Invalid C:Ini file Booting from C:windows

Hello--I've been noticing for the past several days this in front of my boot saying Invalid C:Ini file Booting from C:Windows. I hope you could give me some advise in how to correct. I have XP SP-3 Samsung P-4 1.79GHz 512RAM. I search for the .Ini file to see if there was one on the computer and I seen a backup was made on 3/3/2009. Don't remember backing up this particular file. Please could someone instruct me in how to do this. I don't even know if this file would do the trick. Thanks for any advice.
Garry

 

Try this link to fix it.

 

MitchellCooley--Thank you for your suggestion but I'm still without a Boot.Ini file in my msconfig utility. I followed the instruction the first time and when I was finished the Boot.Ini was entered into my msconfig.Utility like its suppose to be. But I went back into the msconfig a little later the Boot.Ini was missing again. Since then I must of tried to do it from the CD XP disk a half a dozen times with no luck. After the first time when the Boot.Ini file was in the msconfig I made a backup for the Boot.Ini and put it into on the C: Hard drive. I thought maybe trying to restore the backup it would go back into the utility. I don't know how to accomplish this, By chance could you give me some step by step instruction to restore my backup file back into the msconfig utility hopefully erase the Invalid Boot.Ini file which appears on the beginning of my boot. Thanks again for any help you could supply.
Garry

 

It may be Malware deleting the file. I would suggest you read this post and detail the problem in the Malware Removal Forum.

You may want to try a system restore to a date when you know it booted ok but if it is malware related it is likely to be deleted again.

To do a system restore:


Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore.

When System restore opens, click Restore my computer to an earlier time (if it is not already selected), and then click Next.

On the Select a Restore Point page, select a date just before the first sign of trouble and then click Next.

Note A System Restore message may appear that lists configuration changes that System Restore will make. Click OK.

It will ask you to confirm your Restore Point Selection , click Next.

System Restore will start returning your system to the configuration on that date. Any installations, removals, or updates that have been done after that date will have to be done again.

Your system will restart and if you have to log on when you restart your computer, do so and let the system remain idle at the desktop for a moment or so until you get the message "System Restore Completed Successfully ".

Click OK.


Mitch

 

Invalid Boot.Ini File

Thank you Mitch for your quick response however I've already in the beginning when I first started to see this message before booting the computer tried the obvious to restore my computer with a system restore along with a backup Files & Settings that I had before all this started. And neither one would restore. I don't know why but it is what it is. Funny thing though the computer runs OK the computer boots OK but I would rather of had it to boot at the 3 second interval rather then holding on for the full 30 seconds until it gets a going if you know what I mean. Its only that message really bothers me and I guess I've tried mostly everything. Still don't know why it came back at one point and then disappear like I was stating in a earlier log in. Just wondering about the backup of this file could I do a restore but I don't know how to go about that. The files is laying right in there next to the windows files and all the rest of them in the C: Hard Drive.
But thanks a lot for your time I do appreciate it.
Garry

 

You have a malware infector that is causing your boot.ini to be deleted.

I suggest you get MalwareBytes free anti-malware program and update and run it. If it finds anything, quarantine it and run the program again repeatedly until all malwares are quarantined. Then recreate the boot.ini file and see if it will stay put.

If that doesn't fix you up, follow the previously posted suggestion by MitchellCooley and post your problem in the malware removal forum.

 

Surferdude2--I downloaded the malwarebytes and found one problem and removed the issue. The computer will still not allow me to recover this boot.Ini file in msconfig. utility. But all and all my computer is running excellent but without the boot.ini in my msconfig. I guess there's no way to try and restore my backup boot.ini file to put the boot back into the msconfig utility. I've went back and tried several times to do the CD XP bootcfg /rebuild but with no luck of finding it back into the msconfig. I'm assuming the backup file I made in the beginning will not place this boot.ini in my msconfig utility or will it. I don't know how I would go about to do that.
Thanks for any advise
Garry

 

Yes Garry, you can restore the boot.ini from a backup copy fairly easily. There is a very small risk that you could make a misstep and render your system unbootable so before I tell you how to do the procedure, I need to know whether you have either a floppy disk drive or a CD-Rom drive or both in the affected machine. Then I can give you a download site that will provide a bootable floppy or CD that can rescue your system if it becomes unbootable due to a corrupt boot.ini file.

FYI, XP will boot quite nicely without a boot.ini file if the OS is installed on the C: drive as yours apparently is. It's obvious from that that your boot.ini would be a basic version. If you want to save some time, search the root of your C: drive for a file named boot.ini. If not found, search for boot.bak. If either is found, open them with Notepad and copy/paste their contents back in a post here. If neither is found, post the contents of the backup version that you referred to in your posts. You may need to change your system view settings to show hidden and system files in order to view these files.

To do that:

Open Windows Explorer or My Computer > Tools > Folder Options > View >

Tag the box labeled "Show hidden files and folders "

Untag the boxes labeled "Hide file extensions for known file types" and "Hide protected operation system files "

OK out of there.

One last thing, if your boot.ini file is being deleted by some malware, you will be wasting your time trying to restore it by any means. It sounds like that is the problem but I suppose we can't be certain until we try the easy things first.

I would also like to know if your system is NTFS or FAT32.

I'll check back often to see what you find and take you further if need be. Please answer every question I asked so that I can safely help you.

 

Hello Suferdude2--Thanks for writing back. The first item on the search was boot.ini file. You're not going to believe this but when I open it up it was a ordinary boot loader with four line of what you would see in your boot and before I was able to copy it it switch onto another page before I had time to copy it I tried to go back into the same folder but it deleted itself. I hope that tells you something for me I don't know why it would do something like this unless it was like you were saying earlier the machine being infected. The second that automatically came up had just the boot.bak file your second choice for me to search in place of the one I actually open but didn't stay open. Thats weird. A dialog box came up asked if I wanted to save it or not. Of course I saved it. I went to open it up but it wouldn't open for me in notepad -- chrome--internet explorer etc. This file was the backup boot.ini that turned into this book.bak.
I didn't get no hits on the boot.bak file. After there were no hit on this file I went back to run the boot.ini again and there were no hits on this one with the backup boot.ini only searches came up and I know you didn't want that.

I have both CD-Rom and Floppy disk on my computer.

The Hard Drive one is NTFS and my second Hard Drive was FAT32 but awhile back I converted that one over to NTFS

I hope you can understand this confusion on my end here today because if I didn't see it for myself I wouldn't believe.

I hope this will be some helpful info in what had occured.
Thanks Garry

 

That's enough evidence. You most certainly have some sort of malware infector that is causing your problem. Read this preliminary instruction page and then when ready, post your problem in the Malware-Virus Removal forum.

You should refer to this thread so that the information contained here can provide some background and help speed things along. The nice folks on the Malware-Virus removal forum are usually pretty busy so be patient. Thankfully your system is usable in the meantime.

 

Thank you--I've moved my thread to malware/antivirus removal. I'll keep this thread up to date as we go further into the cleaning.
I've downloaded the mirror and save both to the desktop.
Until I hear further from the malware team I'm standing by for further instructions from them.
Thanks again I do appreciate it.
Garry

 

Hello--I was contacted by the staff (Geri) this morning to send over the Attachment and the DSS print out from the notepad over to the malware removal department for there examination.
Just as soon as I receive notification of this information I'll report back to this thread.
Have a nice day
Garry

 

Hello again--Since moving my thread to the Virus & Malware removal department I've been going through several scans the next one was with ROOTREPEAL (c) AD, 2007-200. No results as of yet with malware infections. I'll let this thread open till I finish with the staff of removal department.
Garry

 

Garry, I see from your log on the Malware forum that you have IE8 installed. There have been reports of the exact problem you are having that have been corrected by uninstalling IE8 and reverting back to IE7.

 

I have recently been having the same boot.ini deleting problem as gwiner7041. Surferdude2's comment about the problem perhaps being related to IE8 is something I will explore since my boot.ini problem does coincide with my recent change to IE8 on both my desktop and laptop. I recently started having the same boot.ini problem on both machines, and recently just changed both machines to IE8. I'll give it a try.

 

Using Acronis 2009, I re-imaged my laptop to a recent point just prior to the installation of IE8. So far so good. I have rebooted a few times now with no further "invalid boot.ini" messages. Thanks Surferdude2 for the tip. I am hopeful that I can do the same for my desktop tomorrow. I tried re-imaging the desktop a few days ago due to the boot.ini issue, but then I promptly updated Windows including IE8. Lo and behold I had the seemingly missing boot.ini matter shortly after that. What a hassle! I hope Gwiner's problems are resolved soon. I appreciate riding along on this thread and Gwiner's malware thread, and am grateful for the resulting info that helped me. Cheers.

 

Thanks for the feedback sovelled. I'm not sure if gwiner7041 has read this yet but it would tend to give him a ray of hope.

ps. Acronis True Image is a wise choice for backups.

 

Quick follow-up from me. I appear to have success with rolling back my desktop to before the install of IE8. Several reboots and no further "invalid boot.ini" messages. Also, fyi...if you google "IE8 boot.ini" you'll find several hits of complaints regarding IE8 deleting the boot.ini.

 

Thanks sovelled, That's pretty incriminating evidence against what could be called a MS IE8 Malware. You'd think they would at least test their products for interference with their own systems. No doubt they will supply a fix for it someday.

Those who have XP installed on some drive other than the C: drive will be rendered unbootable if their system is subject with this bug.

 

Hello again Suferdude2 I've got the OK to try uninstalling the IE8 which I done and re-installed IE7 like you suggested. I've re-booted probably a dozen times but we're still having this message before the boot even starts--Invalid Boot.ini Booting from C:Windows file.
I thank you anyway for the suggestion. I'm just wondering at this point again trying to go through the bootcfg /rebuild, again with the Disk XP which MitchellCooley had given me in the early beginning of this thread.
Well this has been a heck of a journey for me at least but I have to say other then that message in the beginning of the boot my computer really runs really good though. Do figure!
Garry