Cannot find services.exe file

Question

My services.exe file (C:\Windows\system32\services\services.exe) has disappeared.  At startup, I am informed via two pop-up boxes that 1) the system can't find the file and I may want to search for it, and 2) that I may want to delete the reference to this file from the registry.  I don't know what this file does, but it doesn't appear to be vital as my computer is running fine otherwise.  I tried multiple system restores to fix the problem (I'm on an XP platform), but they were unsuccessful.  Is it critical that I have this file?  If so, how do I replace it?  If not, how do I prevent the pop-up boxes at startup?

ejn63 · Answer

Almost certain that you've acquired a virus or worm.

Is your antivirus software up to date, and have you scanned recently? Are you up to date on all Windows critical updates?

There should be a services.exe in the system32 folder, but there should be no subfolder called "services" with the file in there.

tallories · Answer

That's a 'yes' to all of the above... my computer was attacked recently when ZoneAlarm went down, and through Bazooka, AdAware, Spybot, Norton, and tackling all the critical updates, I think I'm pretty much clean.  Unfortunately, something in my registry is still keyed to that nonexistent file.  Any suggestions?

Storage, Drives & Media

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