Conduit SearchProject

What is Conduit SearchProtect?

Conduit SearchProtect is an adware that changes the browser's homepage to Conduit.com. This adware will also freezes search engine settings in some browsers, so if you change search engine settings, they revert back. Conduit SearchProject is safe to remove except for Windows XP computers.

Please note: Do not uninstall using appwiz.cpl as, when users uninstall Conduit SearchProtect from Add or Remove Programs in Windows XP, Windows XP will no longer able to start after the next reboot. Affected users will be greeted with the message "NTLDR is missing. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart", and this problem occurs because the bug in the uninstaller removes its own SearchProtect files and files found in the root of the C: drive. In Windows XP, the C:\ folder contains two files called NTLDR and ntdetect.com that Windows uses to boot. Windows Vista and newer do not contain any files in the C:\ folder that are required to start Windows, and are not affected.

How to uninstall SearchProtect safely

If you have Conduit SearchProtect installed on your computer, do not uninstall it via the Add or Remove Programs control panel. Instead use a program like AdwCleaner or Junkware Removal Tool to remove Conduit SearchProtect. These tools remove the software using their own uninstall routine and are not affected by Conduit's buggy uninstaller.

How to fix the "NTLDR is missing" issue

This procedure will require a Windows XP installation CD, and Recovery CDs may not work the same way. The goal of this process is to copy the NTLDR and ntdetect.com files from the CD to the C:\ folder.

1. Press a key to boot from the Windows CD.

   • If you do not press a key, your PC will continue to boot to the Windows XP installation that's currently installed on your hard drive. If this happens, just restart and try to boot to the Windows XP CD again.

2. When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, press R to enter Recovery Console.

3. For the Which Windows installation would you like to log onto question, press 1 and then ENTER.

4. Next, type in the Windows password and press ENTER to login. 

5. It should now show C:\WINDOWS>.

6. Type d: and press ENTER.

   • Change d: with the CD-ROM drive's letter (try d, e, f or g)

7. Type cd i386 and press ENTER.

8. Type copy ntldr c:\ and press ENTER.

9. Type copy ntdetect.com c:\ and press ENTER.

10. Reboot and confirm resolution.