PC Computer Weirdness

[Gemini Cricket]

So, my computer is mega slow. It takes about ten minutes or so for it to boot up to where I can do anything with it like click on Firefox to launch it. And then when I click on it, it takes another two minutes or so for Firefox to start up.

Also, when web pages load, the pics don't load for awhile. I just get the border of the pic and the pic eventually loads but a long time after everything else does.

Any ideas?

BTD helped me the other day clearing out certain start up file thingies and it helped for a bit but not it's slow again.

I did an Ad Aware thing and a Windows Defender thing and an AVG thing and all of them say everything is ok.

ETA: Forgot to mention: I'm running Windows XP and have about 40 GB of space avail.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

The first that that popped into my head was malware infection.

Do you use file-stealing programs (e.g., LimeWire) and/or download torrents? Cause if you do, you have a malware infestation.

We use Malwarebytes (http://www.malwarebytes.org/) as one of our many scanning tools.

[Gemini Cricket]

SM ~ No. But I have all sorts of files from lots of different sources. I've transferred them from my old Mac to my PC a couple of years ago. Mostly music files.

[Moonliner]

So, my computer is mega slow. It takes about ten minutes or so for it to boot up to where I can do anything with it like click on Firefox to launch it. And then when I click on it, it takes another two minutes or so for Firefox to start up.

Also, when web pages load, the pics don't load for awhile. I just get the border of the pic and the pic eventually loads but a long time after everything else does.

Any ideas?

BTD helped me the other day clearing out certain start up file thingies and it helped for a bit but not it's slow again.

I did an Ad Aware thing and a Windows Defender thing and an AVG thing and all of them say everything is ok.

ETA: Forgot to mention: I'm running Windows XP and have about 40 GB of space avail.

Start-> RightClick on My Computer->Manage->Event Viewer->Application

Do you see any red circles with X's in them? If so what's the matching source and event number?

Start-> RightClick on My Computer->Manage->Event Viewer->System

Do you see any red circles with X's in them? If so what's the matching source and event number?


Also, once it does finally come up is it ok after that or is it always slow?

[Gemini Cricket]

SM ~ I'm scanning now.

Moonie ~ I'll do that after the scan stops. Mahalo!

[Gemini Cricket]

Start-> RightClick on My Computer->Manage->Event Viewer->Application

Do you see any red circles with X's in them? If so what's the matching source and event number?

Yes. Tons of them!
Source: userenv
Event number: 1041 (lots and lots of these!)

and

Source: MsiInstaller
event Number: 11706 and 11500 and 10005

and

Source: VBRuntime
Event Number: 1

and

source: MPSampleSubmission
Event Number: 5000

Start-> RightClick on My Computer->Manage->Event Viewer->System

Do you see any red circles with X's in them? If so what's the matching source and event number?

Source: service control manager
Event Number: 7000 and 7009 and 7011

Source: sr
Event Number: 1

Source: system error
Event Number: 1003

Source: 59
Event Number: SideBySide

Also, once it does finally come up is it ok after that or is it always slow?
Always slow...

Ok... scared here...

I did the Malwarebytes scan and this came up:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/malware.gif

Trojan?!!! That's bad, right? Is it time to take off all my clothes and go screaming into the streets?!

[Snowflake]

Trojan?!!! That's bad, right? Is it time to take off all my clothes and go screaming into the streets?!

Just so long as you're protected GC.... Sorry ;)

[Gemini Cricket]

Just so long as you're protected GC.... Sorry ;)
lol!
:D

Should I just throw my laptop away and start over? Or should I put it in a box, put that box in another box, mail the box to myself and when it arrives SMASH it with a HAMMER?!
:D

[SzczerbiakManiac]

On computers (even a Wang), trojans are bad.

[BarTopDancer]

Click "Remove Selected" then reboot your machine.

When it comes back up open up MalwareBytes, click on the Update Tab then "Update Now". If it updates run it again.

[Gemini Cricket]

Ok. brb

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Here's the thing GC. Once you have an infection, unless you completely wipe the hard drive and re-install everything (including your OS), you can never be 100% certain it's clean. You can do a bunch of different scans (the more the better because no single program will get everything) and be reasonably sure all the crap is gone, but depending on how paranoid you are, a full wipe may be safest.

When we do malware scans here at work (I do several of them a week), it takes about five hours to complete. These are the free tools I/we use:
AVG (http://free.avg.com/)
MalwareBytes (http://www.malwarebytes.org/)
SuperAntiSpyware (http://www.superantispyware.com/)
This has some pop-up warnings you may find annoying, but does a good clean-up job.
SpyBot Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html)
Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.aspx)
You may have this already if you do Windows Updates regularly. Just go to the Start menu then click "Run".
In that dialog, type "mrt" then click [OK]. If the program runs, make sure you have the current version (it's updated once a month) as noted on the title bar. If you don't have the program or if the version you have is not current, run Windows Update manually. Open IE (yes, it MUST be IE) and select "Windows Update" from the "Tools" menu.
Microsoft Security Essentials (http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/)
I have not personally used this yet, but I have heard good things about it. It's free for personal use.
I'd recommend running all of these programs, rebooting after each one completes. That's what I do when I scan peoples' computers. And I do this a LOT! As I mentioned, no single program will find everything, so hitting it with multiple assaults is your best bet (short of wiping your HD and starting over) Just budget several hours for all the scans to complete. Do not use more than one program to scan at a time and always choose to do a full/complete scan as opposed to quick/partial.

[Gemini Cricket]

I think wiping the hard drive is a good idea. But I have no idea where my disks are. They're in a box somewhere at the parents' house, I think.

I'm going to run the above.

Thanks, everybody.

BTD ~ I did the update and scanned again. It found nothing the second time.

[BarTopDancer]

We've seen those 3 at work a lot. The MalwareBytes scan has been able to remove them and alleviate any additional issues.

[Snowflake]

Well, thanks for all the advice. I'm going to go home and double check my laptop. Just in case, you never know!

Nice to know so many, in the know, if you know what I mean. :cool:

[Moonliner]

I'll bet everyone here a donut that removing the malware, while a good thing, does next to nothing to fix the performance issue.

[BarTopDancer]

I'll bet you are correct.

Brad, go to C:\Temp and delete the temporary internet files and cookies in there.

[Gemini Cricket]

Scan diddy scan scan scan.
I'm running those programs SM linked to.
So far, they haven't found much.
We'll see how it goes.
I wish I knew where my disks were.
Or should I just get Windows 7?

[Moonliner]

If you do want to rebuild, Windows7 could be an option depending on how old your Laptop is. Download/run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor.
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1b544e90-7659-4bd9-9e51-2497c146af15&displayLang=en)

If you want to say with XP, then you should be able to download the drivers for your laptop (sound, video, lan, wireless, etc...) from the manufacturers site.

As for XP any matching XP CD will do (home, professional, SP2, etc...). All you need is the software key which is typically pasted somewhere on the bottom of the laptop. If you can't scare up an XP install CD, just post it here. I expect someone would be able to squirt you a copy via the intertubes. Err, you do have a CD burner right?

[BarTopDancer]

How much RAM do you have in it?

I'd actually suggest doing the following...

After you run the scans go to Start > search > *.tmp and delete all the temp files listed. You may have to follow the path back (you can go to Start > Run and then type in the path that shows up in the search window)

THEN I'd run a disk clean up
Reboot
THEN I'd run a disk defrag
Reboot
THEN I'd run a check disk /repair:

Start
Open My Computer
Right click on the C Drive
Click Properties
Click Tools
Select Scan Now
Select both check boxes
Click Start
It may want you to reboot. This WILL render your system unavailable while it runs. Can take between 15 and 90 minutes.

-------

All I do at my new job is remove viruses and perform system maintenance. While I hate it, it has given me some new tools in my arsenal.

[Gemini Cricket]

Yes, I have a CD Burner.
:D

[Snowflake]

I'll bet everyone here a donut that removing the malware, while a good thing, does next to nothing to fix the performance issue.

What kind of donuts?

[Gemini Cricket]

I'm doing the search for the tmp files. There are hundreds of them.
It's still going...
:)

[BarTopDancer]

It's the energizer search.

You can pause the search and go to the path and delete them from there. That would also delete the files it hasn't found yet.

[Gemini Cricket]

Okay, I finished that and now am doing a disk clean up. Then I'll restart and defrag.
:)

Get it? De fag is going to defrag.
:D I crack me up!

[Gemini Cricket]

Okay, I did an analysis and the computer says it needs to be defrag-ed. So, I'm going to let that run and go get something to eat. It's a super slow thing.

[BarTopDancer]

Good idea. When you get back let us know how much RAM it has.

[Gemini Cricket]

2GB total, 1.96GB available.

[BarTopDancer]

No reason it should be that slow.

[Gemini Cricket]

It's defragging and only at 41% right now.

[Gemini Cricket]

Holy Mostaccioli! It's only at 44%.

[Betty]

Another option if this doesn't help is to see if the computer came with a part of the hard drive partitioned off with an image of the operating system on it. Alot of the laptops I've bought for work in the last few years have that instead of coming with restore cd's. (Although they do recommend you make your own CD's from the computer just in case.)

If you go to my computer and see a second hard drive listed, that may be it. You would contact the manufacturer for the key sequence to bring up the restore thing when you reboot then it puts the computer back to just you way you it was when you bought it. So, you'd need to back up your stuff first of course.

Oh - and I too would like to know about the doughnuts. And what about the spelling of donuts. Is it doughnuts or donuts? Hmmmm? I like the cinnamon rolls that are like a giant swirl and the round raised ones covered in crunchy sugar.

[Gemini Cricket]

Hmm, interesting idea, Betty but I have no idea how to do that. I know I have a second drive that backs up everything...

[Gemini Cricket]

Do I get donuts? Why don't I get donuts?



So, the defrag is done. I rebooted. It seems the same... Hmm.

[Moonliner]

Do I get donuts? Why don't I get donuts?



So, the defrag is done. I rebooted. It seems the same... Hmm.

Oh yeah! Ship me those doughnuts!!!

[BarTopDancer]

Start
Run
msconfig
Start-Up Tab

You may need to take screen shots and post what is starting when the machine boots.

I also suggest removing of all the anti-spyware software you installed (but you only need to do one reboot in the end vs rebooting after each install).

How many anti-virus programs do you have installed?

[Gemini Cricket]

Windows Defender
AVG
AdAware
Spyware Doctor
Norton Security Scan
DiskAid
Malwarebytes
Microsoft Security Essentials
Spybot

[BarTopDancer]

Uninstall Spyware Doctor and Spybot. MalwareBytes and AdAware are both suitable.

I Googled Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender - both are anti-virus programs provided by Microsoft. If you haven't paid for them you can remove them too leaving just AVG (you shouldn't be running more than one AV program anyway - they fight with each other)

AdAdware doesn't need to start when the machine does.

The other thing to check is to see if you have hidden files selected or if they are unhidden. To do this open Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View > Show hidden files and folders. If they ARE hidden, after you uninstall all that other software rerun the MalwareBytes scan. Your AVG is up to date, right?

[Moonliner]

Windows Defender
AVG
AdAware
Spyware Doctor
Norton Security Scan
DiskAid
Malwarebytes
Microsoft Security Essentials
Spybot

Bad Cricket! Bad!


By the way, was this PC once part of a corporate LAN? Some of the error messages you posted look like your laptop is trying to "phone home" for access rights.

[BarTopDancer]

Oh and I don't want doughnuts. I want cake. Specifically chocolate cake with raspberry filling and white butter cream frosting with butter cream roses.

[Gemini Cricket]

I'm uninstalling now.
Not part of a corporate LAN.
:)

[Gemini Cricket]

Hey, I think I figured something out! Yeah, me! Hard to believe, no?

So using Windows Defender I took a look at what programs start up when I turn the computer on. There's a lot of them. Maybe that's what's slowing everything down.

If I take screenshots of them, do you think you guys could tell me which ones I can remove or disable?

[BarTopDancer]

Yes, please post them.

That is what I was hoping to do with the msconfig steps.

And then get rid of Windows Defender.

[Gemini Cricket]

As you can see, I disabled some already. Like the one in Japanese. I'm thinking I can delete it. What do you think?

And what's with the NA ones? Is Lisa hacking me?

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/Untitled-2-24.gif

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/Untitled-4-1.gif

[BarTopDancer]

Does not need to start:
iTunes
imscinst.exe doesn't need to start (read here (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/ImScInst.exe-3444.html))

Can you screen shots of the start > run > msconfig > tools tab too? It seems like some processes are missing. And screen shots of your add/remove programs.

I really think the Windows Defender, and MS Security Essentials are causing a lot of the slowness.

Did you run the check disk repair yet?

[Gemini Cricket]

Did you run the check disk repair yet?
Not yet.

I will do that next.

:)

[Gemini Cricket]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/Untitled-2-25.gif

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/Untitled-4-2.gif

[BarTopDancer]

OOps. I meant Start Up.

Sorry! :(

[Gemini Cricket]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/1.gif

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/2.gif

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/3.gif

[BarTopDancer]

Looks like only the necessary files are selected.

What have you uninstalled so far?

[Gemini Cricket]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/11.gif
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/22.gif
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/33.gif
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/44.gif

[Gemini Cricket]

Looks like only the necessary files are selected.

What have you uninstalled so far?
Only the ones you said before.
:)

[BarTopDancer]

You don't need:

MS Works (You have MS Office installed)
Windows Defender
Norton Security Scan & all Symantec applications (unless you paid for a subscription - if you did uninstall AVG instead)

I also see some random media editing software on there. If you use it, keep it. If not, uninstall it.

[Gemini Cricket]

I did all the computer shenanigans so far and it actually is moving a little bit faster. But not much. But I appreciate all the help!
I think a reinstall is in order. Alas.
:)

[BarTopDancer]

Bleh.

Do you have system restore turned on?

[Gemini Cricket]

Bleh.

Do you have system restore turned on?
Yes.

[BarTopDancer]

Last thing I can think of is to delete old restore points.

Here (http://www.ehow.com/how_5089035_delete-restore-points.html)are some easy steps to do this.

EDIT!!!!!!!!!

Only do this if you are sure your machine is otherwise stable. It will delete the old ones and create a new one.

[Gemini Cricket]

Last thing I can think of is to delete old restore points.

Here (http://www.ehow.com/how_5089035_delete-restore-points.html)are some easy steps to do this.

EDIT!!!!!!!!!

Only do this if you are sure your machine is otherwise stable. It will delete the old ones and create a new one.
I did it. It cleared up 6GB of space!!
Thanks!
:)

[BarTopDancer]

How is the performance now?

May want to run another defrag.

[Gemini Cricket]

How is the performance now?

May want to run another defrag.
You know, it seems to be a little bit faster. But it could be my imagination. Or it could be an overdose of caffeine.

I'll do another defrag now. See you in a month!
:D

[BarTopDancer]

If it's a laptop bring it with you ;)

[Ghoulish Delight]

You know, it seems to be a little bit faster. But it could be my imagination. Or it could be an overdose of caffeine.

:D
If you poured coffee on your laptop, that could explain all of this.

[Gemini Cricket]

If it's a laptop bring it with you ;)
Will do.
:)
If you poured coffee on your laptop, that could explain all of this.
Well, I did try that before hitting it with a hammer and having it exorcised*.




*You have to give a retired deacon father something to do...

[Gemini Cricket]

May want to run another defrag.
I just noticed that the defrag shows you green 'unmovable files'. Wow! Like nobody can move them? Like ever? Neat!



I bet I can move them.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

What file system are you using? If you're on NTFS, defragging will do very little—if anything—to improve system performance.

[BarTopDancer]

I just noticed that the defrag shows you green 'unmovable files'. Wow! Like nobody can move them? Like ever? Neat!



I bet I can move them.

Smashing the hard drive does != moving files ;)

[Gemini Cricket]

What file system are you using? If you're on NTFS, defragging will do very little—if anything—to improve system performance.
Not sure how do I find out?
The defrag is over and the computer is moving a little faster.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Open My Computer
Right-click on your C: drive
Click the General tab
It will be displayed next to File System

[Gemini Cricket]

Open My Computer
Right-click on your C: drive
Click the General tab
It will be displayed next to File System
Yes, it is NTFS.

[Gemini Cricket]

Update:
The computer is running faster. It's still slow, but it's a lot faster than what it was.
:)
Thanks, everybody!