Re: Mindboggling weirdness

"Dudely" <ab3331@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:173e2e9b-a3be-42f5-87fc-3d5d96c54673@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yesterday I wrote:

I've been getting nasty blue screen crashes for awhile now, so I'm
guessing I need some new hardware; probably the mamaboard. [I say this
because my mouse is also acting funky. It stops and starts, jumping
backwards, executing random button clicks and drags, and just
generally acting annoying. I cleaned it, that's not the problem.
It's a regular ps/2 mouse.]

Symptoms appear to be a compromised system.
Run a full system virus scan with fully up-to-date definitions.

**It is very important to run the update for each program before running the app/s to be sure you have the latest definitions.**
Run the programs in Safe Mode after assuring you have shut down all running tasks except explorer or systray and all apps are fully up to date.
Remove your Temp Internet files: Right click IE. Under the General tab click Delete Files, put a check in Delete all Offline..., click OK and close when finished.
Delete all files in c:\windows\temp.

Download/run Cool Web Shredder from:
http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html

For Info on Cool Web Search variants:
http://www.richardthelionhearted.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html

Download/install/run Ad-Aware SE to detect/rid of any other parasites/spyware that may be installed. It can be obtained free from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
After installing Ad-Aware, open it and click on the ref update to get the latest up-to-date ref file, then run Ad-Aware and delete everything it finds.

Download/install/run Spybot - Search & Destroy:
http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download
Run it at it's default settings until you learn an know more about it. Spybot S&D is more of an advanced users tool and changing from the default settings can be dangerous to the novice user. Items found in the default settings that are RED can usually be safely removed. If you are unsure of a found item, do not remove it and ask for help.

If you still have problems, download/run HijackThis from:

http://www.aumha.org/secure.htm
http://www.richardthelionhearted.com/~merijn/downloads.html
http://majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html

Copy HJT to it's own folder, this is where the log files will be saved. Run HJT in Normal Mode.
Do not remove anything with it until you get advice on what to remove, HJThis will list many apps that are needed along with the bad ones. Removing items listed hap-hazardly without knowing what they are can/will create a royal mess. Read the quick start here on how to create a log file that can be copied/pasted into a forum that can provide assistance on removal of unwanted pests.
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/#quick

Then post the logs to an appropriate forum where they specialize in spyware/hijacker removal. Please read any sticky notes for proper posting which are most commonly posted first at the top in each specific forum. Read any information under each forum category name for information on what that particular one is used for, look for the proper one that you post logs to.
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/
http://aumha.net/
http://forum.aumha.org/

After running the above and assuring you have a clean machine:
It’s also a good idea to have a HOSTS file to block bad sites, scroll to HOSTS File Manager here:
http://www.mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/Software.htm

Download/install/run SpywareBlaster which stops the bad boys before they even get a chance to install:
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html


However, money has been tight for awhile so I've been living with it.
Unfortunately, last night it crashed particularly badly and almost
nothing works anymore.

I can't bring up Outlook or IE. I can't open any folders, I can't
open Control Panel. They all crash. I can still run cmd though, and
my ancient Windows Commander still works too so I can transfer files
from my Win2000 machine if I need to. It only goes in one direction
though - it would seem that whatever service it uses on XP isn't
running so I can only pull files, not push them (ie. I can run WC on
XP and copy files from Win2000. My Win2000 machine can't find XP on
the LAN.)

I tried reinstalling (upgrade, not fresh install) and for the most
part it seemed to go pretty well, however near the end it tried to
install a bunch of dll files which it claimed it couldn't find. As
best as I remember, there's only one installation disk for XP Pro,
yes? (2002 version "includes service pack 2")

After retrying many times, I finally told it to just continue without
the file. It missed easily a dozen files with the same problem. I
guess my CD went bad???

I checked the event log and there was mention of 3 files - mshtml.dll,
oledlg.dll and ADVPACK.dll. I figured maybe I could just copy those
off the CD and expand them to the system32 directory. That worked,
but it didn't fix my original problem. Everything is still crashing.

So, I tried using expand to copy all of the i386/ dll files to my
system32/ directory and that seemed to work just fine. However, it
doesn't appear to have any effect in terms of fixing my original
problem. I also ran chkdsk.

Any ideas on what the problem really is, and how to fix it?

See above.


For the record, I ran ad-aware which found some tracking cookies
which I deleted. I tried to run spyblaster but it needs an upgrade,
and the upgrade/update won't download as it seems to depend on IE,
which crashes. It just doesn't feel like a virus issue anyway.

I got a couple of responses to the above and at someone's suggestion,
I ran SFC /scannow as well as CCleaner. No change.

Since nothing appeared to work and I need to get this fixed, I broke
down and bought a new disk today. I did a fresh XP Pro (SP2) install
on it and booted it. The first thing I noticed is there were no icons
- other than the recycler icon. That's not right is it? There were
no errors finding DLLs or anything else so I guess my CD is ok.

Right click on the desktop.
Click Properties > Desktop tab > Customize Desktop button.
Under Desktop Icons select the ones you want visible on the desktop.
Click Ok > Apply > Ok.


The next thing I noticed is that I can't connect to the Internet - I
have a DSL connection. In fact, I can't see the Win2000 computer on
my LAN either. I can't ping my DSL modem. IPCONFIG shows totally
blank. Network wizard won't do anything since it doesn't seem to find
the NIC. I unplugged the Ethernet cable just as a brief test, and
sure enough the light on my hub went out, I put it back in the hub
light came back on. So clearly it's not the hardware.

On the desktop Right click My Computer.
Click Properties > Hardware tab > Device Manager button.
Is Network Adapters in the devices menu?
If no, you need to install the drivers for your modem/network card/integrated chip.
If yes, click the plus sign (+) for Network Adapters to expand the tree.
Double click your listed network device to open its properties.
Under the General tab what is reported under Device Status.


Now baffled, I booted XP from the old hard disk with the problem.
Sure enough, the network connection to the Internet works, I can ping
anywhere in the world (except the original problem remains, most
programs crash).

See top of response to post.


So, clearly it's not a hardware issue but the software isn't doing
what it's supposed to do. I'm at my wits end. If a fresh install on
a new hard drive doesn't work what's a guy supposed to do?

See above.


Thanks in advance.


--


Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375


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