[screen_name2]

Not sure what the exact cause is, but the computer keeps randomly resetting the time and date. Any help in resolving the issue would be greatly appreciated.

255.00 Mb Total Physical Memory | 43.00 Mb Available Physical Memory | 17.00% Memory free
614.00 Mb Paging File | 269.00 Mb Available in Paging File | 44.00% Paging File free
Paging file location(s): C:\pagefile.sys 384 768 [binary data]

%SystemDrive% = C: | %SystemRoot% = C:\WINDOWS | %ProgramFiles% = C:\Program Files
Drive C: | 74.50 Gb Total Space | 1.37 Gb Free Space | 1.83% Space Free | Partition Type: NTFS

Edited by Essexboy, 07 January 2011 - 02:28 PM.
Log amended & topic moved

[Advertisements]

Essexboy one of the Malware Moderators looked at your log and apparently has determined the problem is not malware related. I have asked him to move it here for us to work on the technical side since the issue appears to be the system and not a infection.
First of all I'm going to point out a couple of things that we found that is more then likely the cause of your issue.

255.00 Mb Total Physical Memory | 43.00 Mb Available Physical Memory | 17.00% Memory free

This is the minimum amount of memory to run just the OS itself not counting anything else in your system. It may have worked in the past but with the installation of programs and the fact your Autoruns are probably very high the amount of free memory left to run is now at about 36 megs of memory.
My first suggestion is:
Go to HERE and run the Crucial online scanner.
This will give you the exact memory configuration for your system.
You do not have to buy the memory from there, but write down the information and if you need assistance in purchasing the upgrade memory GTG can assist with suggestions also.


Next and even a bigger issue is this:

Drive C: | 74.50 Gb Total Space | 1.37 Gb Free Space

You have less then 10% of free space open on your drive which in all honesty is probably causing you MFT or Master File Table to go completely screwy.
This is going to take a little work but if you can be patient with my instructions we can hopefully get this straight.

First lets try to give us some breathing room.

Download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop

• Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
• It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
• Click the Start button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
• Once it's finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.

[rshaffer61]

Essexboy one of the Malware Moderators looked at your log and apparently has determined the problem is not malware related. I have asked him to move it here for us to work on the technical side since the issue appears to be the system and not a infection.
First of all I'm going to point out a couple of things that we found that is more then likely the cause of your issue.

255.00 Mb Total Physical Memory | 43.00 Mb Available Physical Memory | 17.00% Memory free

This is the minimum amount of memory to run just the OS itself not counting anything else in your system. It may have worked in the past but with the installation of programs and the fact your Autoruns are probably very high the amount of free memory left to run is now at about 36 megs of memory.
My first suggestion is:
Go to HERE and run the Crucial online scanner.
This will give you the exact memory configuration for your system.
You do not have to buy the memory from there, but write down the information and if you need assistance in purchasing the upgrade memory GTG can assist with suggestions also.


Next and even a bigger issue is this:

Drive C: | 74.50 Gb Total Space | 1.37 Gb Free Space

You have less then 10% of free space open on your drive which in all honesty is probably causing you MFT or Master File Table to go completely screwy.
This is going to take a little work but if you can be patient with my instructions we can hopefully get this straight.

First lets try to give us some breathing room.

Download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop

• Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
• It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
• Click the Start button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
• Once it's finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.

[screen_name2]

Hey rshaffer. Thanks for the info and heads up - could definitely see how these issues are creating problems. I ran the two scans, so if there is anything else I can do to stop the bleeding, just let me know. And thanks for taking the time to help out - I do appreciate it.

[rshaffer61]

Your biggest issue is the amount of total memory.
Secondary you really need to get the drive space freed up.
How is your free space looking now?
Go to Start then to Run
Type in compmgmt.msc and click Enter
On left side click on Disk Management
On right side you will see you hard drive.
Now I need you to take a screenshot and attach it to your next reply. Do the following to take a screenshot while the above is open and showing on your desktop.

To do a screenshot please have click on your Print Screen on your keyboard. It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key
Now go to Start and then to All Programs
Scroll to Accessories and then click on Paint
In the Empty White Area click and hold the CTRL key and then click the V
Go to the File option at the top and click on Save as
Save as file type JPEG and save it to your Desktop


Attach it to your next reply

[screen_name2]

I hear you about the memory and the drive space. C drive is still packed has of right now. Attached is the screenshot.

[rshaffer61]

No screenshot included.

[screen_name2]

Including screenshot - Take 2 (lol) ...

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[rshaffer61]

OK so we have dangerously low disk space.
Lack of sufficient memory to run everything
Changing date and time.

So cmos battery replacement.
Increase memory to 1 gig
Need to open disk space up.

What I would suggest is Uninstalling All Programs you don't need or don't want anymore through Add/Remove Programs

Do this by going to

Start and then to Control Panel
Click Add/Remove Programs
Carefully choose the program(s) you don't need
Click on each Program then click Change/Remove and Follow the Uninstall Instructions

You may be prompted to Restart your computer.
Restart once you have all the programs you don't need uninstalled.
Be careful not to remove anything needed by your computer, some of which you may be unfamiliar with the name,

The next issue you need to be aware of is to Backup your Data Files.
For this I would suggest using a External Hard Drive Enclosure. This will allow you to keep your Important Data safe and Separated from the main system in case of problems.
The cost for this kind of Backup System has come down a lot. I would suggest a 500 Gig capacity for your needs.
Since you will only be Backing Up Data Files Only this should be sufficient to do that for you.

Another way you can do a Backup is by using DVD’s. This method is just as effective and can be done using the same steps as above.
Please let me know if I can answer any further questions you may have as I am always happy to assist.

[screen_name2]

Gotcha. I removed the unused programs will be start the process of clearing up the hard drive.

And thanks again for your help with all this, I really do appreciate it.

[rshaffer61]

After uninstalling all the un-needed programs and files then do the following to straighten everything up.

Rerun the TFC program from post 2.
Then do the following.

Download Auslogics Defrag from the link in my signature below. Auslogics Defrag in my opinion is better because:

It does a more comprehensive job at Defragging
It will actually show you what it is doing
At the end of working it will show you how much speed you picked up
You can view a online log of the files that Auslogics defragged
Please do not run any other Auslogics programs other then this one as they may cause unwanted results.

http://auslogics.com...defrag/download

[screen_name2]

Hey man, how's it going? I ran the defrag with the space that was left (the report was too large to attach, so I uploaded it to a mediafire - http://www.mediafire...9xwd4fpv714yms5). The other person who uses the computer still hasn't clear up much space (they have it at 1.75 free gigs on the C drive at this moment), and the computer is now restarting itself without notice.

I know the most reasonable solution is to purchase the upgrades you mentioned, but if there is anything that can be done to help stop the bleeding/stablize the computer in the meantime, please let me know.

Thanks again for your help with all this - greatly appreciated.

[rshaffer61]

I believe the only way to correct it now is to get a larger hd and then image the drive over to the larger drive. This will instantly give you room and then we can work on the other suggestions.
CMOS battery would be the cheapest of all to do as that will be only about 5 dollars to replace and can be purchased from almost any watch dealer or computer store.
Increasing the memory would help with the slowness a little but the lack of free space on the C drive is going to hinder even the increase of memory.
If it were me i would do the following in the order I am giving you.
CMOS Battery
HD
Memory