[Ramkzoo]

Hello again... sorry for my delay in replying. My internet was spotty yeserday, supposedly due to "solar interference" with the signal satellite.

Yes, I attempted running Eiwido in Safe Mode as well as Normal mode at different times. All four times the system went down shortly after starting the scan, at just under 2000 files scanned. The crash seems to occur on different files, but all seem to be dynamic link library files, ending with ".dll"

Edited by Ramkzoo, 10 October 2006 - 07:33 PM.

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Items in blue which are underlined are clickable to give more information about the process

Click start then run, type prefetch then press enter, click edit then select all, right click any file then click delete, confirm delete

Click start, all programmes, accessories, system tools to run disc clean up, then from system tools, run disc defragmenter.

Click start then run, type sfc /scannow then press enter, you need the XP CD

Windows File Protection will show a blue onscreen progress bar, when the bar goes, reboot

If you do not have an XP CD you can borrow a same version as was originally installed XP CD, if you downloaded SP2 then you need an SP1 XP CD

Download and install Tune Up 2006 Trial

Run Tune Up Disc Clean Up

Run Tune Up Registry Clean Up

Click Optimize and Improve to run Reg Defrag, which will take a few minutes and need a reboot. You should disable the antivirus programme to run this

Check the anti virus is running after the reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to optimize the computer, select computer with an internet connection from the drop down menu, this also requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to accelerate downloads, select the speed just above your actual connection speed, this requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to run system advisor

[Retired Tech]

Items in blue which are underlined are clickable to give more information about the process

Click start then run, type prefetch then press enter, click edit then select all, right click any file then click delete, confirm delete

Click start, all programmes, accessories, system tools to run disc clean up, then from system tools, run disc defragmenter.

Click start then run, type sfc /scannow then press enter, you need the XP CD

Windows File Protection will show a blue onscreen progress bar, when the bar goes, reboot

If you do not have an XP CD you can borrow a same version as was originally installed XP CD, if you downloaded SP2 then you need an SP1 XP CD

Download and install Tune Up 2006 Trial

Run Tune Up Disc Clean Up

Run Tune Up Registry Clean Up

Click Optimize and Improve to run Reg Defrag, which will take a few minutes and need a reboot. You should disable the antivirus programme to run this

Check the anti virus is running after the reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to optimize the computer, select computer with an internet connection from the drop down menu, this also requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to accelerate downloads, select the speed just above your actual connection speed, this requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to run system advisor

[Ramkzoo]

Hello again. I completed all of the steps indicated and thought we were looking good (no unexpected shutdown when running the various steps). However, after completing all of the "Optimizer" steps, doing the final reboot, and running/reviewing the System Advisor as instructed, I removed the AVG Virus scanning program and the Trojanhunter program that I had installed when searching for Malaware. (I already use McAfee's Security Center, had reactivated the Security Center's Virus Scan, and did not want any Virus Protection conflicts.) I then attempted to run the "1-Click Maintenance" under the "TuneUp 2006" and the machine crashed. I did a hard reboot (held power button down to completely power down the machine and then turned the machine back on) and then I re-ran the "1-Click Maintenance" again. This time it ran and performed its scan without issue. Feeling lucky, I attempted to run McAfee Virus Scan and the system shut down shortly into the scan.

[Retired Tech]

Can you run any of these?

Online Scans

Panda Scan

House Call

If Trend Micro freezes during updating, close then retry

Trend Micro Spyware Scan

Kaspersky Online Scan

[Ramkzoo]

I attempted to run all three online scans that you suggested. All crashed the system. Panda seemed to run the longest, or at least scanned the most files before the system went down. It indicated three spyware infections before the system crashed. I've not been able to detect a specific file causing a crash.

I've run SE Adaware and Spybot since running the Panda Scan, but no spyware was detected by either of these programs. Running them did not cause a crash.

As an FYI, I have the system power settings at always on, just in case it was mistakenly going into hibernation or automatic power down. The screen saver is also off, also "just in case" of any possible conflict.

Edited by Ramkzoo, 11 October 2006 - 10:47 AM.

[Retired Tech]

I have asked Don if another HJT Log is worth looking at, if not, you can check the memory, and / or run a repair install

Click this for a guide to using Memtest



Click this to download Memtest

Run it overnight if possible

You can use this guide to repair XP

Possibly, you will need to press the start button and keep tapping the delete key, (possibly F2) until the PC enters set up. Change the boot order to CD ROM Drive then hard drive, press F10 then press enter, load the XP CD then type Y then press enter, as it reboots, look for press any key to load from CD, press enter

You will need your XP product key to complete this

The XP Product Key is a 25 character alpha numerical code, which does not include the sequence OEM

If you have audio / video files which are subject to DRM you should check with the provider for known issues with performing an XP repair install

Click this to view the XP Repair Install Guide

Windows XP repair feature won't delete your data, installed programs, personal information, or settings. It just repairs the operating system

The XP repair install will look and run as a normal install, however, you must not see a request to format the drive

After running XP Repair you will need to install all Windows Updates

Microsoft Update

[Ramkzoo]

Keith,
I did attempt a repair install about a week ago, before I consulted "Geeks to Go." At that time, it wanted an administrator password. I know that the default is usually to leave the field blank and hit <Enter> but this does not work. It keeps asking if I have forgotten my password. There is no administrator other than myself and I did not edit this password. ANy help on how to get past this problem for the repair install of XP?

[Retired Tech]

This behavior occurs if Windows XP Setup does not complete properly. Setup assigns temporary passwords to user accounts during the upgrade process, and is supposed to remove the passwords when Setup is complete. The temporary passwords are written to the Setupact.log file that is located in the folder in which Windows is installed.

To resolve this behavior, retrieve the password from the Setupact.log file, and then use the password to log on to the computer. You must search the Setupact.log file for the following line, where Username is the name of the user account and xxxxxxxxxxxxx is the password for that account:
Random password for Username is xxxxxxxxxxxxx

http://support.micro...kb/318026/en-us

There are only two options from the link, choose which applies, FAT32 or NTFS to reset

[Ramkzoo]

Thank you very much for all of your help, Keith. I am a little puzzled as to how the Setup process would have been messed up as the system came with the XP Professional factory installed by Dell. It is not an upgrade.

Anyway, I am looking forward to resolving it no matter how it occurred.

[Ramkzoo]

Keith, I searched the file setupact.log and this line did not exist. It looks like Dell installed Windows XP over Windows NT (upgraded). Is there someting I can look for in the NT folders?

[Retired Tech]

If you boot to safe mode and select the administrator account, does it ask for a password

[Ramkzoo]

Yes, it does.

[Ramkzoo]

I just wanted to thank you for your help.

I decided to go ahead and do a clean reinstall of XP. I am now in the process of downloading all of the XP updates, driver dowloads, as well as my security program.

If you have any suggestions, they would be appreciated. For now, everything seems to be moving along cleanly.

Best Regards.

[Retired Tech]

Thank You for letting me know

[Ramkzoo]

Hello again, Keith. Well, I don't know what to say now; I finished the reinstall and have all of the updates completed. Updated drivers are reloaded; updated Bios as recommended by Dell was completed. I reinstalled the AVG Virus Scan, and ran a scan as a test. (I was not expecting it to pick up anything since I had just done the full reinstall. I also did not want to put on the McAfee Security yet since this is where I thought the trouble began.) The system crashed!

I will try your Memory Test next.