Wnlog - corrupt file

[dmcnab]

Hi Loungers....ever since Oct, whenever I turn on my computer, I get the following message:

"winlogon.exe - Corrupt file
The file or directory C:\WINDOWS\Debug\Usermode\userenv.log is corrupt and unreadable. Please run the Chkdsk utility"

If I click OK, it disappears and reappears..I have to click OK a couple of times and then it lets me log on...and I can use my computer as always.

I have run the CHKDSK utility...doesn't fix it.
If I go to WINDOWS-DEBUG-USERMODE, I can see a file called userenv.log I can't rename it and can't copy it (always get a message that it can't be renamed or copied b/c it is corrupt & unreadable. It says it was modified on Oct 23, 2011.

I have done a system restore to before Oct 23, 2011 but that doesn't fix it.....I am tempted to delete it (if it will let me) but worried that if I delete it, I may not be able to log in at all (if the file is part of a user profile)............and I have done the usual variety of system checks for malware, adware, viruses etc etc -- all come up empty.

Does anyone have any information or suggestions as to how I can fix this? Thanks.

[HansV]

Have you tried

chkdsk /f /r

(You'll have to restart Windows and be patient)

[Bigaldoc]

I've never seen this one before, so a couple of what-if questions:

Did you run CHKDSK with the /F parameter?

What if you boot into Safe mode? Could you possibly delete the file then?

In addition to system restore, I hope you have an image backup somewhere, possibly going back some time, just in case.

[dmcnab]

Hi Hans...I ran the chkdsk /f /r as you suggested....didn't fix the problem......and to Bigaldoc - I don't have an image file, altho I do have my data backed up....to this point, I haven't tried to delete the userenv.log file......I tried to change it to something like userenv.bak or userenv.cor in the hope that the system would recreate a new userenv.log file that isn't corrupt. But, I can't rename it or copy it....and I am leery about deleting it (assuming it can be deleted) in case I need it to boot up the computer.

I suppose that if it is corrupt and unreadable(which is the error message I get), then I could assume that it isn't being used when the computer boots up in any event, but I am still not sure I should delete it........

[Bigaldoc]

You didn't say if you tried the rename while in SAFE mode.

[JoeP]

It is just a log file used in debugging profile errors. You may not be able to delete it in a running system. You can use a tool such as PendMoves to delete the file at your next boot.

User environment logging is not normally enabled in retail versions of Windows. See How to enable user environment logging for the registry entries used to control this.

Once you've taken care of the file, I recommend you do a thorough set of malware scans.

Joe

[stuck]

winlogon.exe - Corrupt file

It is just a log file used in debugging profile errors.

I'm curious, a log file that is a .exe file, I've never come across that before.

Or do you mean it is a .exe that you can run/runs at log on to create a log file that can be used for debugging profile errors?

Ken

[HansV]

No, Winlogon.exe reports that C:\WINDOWS\Debug\Usermode\userenv.log is corrupt, not Winlogon.exe itself.

[stuck]

uhh, sorry, brain not in gear, I should realise by now that my brain has had enough by 4:45pm on a Friday.

[HansV]

Don't worry, the weekend has started now...

[dmcnab]

Hi all...thanks for your help....I was able to do the following to fix this problem, altho I am not sure exactly what it is that did the trick....I had run a CHKDSK as Hans suggested but this did not correct or fix the corrupt and unreadable file (userenv.log). So, I started in SAFE mode again and this time, I went to C:\WINDOWS\Debug\Usermode\userenv.log and renamed the userenv.log file as userenv.bak Then, I rebooted and it re-created userenv.log and everything was fixed.....not sure why but it worked...thank you for your help.

[HansV]

Glad to hear it's OK now.

When you started in safe mode, the file userenv.log was not locked in use, so you were able to rename it.
When you rebooted in normal mode, Windows did not encounter the corrupt file (it looks for the name userenv.log) so the problem did not occur. And it is programmed to create a new, clean copy of userenv.log if it does not exist.

[viking33]

Hi all...thanks for your help....I was able to do the following to fix this problem, altho I am not sure exactly what it is that did the trick....I had run a CHKDSK as Hans suggested but this did not correct or fix the corrupt and unreadable file (userenv.log). So, I started in SAFE mode again and this time, I went to C:\WINDOWS\Debug\Usermode\userenv.log and renamed the userenv.log file as userenv.bak Then, I rebooted and it re-created userenv.log and everything was fixed.....not sure why but it worked...thank you for your help.

So the old userenv.bak file should still exist and now you should be able to delete the .bak file.