"bitcoin-qt.exe is not a valid Win32 application"?

[Nitupsar]

I have encountered a problem lately. Whenever I try to start the Bitcoin program I get the error message: "C:\Program Files (X86)\Bitcoin\bitcoin-qt.exe is not a valid Win32 application"

I have tried to reinstall the program, but no success. I am running Windows / Professional on a Thinkpad T430S.

Can anyone help?

[1715015061]

1715015061

[1715015061]

1715015061

[grue]

have you verified your bitcoin installation and installer with the provided checksums? Also, try "sfc /scannnow" to verify your system integrity.

[Nitupsar]

How do I do that? Please ....
 A few details would be very helpful.  

[Nitupsar]

Ok, one step further. I managed to do the scan sfc /scannnow and there were no anomalies found.

I have downloaded "MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility" from Raymond’s WordPress. And I have run the bitcoin-0.8.6-win32-setup.exe file from http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/bitcoin-0.8.6/. I found the checksum for this file.

Then I download the shasums.asc from sourceforge.net site. How do I read the checksum so I can compare the two?

And finally: How do I check the installation itself after I have run the bitcoin-0.8.6-win32-setup.exe file?

 

[Nitupsar]

Ok, I climbed Mt. Everest before lunch!

I managed to compare checksum from the site http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/bitcoin-0.8.6/SHA256SUMS.asc/view

It read:
baac30350a721472bd34e811f16bd68c4e4672cfb47df73aee12376b2adcae8d 

Then I compared it to the checksum I found when running the "MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility" and I got:
BAAC30350A721472BD34E811F16BD68C4E4672CFB47DF73AEE12376B2ADCAE8D

Looks identical to me except the last one is upper case.

Does this mean that the problem lies elsewhere?

Would it be an idea to delete the whole Bitcoin install directory and start downloading blockchain and all from scratch?

What about the Bitcoin folder in the Appdata\Roaming location, can this be safely deleted (except for the wallet.dat, of course)?

I would appreciate all good advice...

[Nitupsar]

Anybody?

[deepceleron]

If you are running that checksummed file directly (not through the start menu or shortcut) and it gives you the error, then it is not a Bitcoin problem, it is a Windows is messed up problem.

You should search your file system and make sure there is no other file named bitcoin-qt.exe that could be running.

The results of some googling:

If the error occurs at the opening of files, click Start / Run, then enter and confirm the following command:
regsvr32 /i SHELL32.DLL


To check the integrity of protected system files, run the following command:
sfc/scannow


Beagle virus infection: http://en.kioskea.net/faq/681-virus-removal-pack-for-w32-beagle-mm

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-hardware/exe-is-not-a-valid-win-32-application/dfbf2b07-1ce2-4e3c-ae7c-ff024f0c521c

Also, the file may be cached in a corrupted state by Readyboost, Superfetch, or other tech. Clear the C:\Windows\Prefetch folder and disable those services.

[Lacan82]

disable antivirus. Re-install. Re-run without AV enabled

[Nitupsar]

Thanks all! I did a clean with Emsisoft and reinstalled BTC and it all works now.