I am having the exact same issue and can't get the HJE to run even after renaming the file. It's actually preventing me from doing anything with the HJE once it is installed so now i have that to deal with also. Is there another way to find what is wrong or am I going to have to do a complete wipe basically.

cbohn10000, you can follow the instructions in my signature about posting in the HijackThis forum - getting HJT to run is not a requirement, they have other diagnostics as well. It all depends on your time constraints. Since cleaning a system can take a while, especially online vs. hands-on, sometimes I think it's more efficient to wipe if you have clean backups of important data. I know a couple people who wipe every 6 months to keep their systems running smoothly, but that's mainly since they like to install, test, and uninstall software.