"Ecomwr.dll file not found" Error Message at start up 

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| Windows 98 Index I | Windows 98 Index II | Windows Me | Windows XP | Updated 09/09/03

Q. I was looking for the answer for why my computer always shows a "ecomwr.dll file not found" message at start up.
                                                                                                                       Steve

Richard writes that there is a patch available from McAfee which will correct this issue.
Click here to view it.

A. Ecomwr.dll does not appear to be a critical Windows system file. This means that it is in fact a third party file for software you recently either moved or uninstalled. On further inspection I find that this is a file associated with McAfee virus scan engine. If you have recently uninstalled McAfee this file pointer was not removed. If you are still using McAfee I suggest that you reinstall the software package. If you no longer wish to have this software package or any of it's files then we can uninstall it manually.

One thing you might want to try, before doing the more extensive step below the warning, is to remark out the lines in Autoexec.bat which reference the McAfee boot scan. Here is how:

1. Click Start | Run
2. Type sysedit click okay of hit the enter key System Editor opens
3. Select the Autoexec.bat or the first file Look at the top of the file. there should be an @ symbol. Type REM in front of the @ so that it looks like this REM@ Also type a REM in front of any words which have McAfee or Network Associates in them This tells Windows and DOS to ignore the command.
4. Click the File | Save or ALT+F+S
5. Click File | Exit or ALT+X
6. Reboot your machine.
7. Pay close attention to any error messages.
8. If the "ecomwr.dll file not found" error message is no longer being shown, open the Sysedit file again, then delete the lines you have Remarked (REM) out. Remember to save your changes.

To manually remove the McAfee Virus Scanner from your system do the following:

Please be advised that this next operation involves a registry edit. Please be sure to read and understand the warning below. If you do not understand it, do not perform this next step

Warning
Wrongly editing the system Registry may cause loss of data or an inability for you to boot your system into your GUI (General User Interface = Windows). always backup your system files before performing any changes. Bohunky0, Blaisdell's little Corner of the Web nor any of it's affiliates can be or will be held responsible for a bad system file edit. The end user....YOU...assumes any and all risks.

Backup the Registry
Delete the Registry Keys
Remove the McAfee VirusScan Shortcuts
Delete the McAfee VirusScan Files
Delete the McAfee VxD Files

Richard writes:

Hey guy- Enjoyed your analysis of the error message,
"missing ECOMWR.DLL" at Windows startup. There is a
patch available at:

http://www.mcafee-at-home.com/naicommon/download/patches.asp

at the bottom of the page, "CR7495.exe"
See the chart below...Bo

Backup the Registry
1. Click on the Start button.
2. Click on Run.
3. Type in REGEDIT then click the OK button. The Registry Editor will then appear.
4. Click on the Registry pull-down menu then click on Export Registry File.
5. The Export Registry File dialog box will then appear. The top of this dialog box contains an option entitled Save In. Make sure "Desktop" is selected for the Save In option. If it is not, click the pull-down arrow and select "Desktop" from the list.
6. In the File Name field type "Backup" (without the quotation marks).
7. In the Export Range group box make sure "All" is selected.
8. Click on the Save button.
NOTE: If you need to restore the Registry you can double-click on the "backup" file you created and it will be restored. However, once you have finished these instructions and are certain everything is working properly it is important to delete the "backup" file you created. Do this by right-clicking on the Backup file on the desktop then left-clicking on Delete from the pop-up menu that appears. This will ensure that the old registry is not accidentally restored once this process is complete.


Delete the Registry Keys
NOTE: The following steps may be more easily followed if you close and reopen the Registry Editor between each step. To close the Registry Editor click the X in the top right corner of the Registry Editor window. To reopen the Registry Editor follow steps 1 - 3 in the "Backup the Registry" section above.
1. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software and remove the Helix Software entry:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Single-click on the Helix Software folder so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\McAfee and remove the Scan95 and VirusScan entries:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on McAfee.
d. Single-click on Scan95 so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
e. Single-click on VirusScan so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
3. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Network Associates and remove the ECare and TVD entries:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on Network Associates.
d. Single-click on ECare so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
e. Single-click on TVD so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
4. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD and remove the FBWin95 and VSHINIT entries:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on System.
c. Double-click on CurrentControlSet.
d. Double-click on Services.
e. Double-click on VxD.
f. Single-click on FBWin95 so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
g. Single-click on VSHINIT so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
5. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and remove the related entries:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on Microsoft.
d. Double-click on Windows.
e. Double-click on CurrentVersion.
f. Single-click on Run so it is highlighted.
g. On the right side of the screen single-click on AlgoServEXE so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
h. On the right side of the screen single-click on AvconsoleEXE so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
i. On the right side of the screen single-click on McAfeeWebScanX so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
j. On the right side of the screen single-click on Mount Safe & Sound so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
k. On the right side of the screen single-click on Vshwin32EXE so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
6. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices and remove the related entries:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on Microsoft.
d. Double-click on Windows.
e. Double-click on CurrentVersion.
f. Single-click on RunServices so it is highlighted.
g. On the right side of the screen single-click on McAfeeVirusScanService so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
h. On the right side of the screen single-click on McAfeeWebScanX so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
i. On the right side of the screen single-click on VsecomrEXE so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
j. On the right side of the screen single-click on Vshwin32EXE so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
k. On the right side of the screen single-click on VsStatEXE so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
7. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall and remove (63CB7620-B423-4BF1-A7E4-75BB8B64740E):
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on Microsoft.
d. Double-click on Windows.
e. Double-click on CurrentVersion.
f. Double-click on Uninstall.
g. Single-click on (63CB7620-B423-4BF1-A7E4-75BB8B64740E) so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
8. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SharedDLLs and remove the related entries:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on Microsoft.
d. Double-click on Windows.
e. Double-click on CurrentVersion.
f. Single-click on SharedDLLs so it is highlighted.
g. Now look on the right side of the screen.
You will notice there is a Name column and a Data column. Locate the following items under the Name column and delete them.
NOTE: In order to view the entire length of the name column you will need to increase the size of the Registry Editor window so it fills your whole screen. You may also need to increase the length of the Name column by left-clicking the divider line located between the Name and Data column headings, holding down the mouse button, and dragging the divider line to the right.
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\chkvol.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\CRTDIR32.dll
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\crtvol32.dll
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\Database.ini
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\EComWr.dll
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\fbmount.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\fsshell.dll
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\fbwin95.vxd
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\rebuild.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\retake.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\retake.ini
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\S&S.cnt
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Safe & Sound\S&s.hlp
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee VirusScan\mcrtl32.dll
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Mcafecom.dll
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Mckrnl.vxd
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Mcscan32.vxd
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Mcutil.vxd
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Vshield.vxd
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Vshinit.vxd
9. If you computer is running on a network with a Microsoft Exchange Server do the following, otherwise skip to step 8:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on Microsoft.
d. Double-click on Exchange.
e. Double-click on Client.
f. Single-click on Extensions so it is highlighted.
g. On the right side of the screen single-click on Exchange Scan so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
10. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths and remove the Scan32.exe and SCRSCAN.exe entries:
a. Double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
b. Double-click on Software.
c. Double-click on Microsoft.
d. Double-click on Windows.
e. Double-click on CurrentVersion.
f. Double-click on App Paths.
g. Single-click on Scan32.exe so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
h. Single-click on SCRSCAN.exe so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
11. Search the registry and remove all occurrences of 0267BC36324B1FB47A4E57BBB84647E0:
a. On the left side of the screen, single-click on My Computer (located at the very top) so it is highlighted.
b. Click on the Edit pull-down menu then click on Find. The Find dialog box will then appear.
c. Type the following into the Find What field: 0267BC36324B1FB47A4E57BBB84647E0 (NOTE: The 0's are the number zero)
IMPORTANT: The above set of characters is case sensitive. Be sure to type capital letters.
d. Click the Find Next button.
e. The computer will then search the registry. When an occurrence of 0267BC36324B1FB47A4E57BBB84647E0 is found delete it, then press the F3 key on the keyboard to search again. Do this until you get a "Finished Searching through the Registry" message.
NOTE: You may find as many as 120 occurrences of 0267BC36324B1FB47A4E57BBB84647E0 in the registry. They all need to be removed.
12. Close the Registry Editor by clicking the X in the top right corner.


Remove the McAfee VirusScan Shortcuts
1. Right-click on the McAfee VirusScan Central shortcut located on the desktop. A pop-up menu will appear.
2. Left-click on Delete to remove the shortcut.
3. Click on the Start button.
4. Highlight Settings then click on Taskbar & Start Menu. The Taskbar Properties dialog box will then appear.
5. Click on the Start Menu Programs tab.
6. Click on the Remove button. A list of folders will then appear.
7. Locate the McAfee VirusScan folder and single-click on it so it is highlighted, then click the Remove button.
8. Locate the StartUp folder and click on the plus sign (+) next to it. If StartUp does not have a plus sign next to it skip the remaining steps in this section and continue with the "Delete the McAfee VirusScan Files" section.
9. Within the StartUp folder, single-click on Mount Safe & Sound Volumes so it is highlighted, then click the Remove button.
10. Click the Close button followed by the OK button.
11. Restart the computer.


Delete the McAfee VirusScan Files
1. Double-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop.
2. Double-click on the C: drive.
3. Double-click on the Program Files folder.
4. Single-click on the McAfee folder so it is highlighted.
5. Press the Delete key on the keyboard to delete this folder. Answer Yes to any prompts about deleting files or programs.
6. Close all open windows until you are back on the desktop.


Delete the McAfee VxD Files
1. Click on the Start button.
2. Highlight Find then click on Files or Folders. The Find Files dialog box will then appear.
3. In the Look In field type in C:\Windows\System.
4. In the Named field type in MCAFECOM.DLL then click the Find Now button.
5. The computer will then search for the file. When the file is found it will be displayed at the bottom of the dialog box.
6. Once the file is found right-click on the small icon to the left of the file's name. A pop-up menu will appear.
7. Left-click on Delete to delete the file. Answer Yes to any prompts about deleting the file.
8. Repeat steps 4 - 7 for the following files: MCKRNL.VXD, MCSCAN32.VXD, MCUTIL.VXD, VSHIELD.VXD, VSHINIT.VXD.
9. Once all of these files have been deleted close the Find Files dialog box by clicking the X in the top right corner.

McAfee VirusScan is now removed from your computer.