[sweetdave]

Some oddities - which may not be your province. If not, a) you may be able to point me in the right direction, and b) they may throw some light on what the *&%'=# is going on, inside my machine. If neither, sorry to trouble you with them.

1) Trivial thing. I play solitaire quite a bit. Now, when playing, from time to time, the screen flicks dark for an instant. I can live with it, but a) it never used to do this, and b) it does get on my nerves......

2) More serious. Outlook express has developed a glitch. Attachments cannot be opened in OE. There seems nothing wrong with the attachment, since, if I save it to desktop, I can open it with Notepad, or Windows Media & Fax viewer, as appropriate.

3) As a 'work around' I thought I would install Thunderbird. I have a download, stored on disc, but when I try to click 'Run' - it just sits there - no error message, but no action. So, I deleted the stored download, & Googled for a new one. When I get the File Dowlonad Security Warning, whether I click on 'Save', or click on 'Run', similar thing - it just hangs. The 'Cancel' button works fine, tho!

Wierd!!!!!

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1) I have never heard of solitare doing that, and i haven't the slightest idea of what it could be...

2) For Outlook Express, reinstall. See this link for instructions.

3) I think your thunderbird problem is related to what I'm about to tell you...


I noticed a few strange things in your HijackThis log. I'm not sure if you are infected or not, so I'd like for you to have your computer checked out by a malware expert to make sure your computer is clean. For all I know, there is an infection that is preventing us from solving your problem.

Please follow all the directions found here. After you get to step 5, if your problem is not resolved, post a HijackThis log in the Malware forum. If your problem persists after getting a clean bill of health from a malware expert, return here and we'll continue troubleshooting.

Keep in mind, the malware forum is very busy and can take up to 5 days to receive a reply. There is a special forum called The Waiting Room if you've been waiting for 3 or more days. You can put a link to your topic & a short description of your problem and someone will get with you soon.

[computerwiz12890]

1) I have never heard of solitare doing that, and i haven't the slightest idea of what it could be...

2) For Outlook Express, reinstall. See this link for instructions.

3) I think your thunderbird problem is related to what I'm about to tell you...


I noticed a few strange things in your HijackThis log. I'm not sure if you are infected or not, so I'd like for you to have your computer checked out by a malware expert to make sure your computer is clean. For all I know, there is an infection that is preventing us from solving your problem.

Please follow all the directions found here. After you get to step 5, if your problem is not resolved, post a HijackThis log in the Malware forum. If your problem persists after getting a clean bill of health from a malware expert, return here and we'll continue troubleshooting.

Keep in mind, the malware forum is very busy and can take up to 5 days to receive a reply. There is a special forum called The Waiting Room if you've been waiting for 3 or more days. You can put a link to your topic & a short description of your problem and someone will get with you soon.

[sweetdave]

Thank you for your reply. So far as Outlook Express is concerned, I have a small problem - my machine came with software pre-installed. I do not have a 'proper' Windows XP disc, only a couple of 'support' discs from the supplier. So, I propose going back to them, and asking them to tell me how to re-install OE 'their way'. I will let you know how this works out.

So far as the malware question is concerned, thanks for your advice. I will get on with this, and let you know, in due course, where i get to.

I must say, you guys do a fantastic job. I am most grateful.

P.S. - anything involving tinkering with the Registry I intend to stay well away from - I regard it much the same way I would an unexploded bomb! I would even need to be 1000% convinced of the abilities of a real-life hands-on techie, fiddling with it. (I used to work with 'primitive' computers, starting in the late 1960's - I think I know when to keep my hands OFF something!). I was a trouble-shooter, then - I know what it's like trying to do a 'post-mortem' without proper sight of the body!!

[sweetdave]

Just spent about 8 hours straight following through!! (now 3 am!)

Java still does not work, [bleep]!!

I will follow up with the malware boys, and come back to you if & when appropriate.

(Hope I don't need to - nothing personal! )

[sweetdave]

- Apologies for turning up again, still having Java probs.

Your malware colleague was very helpful, and with his guidance, cleared out a lot of trojans, and other nasties. My anti-virus prog has given me a clear bill of health, now, and (almost) all seems OK on that front. The only thing that hasn't gone to plan is that, although I have a HOSTS file (I can find it, and read with wtih Wordpad) the SpyWareBlaster prog. that is supposed to create a backup of it, fails to find it! Still, he says not to worry!!

But - Java still won't play ball with me!! Any further ideas, please?

[computerwiz12890]

Apologies for turning up again, still having Java probs.

No need to apologize, that's why I'm here: to fix problems.

Your host problem, I may be able to solve, although it is no big deal. Manually find it again, and report on how it looks. Does it look like "hosts" or "HOSTS"? And when you right-click on it and select Properties, what does it say next to the catagory "type of file"?

As for Java, did you have a firewall active before I sent you to malware? I discovered, while helping someone else, that their firewall was the whole cause of their problems with Java. If you've had a firewall active this whole time, that could very well be your problem too.

[sweetdave]

Thanks for coming back to me promptly.

A) - it looks like 'HOSTS'. I do notice that your colleague gave the path as including 'SYSTEM32' I have 'system32' Would the difference typeface affect anything?

B) It contains :-
# Copyright © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a "#" symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
#
127.0.0.1 localhost


C) 'Type of File File' (In Properties sheet)

--------------------------

So far as Java goes - Yes, I am firewalled. In fact, I use a Linksys WAG54 router, which my son bought, and a friend of his set it up. His (my son) computer uses the wireless link - mine is a cable connection to it.

I am told a) it has a hardware firewall, b) the whole thing is password-guarded & encrypted - "Dad - don't touch it".

Trying to access it is desperately slow - when any setting is changed, a message says 'should go back to previous page in 5 seconds' - it has been known to take 5 MINUTES!!

I have also, some time ago, switched on the Windows firewall. I am not aware that adding the Windows firewall changed anything (except perhaps to make the machine run slower (it is pretty sluggish, much of the time)).

Edited by sweetdave, 08 May 2006 - 04:00 AM.

[computerwiz12890]

I don't think the caps on SYSTEM32 will affect it, but even if that does make a difference, I would not rename SYSTEM32 since that could dangerously affect your system. As for HOSTS, rename it to "hosts" (without the quote). See if Spyware Blaster can back it up now.

As for the router firewall, that would not block Java.

As for the Windows firewall, try disabling it. The following website will show you how to disable it:

http://www.utmem.edu...sp2firewall.htm

[sweetdave]

Again, thanks. I renamed HOSTS to hosts and also Hosts - still SpyWareBlaster doesn't find it.

I have disabled the Windows firewall.

After doing that, I went to the Java site, and repeated the 'Verify' test. Still, get, on Tests 1 & 2, the coloured line extending, but no animated piccies. On test 3, the coloured line extends, and there is a white square with X - nothing more.

I attach the list of error that the Java Console complains about - in the hope that there may be some clue buried in there.

Attached Files

•  Java.txt   5.21KB   464 downloads

[gerryf]

Hi SweetDave,

CW will be going out of town and asked others take over some of this threads.


Could you do me a favor and check the following.

Right Click MY COMPUTER, choose PROPERTIES, choose ADVANCED and choose ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES...

Double click CLASSPATH, and copy the entry here

[sweetdave]

Hi gerryf - thanks for taking over.

Hmmm - I followed your instructions as far as 'Environment Variables'. But, nowhere do I see 'Classpath'. I have scrolled down through all the System Variables.

There is an item 'Path' - which reads "%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Roxio Shared\DLLShared"

Any help?

[gerryf]

If you do not have a class path, then that is your issue

In the same place, click NEW

in variable name, type:
CLASSPATH

in variable value, type:
C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\lib\ext\QTJava.zip

[sweetdave]

Okaaaay.......

Well, I typed in the name & path you gave me - actually, I cut/pasted them to be sure I got them right.

Then tested Java (Java download page - 'Verify Java') - no go.

So, I thought, maybe it needed a Restart, to bed in the change.

Wierd!! Computer would not turn off (Start/Turn Off) either to close down, nor to restart. I had to press the hardware Reset button to get the thing to close down! Once it had restarted, it would close down & restart normally, again! However, Yahoo Messenger, which I had deactivated in the Start menu, now is active again (and I can't see where it is, to knock it out again, [bleep]! Only want it to load when I call it, not automatically)

On restart, I checked that the CLASSPATH thingie was in place, as per. It was.

Tested Java again - still no joy. I get the long screed in the Java console, and 'exception:Java.lang.NullPathPointerException' at the bottom/right of the screen.

Tests 1 and 2 for Java just result in the coloured bars extending, and test 3 gives a white rectangle, with a red X top left.

[gerryf]

Use explorer to navigate to

C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\lib\ext\

Does the folder exist?

[sweetdave]

Yes - tho path is slightly diff - program files - not Program Files - if this makes any diff?

It contains 3 files -

dnsns.jar
sun_jceprovider.jar
sunpkcs11.jar