Recently i've ran my Registry Reviver. Found a couple of problems as usual, and fixed them.
However after this scan, many programs stopped opening, throwing at me the well known:
(Insert program name here) has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

I am not entirely sure the scan was the cause, but that's the only thing i can recall that was messing with the system/software.



I would have reverted the change, if only Registry Reviver itself would open.

Programs that won't open include Skype, Registry Reviver, Vuze, BitComet, a certain online game and probably other programs i didn't try to open yet
Interestingly, PC Health Advisor, a program i just installed to try and fix the problem, didn't open as well, not even ones

The problem is on for already 2 days, and i've failed to find help by searching the web

Important details:

The programs don't even open for a split second. Right after they try to launch the error pops up.
I am running Windows XP (I have the original disc).
Not even my U3 on the flash drive would open, strangely...
Ran scan by AVG - nothing found

As i said, my Registry Reviver won't open, therefore i have no access to the revert changes option it offers.
As of System Restore, the only restore that i see is from today, so i can't revert it to the state before the scan (14.08.12).

I also discovered that my Microsoft Management Console "has encountered a problem" too. i.e. i can't access Services in Administrative Tools.

I've also repaired Windows yesterday, but no results.

That will be very unfortunate. Is there anything i can do before stamping it with a [Dead End]?
Mirai Nikki reference =D

A small suggestion, the last (and only) time I had something like this it was the Sality file infector.
Do you have hidden files enabled? Enable them and see if the setting sticks, that was the first thing that caught my attention. This also may show you some strange files in the root of every drive you have installed.
Also, if you have some secondary machine, burn a portable application (like THIS) on a CD and try starting it from there on the machine in question. The read only nature of the burnt files will prevent them from becoming infected.
Of course, when writing the CD, you'll want to burn the unpacked files.

What am i looking for, after i enable hidden files? Besides my AVG doesn't seem to find anything suspicious...
Can u suggest some sort of antivirus that may help?

Thank you with the Vuze suggestion. I guess that can be a pretty good indicator on the origins of the problem.
However, it won't do as a solution... Skype and others still won't work.

I'm not offering solutions, I'm just asking you to test and see if any of that actually works.

If you enable the option to see hidden files and the setting changes back on "its own" that's a strong suggestion of foul play.
In case of sality, there was a 100kb file on the root of each drive, with a random file name of 8-10 characters, hidden and without an extension. Can you start the command prompt? You can input something like

Code:

dir /ah c:\

which will show you any hidden files on c:\.

If Vuze will want to start from some sort of protected media, that would suggest your OS is OK but there's something else wrong.

You can also locate some of the executables that crash and upload them to virustotal for an inspection, see what's what. Or, alternately, instal the same version of the program on some other PC and check the exe file size; the infected exe will be larger, in case of Sality there's about 100kb difference.

As for the resolution of this issue, I'd rather let someone from the security team handle it, after the exact cause of the problem has been established.

Hello Zioma,

If the problem is affecting seemingly unrelated programs then the problem may be a Windows file missing or corrupted. Running SFC may help.

I ran SFC a couple of times. It did fix certain aspects of this problem (after i repaired windows my theme would only be classic, and the internet connection won't work - now it's fine)
However the main problem is still there.

I am not sure i understand that part: In the event the the system asks you for the CD, you must visit Windows Update immediately after the scan is completed (Please note that there won't be any confirmation dialog - the program will just exit without telling you anything).

Could you clarify what that means please? What is the purpose of it? What am i looking for there?
(a link, or explanation would help greatly)

SFC reverts files that are original to Windows. These files may be a part of a Windows Update to fix problems or security concerns.

Something just occurred to me. I didn't pay much attention to this, but when i run SFC it asks for the disk right away, every time i run it. Does it mean it fails to copy a certain file?