Mirc and loss of command line functions

Hi all, this is the first topic I've started, so not sure it'sn the right place. Anyway the problem is I have lost all of my command line functions, i.e.; telnet, ping, any of the net commands, etc.
Nearest I can figure is this happened after I downloaded and installed an MIRC client.
I can use the command line if I cd into winnt\system32, then everything seems to work fine.
Has anyone seen anything like this? I've scanned for viri(Norton 2003, completely updated), I've ran Spybot and Adaware(all updates), and all report clean. I could probably do a clean install of the OS, but I have everything the way I like it, and I'm not all that sure I could recreate it. My question is, has anyone seen this, and would it be much of a problem to leave as is? I've been monitoring my home network with SNORT and Ethereal and haven't seen any abnormal traffic.

Which OS do you use?

Sorry, Win XP pro.

And what specifically is the error that pops up when you attempt ping, traceroute, etc? Have you tried The Cleaner to do a thorough check for trojans? When you did the virus scan, is the dat file the most recent and did you do it in safe mode rather than regular mode (as some viruses "disable"/interfere with AV usage)?

Error message is i.e.; 'netstat' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. No I didn't check in safe mode, I'll do that, thank you.

Sounds to me like you need to check your PATH environment variable. Control Panel>Advanced>Environment Variables. Make sure "%SystemRoot%\System32\" is in the path.

-Maestr0

It sounds like you may have installed a mIRC Script, yes? Was it the program itself or a script addon? The reason I ask is because it sounds like a malicious script...... I hope you have the System Restore Service running if so........

It was the program itself, I tried system restore but when I picked a date and rebooted it said it couldn't complete. It is on and I have used it before but since this problem arose it doesn't work. I really am not sure if the MIRC program is the cause but that is the only change between working and not working.

Hmmm that's strange. Have you tried to boot to the "Last Known Good" system configuration in the advanced boot options? Reboot and hold Ctrl or tap F8....That may work. Also, did you try a couple different restore points? You may have to go back a bit more, some may be corrupt for whatever reason.

I've installed mIRC several times and I never had any problems with it.
Looking at your problem I think Maestr0 hit the nail on the head. Your path is screwed up.

check the environment variable path

Quote:

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Control Panel>Advanced>Environment Variables. Make sure "%SystemRoot%\System32\" is in the path.

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or just go to the command prompt and type "path" and check if system32 is in the path. if not then add the path its like this type at the prompt

path=%path%;"%SystemRoot%\winnt\System32\"

[edit] ok just do one thing type this at the prompt
path=%path%;%SystemRoot%\winnt\System32\"
then check the netstat or ping command and tell what happens