[Dr_hfuhruhurr]

Good news! Managed to reboot in normal mode after going through the device manager options. The culprit was Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery - the swine. There were no items listed in Problem Devices, but a few entries in resource conflicts/sharing, I'll attach a screenshot.

Attached Files

•  conflicts.bmp   474.46KB   217 downloads

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Not sure I even know what Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery does but at least that solves the problem. I guess it must have gotten updated or something recently. The infections you had were pretty old so not really the cause.

Now that you are in regular mode:

Start, Run, eventvwr.msc, OK to bring up the Event Viewer. Right click on System and Clear All Events, No (we don't want to save the old log), OK. Repeat for Application.

Reboot.


2. Double-click VEW.exe
3. Under 'Select log to query', select:

* System
4. Under 'Select type to list', select:
* Error
* Warning


Then use the 'Number of events' as follows:


1. Click the radio button for 'Number of events'
Type 20 in the 1 to 20 box
Then click the Run button.
Notepad will open with the output log.


Please post the Output log in your next reply then repeat but select Application.

That will show me if anything else needs fixing.

Ron

[RKinner]

Not sure I even know what Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery does but at least that solves the problem. I guess it must have gotten updated or something recently. The infections you had were pretty old so not really the cause.

Now that you are in regular mode:

Start, Run, eventvwr.msc, OK to bring up the Event Viewer. Right click on System and Clear All Events, No (we don't want to save the old log), OK. Repeat for Application.

Reboot.


2. Double-click VEW.exe
3. Under 'Select log to query', select:

* System
4. Under 'Select type to list', select:
* Error
* Warning


Then use the 'Number of events' as follows:


1. Click the radio button for 'Number of events'
Type 20 in the 1 to 20 box
Then click the Run button.
Notepad will open with the output log.


Please post the Output log in your next reply then repeat but select Application.

That will show me if anything else needs fixing.

Ron

[Dr_hfuhruhurr]

Looking good here. the two logs were as follows:
Vino's Event Viewer v01c run on Windows XP in English
Report run at 28/01/2012 06:59:25

Note: All dates below are in the format dd/mm/yyyy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Application' Log - error Type
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Application' Log - warning Type
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vino's Event Viewer v01c run on Windows XP in English
Report run at 28/01/2012 06:59:25

Note: All dates below are in the format dd/mm/yyyy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Application' Log - error Type
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Application' Log - warning Type
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[RKinner]

That's about all I see so I think we can clean up now.

We need to clean up System Restore.

Copy the following:

:Commands
[CLEARALLRESTOREPOINTS]
[Reboot]

Run OTL. In the Custom Scans/Fixes box at the bottom, paste in the copied text (Ctrl + v) and then hit Run Fix.

You can uninstall or delete any tools we had you download and their logs.
To uninstall combofix, copy the next line:

"%userprofile%\Desktop\combofix.exe" /Uninstall

Start, Run, cmd, OK then right click, Paste, then hit Enter.

OTL has a cleanup tab so if you run it again and select cleanup it will remove itself and its backup files.

To hide hidden files again (If you do not run OTL cleanup):

XP

# Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
# Double-click on the My Computer icon.
# Select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.
# After the new window appears select the View tab.
# Uncheck the checkbox labeled Display the contents of system folders.
# Under the Hidden files and folders section select the 'Hide protected operating system files (recommended)' option.
# Check the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.
# Press the Apply button and then the OK button and shutdown My Computer.

You probably do not have the latest Java (Java™ 6 Update 29 or 7 update 1). Get the latest at:
http://www.java.com/en/

Save it to your PC then close all browsers and install it. Note on Java and Firefox. For some reason Java does not remove old consoles from Firefox. Any time you update Java you should do Firefox, Add-ons, Extensions and disable any old Java Consoles

They will look like: Java Console 6.xx. The xx corresponds to the update number. When they switch to 7 update 0 then it will be Java Console 7.

Multiple Java Consoles will slow down the Firefox boot. After any change to Firefox or its extension you should run Speedyfox. (Mentioned later.)



Also make sure you have the latest versions of any adobe.com products you use like Shockwave, Flash or Acrobat.

Whether you use adobe reader, acrobat or fox-it to read pdf files you need to disable Javascript in the program. There is an exploit out there now that can use it to get on your PC. For Adobe Reader: Start, All Programs, Adobe Reader, Edit, Preferences, Click on Javascript in the left column and uncheck Enable Acrobat Javascript. OK Close program. It's the same for Foxit reader except you uncheck Enable Javascript Actions.

To help keep your programs up-to-date you should download and run the UpdateChecker:
http://www.filehippo.../updatechecker/
(You don't need to download Betas and if there is a program you don't use you can just uninstall it rather than update it. You can right click on the updatechecker icon (looks like a downward green arrowhead) and select Settings and tell it no betas. If you don't use MSN Messenger I would not upgdate it. MS installs a bunch of stuff when you do. You can tell the program to not show you that update.)
If you use Firefox or Chome then get the AdBlock Plus Add-on. WOT (Web of Trust) is another you might want to try.
The equivalent to AdBlock Plus for IE is called Simple Adblock and you should install it too: Adhttp://simple-adblock.com/

If Firefox is slow loading make sure it only has the current Java add-on. Then download and run Speedy Fox.
http://www.crystalidea.com/speedyfox . Click on Speedup my Firefox. When it finishes click on Exit.

Be warned: If you use Limewire, utorrent or any of the other P2P programs you will almost certain be coming back to the Malware Removal forum. If you must use P2P then submit any files you get to http://virustotal.com before you open them.

If you have a router, log on to it today and change the default password! If using a Wireless router you really should be using encryption on the link. Use the strongest (newest) encryption method that your router and PC wireless adapter support especially if you own a business. See http://www.king5.com...-120637284.html and http://www.seattlepi...ted-1344185.php for why encryption is important. If you don't know how, visit the router maker's website. They all have detailed step by step instructions or a wizard you can download.

Ron

[Dr_hfuhruhurr]

OK, I've updated 20 (!) programs after running Update Checker, ran Speedyfox and disabled the old Java Consoles after installing the new version, along with Flash, Acrobat and Shockwave. Think I might stick with Avast AV, is it a decent solution, along with regular Spybot scans? Or would you recommend an alternative? Thanks a lot for your help Ron, your patience and knowledge have been absolutely invaluable and I salute you heartily.

[RKinner]

Avast is what I use so stick with it. Some people object to the voice notification of updates. To turn it off, click on the Avast ball then on Settings. Then on Sounds and uncheck Automatic Updates OK. (It will still update it just won't tell you about in a loud voice in the middle of the night.)

They have also started using their info popup to try and get you to upgrade so I go into Settings, Popups and change the first two to 1 second.

The registration is good for 12-14 months then you will need to register again. They will, of course, try to talk you into buying the product but you can always register again for another year free.