Returnil Uninstall but still protecting, Help

[C4_Monk]

The computer I am having trouble on is a:
ACER ASPIRE ONE
Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002
Service Pack 3
Intel(R) Atom(TM)
CPU N270 @ 1.60 GHz
0.98 GB of Ram
Returnil Premium Edition

I had Returnil installed and working great. Installed Open Office for the wife, then we decided to install Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007. I had turned off the Returnil protection for the install of Office Home and student and rebooted. Then I started the uninstall of Open Office with the program Your Uninstaller! 2008(do not recall if I again turned off protection of returnil). At some point of the uninstall I noticed that the Returnil icon in the tray an at the top of the screen were gone. At this point I started getting a notice from Returnil that some important files were missing but It did not tell me what files. Open Office was uninstalled ok. At this point I also started getting the windows installer trying to install SmartWebPrinting every time I tried to open a file. Sounds like 2 problems now.

Tried to uninstall Returnil and now I do not see it listed when I go into All Programs or Add and Remove Programs. Also the Virtual Partition is shown as gone, it is not listed or show up when I look at my computer, Properties. BUT Returnil is still protecting our computer. Went into SafeMode and tried to uninstall there but it shows as already gone.

I run a small program to called Startup Control Panel and it shows that a Run registry kev called Rvsystem (C:\PROGRA~1\Returnil\Returnil.exe is still in the Start up Control list.

I did a search for this file an it is located in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers and it is a system file. Tried to delete this and the file next to it called RVSDISK which is also a Returnil file. I can delete them but on reboot they are back an Returnil is still protecting.

I have tried to re install Returnil to see if I can get the icons etc back to turn off system protection but it will not re install. Can anyone help me get rid of this problem? I do want Returnil on the computer working in the right way.. I appreciate any help I can get, the computer is less than a month old.

C4_Monk

[bgoodman4]

Have you tried doing a system restore?

Do you have any images of the drive from before the problem began?

If you have not tried to do a system restore that would be the first thing I would try and if that fails hopefully you have an image you can restore to.

PS: have you tried running a registry cleaner? There may be some fragments of the installed programs causing issues, Wise Registry Cleaner is very good, free, and will tell you if the item is safe to delete or not. Also, the items it finds are clearly indicated so you can research those entries its suggesting you might not want to delete.

I hope this helps.

[Robin A.]

So, the conclusion seems to be that a program should not be uninstalled with Returnil active.

[C4_Monk]

Thanks for the reply bgoodman4,,

Yes I have tried to do a system restore,, no luck with that as Returnil is still active. Also tried to do the Acer restore to original factory settings :-[ and no luck with that either.

No images of the drive from before the problem began as its a new computer. Not sure how to take an image with Returnil.

I will try to run Wise Registry Cleaner but do not have much hope as Returnil prevents changes an with no icons or the Returnil program listed I cant turn it off to make changes. Boy oh boy when I mess up I do it really well.

Robin A. ;D where were you when I was making a dummy of myself. At least no one else will do the same thing I hope, or if they do I hope they know how to fix it.

C4_Monk

[Firebytes]

{QUOTE-> So, the conclusion seems to be that a program should not be uninstalled with Returnil active. <-QUOTE}

I have installed and uninstalled many programs while Returnil protection was active. Returnil has never failed me; any changes made by the program I was testing were always gone upon reboot. Just a guess here, but it sounds to me like the problem C4_Monk is having is due to Your Uninstaller removing some needed Returnil registry entries or files while uninstalling Open Office when Returnil protection was "off" instead of "on".

The only things I can think of that might be worth trying as a fix for your problem: If you had Returnil protection set to be "off" when the computer is in Safe Mode (as I do) then you could try doing a system restore while you are in Safe Mode and see if that helps. Also, I don't know if it is possible to install Returnil while in Safe Mode or not, but if nothing else is working you could try reinstalling Returnil while in Safe Mode and see if that allows you to get Returnil back as it should be.

Hopefully the Returnil rep, Coldmoon, will be along shortly and can help you sort out the problem you are having.

Good luck.

[Robin A.]

What I was wondering is what may happen when a program that was installed with Returnil inactive, is later accidentally unistalled when Returnil is active and additionally an unistaller is used, the Registry is cleaned, etc.

As for the solution of the problem: I would restore an image of the system partition (created previously with an imaging program). If there is no image, I would restore the factory image provided by the computer manufacturer, no major problem if the computer is new. If there is no factory image, I guess I would have to reinstall Windows.

And I have had bad experiences using System Restore.

[Firebytes]

{QUOTE-> What I was wondering is what may happen when a program that was installed with Returnil inactive, is later accidentally unistalled when Returnil is active and additionally an unistaller is used, the Registry is cleaned, etc. ~snip~ <-QUOTE}

If you mean install some program with Returnil protection not running and then start Returnil protection and then uninstall the program you just installed, I will tell you what will happen in that situation. When you reboot the computer the program you uninstalled will be right back where it was before you entered protected mode and so will the registry.

[Coldmoon]

If RVS protection was on when you invoked the uninstaller solution and that uninstaller attempted to remove Returnil files, those files would be restored witrh a restart as they would only have been removed from the virtual system rather than the real system.

Is protection off when you enter safe mode?

Mike

[C4_Monk]

Well everyone I want to thank you all for your ideas and suggestions on such a timely basis.

With that said,,,:D I ran into one more problem. It started to refuse to boot an gave me the option of start in safe mode, start with last know configuration that worked properly etc etc. I am sure you all know what screen that is. No matter what option I selected all it did was re boot an come back to the same screen. After tearing my hair out (almost bald anyhow) I really did not want to call Acer an spend hours on the phone, I looked in the manual that came with it hopeing for a small miracle and found one.

I told me how to get to the Acer erecovery if the computer will not boot. Tried that an it worked great, it reformatted the drive an set everything back to factory fresh specs. :thumb: I am now re installing Returnil and all the other programs.

I will be much more careful now and watch what I am doing so I will not do this again.

Again thanks for all the help an suggestions, it is really appreciated.

C4_Monk