cause more problems than they claim to fix. In addition,
Windows 7 is much more efficient at managing the registry than previous Windows versions. There are no gains to be had from using a registry cleaner and the risk is great. Of interest, see the following articles:

Are registry cleaners necessary?
Back up the registry

Your system specs show you have a 64-bit OS. HijackThis is renown for not being able to properly identify services and show files missing when they, in fact, are not. It does not work effectively on a 64-bit OS.

Although O^E's Killbox is still a viable program, it only works on Windows 7 if you know the proper technique.

That said, having no idea what the initial problem was with the computer, my best advice is to use a back-up to restore your system to its previous state. If no back-up, then use System Restore to a point prior to when the problem started. Windows 7 has a much more robust System Restore than Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Results impress me, not ratings.


I value what you said, but one, I don't care about a website's rating and a site based on it's users ratings, I care about a programs effectiveness. (What is useful for some, is useless to others.)

My only option is to Repair the computer state as if it were breand new, erasing all my programs and settings.
The option to reset preserving my settings is greyed out. This is using my Windows 7 Disc.

I used the TCP/LSP/Winsock Repair from the Windows site because if the trojan I think I am infected with needs a method of unrestrained transport. I thought maybe fixing my Winsock would help in hindering whatever it is I have.

Thank you for the tidbit about Hijack (I use the old version, not the Trendmicro version) and now have more leads to follow if it reports the files are not there when in fact they could be.

Initial Problem:
DivX Update and Adobe Update windows popping up every couple minutes when I was not working within a program. This ALL led to the problems I have now. Upon reading both are hijack programs, I started with Trendmicro. First in normal state, then in Safe because it would keep finding the same files. Once it said my system was clean, I restarted and they began all over again. And this was the beginning.

The last step. My windows is working fine with no issues and no programs I do not regognize running. However I would not know regardless, as my Hidden/Show all options in both the Start, drop-down menu have disapeared, as has navigating to my Control Panel manually and finding nothing. I used 4 articles from this site to repair my Hidden/Show buttons, both in the Organize Drop-down Menu and Control panel, to no avail. I have gone back on-line searching, using not only 7forum .reg re-staters and even doing it by hand following the manual method, but as well as on-line and thier, actually, pretty much the same method of recovering my Hidden/Show items.

Hidden/Show works and shows in both the drop down menu in the the Start Button centre, but in the control panel as well...in safe mode, working in to BOTH ADMIN and MYACCOUNT, both of which have Admin privleges.

Any other suggestions?

It may help to perform a SFC (System File Checker) scan which will check and fix any corrupted files on your system.

Steps to perform SFC scan:
1. Click the Start button
2. From the Start Menu, Click All programs > Accessories
3. In the Accessories menu, right-click on the Command Prompt option
4. From the drop down menu that appears, select the 'Run as administrator' option
5. Authorize any User Account Control (UAC) elevation request.
6. In the Command Prompt window, type: sfc /scannow (including the space rior to the backslash) and press Enter
7. A message will appear stating that 'The system scan will begin'
8. Be patient because the scan may take some time
9. If any files require replacing SFC will replace them. You may be asked to insert your Vista DVD for this process to continue
10. If everything is okay you should, after the scan, see the following message "Windows resource protection did not find any integrity violations"
11. After the scan has completed, close the command prompt window, restart the computer and check.

Edit to add: A Windows 7 Repair Install may solve the problems. See Brink's tutorial at Repair Install