zprescott

Thanks everyone for trying to help. Unfortunately I I couldn't get everything back to normal. I was successful with the registry being put back to normal. I'm going to go ahead and start over from scratch. Things I learned from this experience: Always have an anti virus program running and don't use IObit products. Sincerely, Zach

Thanks both of you for the help but unfortunately the earliest system restore point was after the mess started. My programs are still gone and I am having trouble doing simple things such as open files. I'm assuming the system restore provided by windows needs to be set and isn't automatic. Any other suggestions? Zach

Cicely, I checked with antivirus software in safe mode and it didn't catch anything... The log reports for registry cleaning looks suspicious to me. It changes a bunch of things that seem important. Should I try reversing these changes and maybe do an earlier restore? Thanks, Zach

Hey Cicely, Thanks for the advice. I could successfully open the file and create a report. The file is attached. How long might I expect a response with a solution as it has already been close to a week and I'm nervous I might not be able to reverse it. Thanks, Zach

Thank you Cicely for the quick response. I downloaded the exe but like other recent downloads I cannot open them because I get the "Windows cannot find file" error. Thank you kb52 for your response as well. I went to ASCs more settings tab in the top right and chose rescue center. I see now that there a log files for Rescue Registry and System Restore points. I copied and pasted the logs for the Rescue Registry. I'll attach the files for viewing and hopefully this clears something up. The files were too bit so I had to split them up into multiple txt files. Report 4 is the longest one with 16,000 changes. I didn't copy and paste it all but it seems to do something to all the files I lost. After viewing the logs, can someone tell me whether it was a registry fix problem that I should reverse or whether I should do a system restore using one of the restore points? The first report is from 6/3 and the first restore is from 6/10. So I don't know if system restore would fix it. Thanks for all the help in advance guys! Sincerely, Zach

After trying out Advanced System Care Free 8.2's abilities I had it do a complete sweep using all the features it provides. So Spyware Removal, Registry Fix, Privacy Sweep, Junk Files Clean, Shortcuts Fix, Registry Defrag, System Optimization, Security Defense, Disk Scan, Vulnerability Fix, Disk Optimization and Internet Boost were all selected and then I chose to fix after scan. This was a long process so I selected Shut Down after Fix and went to sleep. The next day I noticed shortcuts were missing and after digging I found my program files folders on my Z drive to be gone. Most programs were downloaded on this drive. When I try to open certain programs that seem to still be downloaded I get an error message "Windows cannot find 'C:\Windows\system32\magnify.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again." I don't think I've ever done a System Restore point so I don't know if that a possibility. The Undelete Files tool on ASC doesn't show any of the programs that I use just junk. I also used Malware Fighter, Driver Booster, and Smart Defrag from IObit. Can anyone think of any solution to my problem? Thanks in advance, Zach