RegEdit Missing

Ok, here's the problem:

I opened start > run and typed in regedit. It says file not found, so I went to Windows > System32 and checked. It's not there. I tried to open regedt32.exe and nothing happened.

How do I get regedit back? Any ideas?

 

Could be a virus blocking access. Have you scanned lately? Viruses and spyware? How about Hijack This to check for hijacks.

 

Do you have an original XP CD? If so put the CD in the drive and boot from the CD. Once Windows loads all of the necessary files you will be prompted with a "Repair" option. Once you get to the command prompt screen type the following: chkdsk /r this will attempt to repair missing files and check the HD for bad clusters.

Hope this helps!

 

regedt32? Regedit is just another name for that on Windows XP. You could also have your PATH variable munged up, though I hope not.

Edit: I finally read what you said above. Consider renaming regedt32.exe to regedt32.com (or copying it to that), and try running that. I've met some viruses that hijack the .exe file and associate it with another program in the registry, and it would cause all kinds of weird stuff to happen.

 

I just scanned and I don't have any viruses.

No, I don't have a copy of the XP CD because my computer came with a recovery disk instead

Pitabred, I tried your suggestion, and it did not work.

Can't I just download regedit from somewhere and throw it into my windows folder?

 

Another option would be to try Windows restore feature. Can you borrow a friends Windows CD? Other than what I have mentioned, your only recourse would be to do a re-format.

 

I can borrow a copy of Windows from my university, but that's a hassle. Thanks for the help.