Re: Slow System

From: Michael D. Alligood (michael_at_noemail.com)
Date: 08/04/04 

Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 16:47:58 -0400

This behavior can be associated with spyware programs and viruses.
Anti-virus software and
firewalls do not fully protect your system against the majority of spyware
and privacy threats. Spyware is commonly bundled with software downloads,
attached to e-mails, or transmitted through networks so it can appear to be
legitimate software, but once installed it can be nearly impossible to
detect and remove without the help of a dedicated spyware removal tool such
as:

Ad-Aware 6.0 (build 6.181)
http://www.lavasoftusa.com

SpyBot 1.3
http://www.safer-networking.org/

SpyWare Blaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html/

HiJackThis
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html

Please make sure that you download the updates for each of these programs to
ensure complete detection of known spyware programs. Although nothing is
absolute in removing spyware and keeping it off, downloading and executing
the programs above can dramatically decrease future infections.

Also please utilize free online virus scans from the following sites:

Trend:
http://housecall.antivirus.com
http://housecall.trendmicro.com

F-Secure:
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml

McAfee:
http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/mfs/default.asp

Panda:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/

Symantec:
http://security.symantec.com/

BitDefender
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/license.php

In addition, you can direct your question News Groups that specialize in
virus infections...
    microsoft.public.scripting.virus.discussion
    microsoft.public.security.virus
    alt.comp.virus
    alt.comp.anti-virus

After Spyware / Adware is remove, you may get an error finding files on
reboot

After you use anyone of these programs (with the exception of HiJackThis)
you may receive an error of some sort after rebooting your system. This is
pretty common. Many spyware programs add themselves in the Startup location
and execute when Windows boots. If you receive an error when rebooting after
removing spyware, do not panic. This is more than likely a startup remnant
trying to access the spyware program that is no longer on your computer.
HiJackThis is a great utility to find and remove these startup remnants.
However, there is a less technical way of removing these items:

(1) Click START to RUN and type: msconfig
(2) Select the STARTUP tab
(3) Uncheck the file that pertained to the startup error message you
received
(4) Click APPLY and OK
(5) Reboot your system

If this fails to fix the startup error message after reboot, there are still
options:

(1) Navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\StartMenu\Programs\Startup
(2) Delete the icon that pertained to the startup error message you received
(3) Navigate to C:\Documents and
Settings\username\StartMenu\Programs\Startup
(4) Delete the icon that pertained to the startup error message you received
(5) Reboot your system 

-- 
Best of luck!
Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCP, CCNA, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW A, CIW CI
"David" <davidmcrosby@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:008601c47a5e$f352f070$a301280a@phx.gbl...
> Hello
>
> I am hoping that you can provide me with some support.
> Repeated attempts to log on to Microsoft Help have been
> met with the response that the server is unavailable.  I
> had Windows XP Pro installed on a computer with the
> following specifications:
>
> Intel Pentium III processor, 498 MHz
> 512 RAM
> 80 GB Hardisk (70 % of the space is free)
>
> Microsoft had told me that this machine could run XP Pro
> without difficulty. Following performance issues
> (slowness) it was recommended that I uninstall and then re-
> install XP Pro.  This has been done but the performance
> has deteriorated.  This is what is bizarre. There have
> been brief periods where the performance has been fine.
> The problems have two principal manifestations:
>
> 1) The mouse freezes (it is a Microsoft Wheel Mouse
> Optical USB with Intellipoint 4.0 software).  The computer
> will sometimes make a bell-like sound and sometimes the
> mouse will re-vive and sometimes not.  The solution is
> either to re-boot or pull the USB plug out of the port and
> replace it.  Would it help to purchase a new mouse? If so
> what do you recommend.
>
> 2) The system itself is very slow to boot up and sometimes
> does not boot-up at all.  Programs are very slow to load.
> Given that the system takes so long to load, it makes
> shutting it down to re-activate the mouse a very
> unattractive option.  I am aware though that the port is
> not designed to have the cord plugged in 15-20 times a day.
>
>   It has been explained to me that Norton Utilities slows
> everything down.  The system also has Spybot which I run
> on a regular basis.  I have had a technician in who said
> that the system does not have enough processing power to
> run XP Pro.  This is at odds with what Microsoft told me
> several months ago.  It also doesn't make sense that this
> is true given that there have been times when the
> performance was very good.  I just don't understand why it
> deteriorates.
>
> At this point I am at the end of my tether.  I would
> appreciate any thoughts you may have.  If the diagnosis is
> that this system cannot run XP Pro then fine I perhaps
> need to buy a new computer.  I look forward to hearing
> from you.
>
> Many thanks.
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
>
>
>

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