[beaniethegenie]

Hi there:
I need some help. I have been having a great deal of computer trouble the last couple of months. It has been plagued with errors and random crashes. There does not seem to be a pattern that I can point to.

I have had to reload the operating system 3 times in the last month. One time I uninstalled Windows 98 SE. Usualy it will run all right for several days. Then it will Crash. Sometimes it only runs a couple of hours. This is very frustrating.

The system monitop says the CPU is running 100% Utilization at all times. I don't think it was doing this before. To me this is very suspect.???

The Motherboard is Manufatured by PC Chips (I don't think it is a very good one, but it had been behaving fairly good).

The motherboard is Model M598 Version 5.0.
This was an upgrade to a Gateway 2000 4DX2-66.
The ony thing Gateway now is the Case, power supply and 3 1/2" floppy drive.

System:
Microsoft Windows 98
Second Edition
4.10.2222A

Computer:
Authentic AMD
AMD-K^™ 3d Processor
248.0(MB) RAM (+ 8.0(MH)that is Reserved for Video)

VCCore V 2.4V
CPU Speed 450 MHz
CPU Base Freq. 100 MHz
CPU Multiplier
Factor 4.5 X

System Hardware Monitor

Temperature 52 Degree C/125 Degree F
Current Fan Speed 5532 RPM
Vcc +12.0 V 11.68 V
Vcc +5.0 4.68 V
Vcc +3.3 V 3.32 V
V core V 2.35 V

Hard Drive C: 20 GB Available space 13241 MB (FAT 32)
Hard Drive D: 10 GB Available space 10281 MB (FAT 32)
I have installed the following Securety Software, and run them frequently.

AVG Free Anti Virus
Ad-aware Personal SE Ver. 1.06 (Configured to GEEKS TO GO SPECKS).
Spyware Blaster
CW Shredder
Spybot - Search & Detroy 1.4 B2
Zone Alarm Firewall Free Version
TDS-3 Professsional (trojan horse removal tool - trial version)

I only get very minor junk when I run these. (a few cookies)

Thats all I can think of for now.

I repaired my Daughters Computer a couple of months ago. It was full of all kinds of MALWARE. ScHwErV really did the work, I just followed his instructions. Thanks in advance. beaniethegenie
[email address removed]

Edited by admin, 11 June 2005 - 04:33 PM.

[Advertisements]

You can do this to eliminate a few things

Run disk defragmenter

Click start then all programmes, accessories, system tools, system information, tools, run system file checker and replace any files it shows as missing or corrupt.

Reboot the PC then keep tapping the F8 key right after the beep until you get the options screen, select command prompt only, type scanreg.exe /fix then press enter, when this says the registry has been repaired, press enter, then press ctrl + alt + delete keys together to reboot.

Get TuneUp Trial

http://www.tune-up.com

Run disc clean up then registry clean up then click optimize to run reg defrag, which will take a while and requires a reboot

[Retired Tech]

You can do this to eliminate a few things

Run disk defragmenter

Click start then all programmes, accessories, system tools, system information, tools, run system file checker and replace any files it shows as missing or corrupt.

Reboot the PC then keep tapping the F8 key right after the beep until you get the options screen, select command prompt only, type scanreg.exe /fix then press enter, when this says the registry has been repaired, press enter, then press ctrl + alt + delete keys together to reboot.

Get TuneUp Trial

http://www.tune-up.com

Run disc clean up then registry clean up then click optimize to run reg defrag, which will take a while and requires a reboot

[beaniethegenie]

Hi Keith,
Thanks for the quick reply. I will work on the items you suggested.
The computer is working pretty good right now, but I know it's just trying to lull me into a false sense of security. Just joking.
Thanks again.
[email address removed]

Edited by admin, 11 June 2005 - 04:33 PM.

[beaniethegenie]

Hi Keith,
I guess I was right about the conputer just waiting to give me a hard time.

T tried to defragment drive C:\. Computer opened the window, but would not start defrag process. I tried exit the window result blue screen computer locked up. I had to turn computer off and reboot It looked normal. I used ctrl alt delete to stop all tasks except Explorer, and systray. Igot the same result. I decided to run scandisk (standard) did not find any errors. Same result. Started defrag, looks like it is going to work this time. Drive content changing and wii not go very far. Turned off screen saver. Same old freeze and blue screen. I finaly put the computer into Safe Mode. Ran defrag OK. Went back to Normal Mode.
I then went to System file checker.
I restored 16 files that it said might be corupted. There were 231 files that had been changed, I told it to ignore these, as you didn't say to do any thing with these. Most of these had newer versions, but there wer a few maybe 10 percent that had older current versions then previous versions. It did not report any missing files.

I put the computer into Command Promt, and did the scanreg.exe /fix. This seemed to go alright. I rebooted the Computer.

I went on line and tried to download TuneUp Trial. Got to where the Box where it starts to save the file to my computer. The Computer froze and and had wierd interferance looking lines on the Monitor. I quit for awhile and had supper,and let the computer rest for a while. (turned off). I finaly rebooted and was able to download the program. It seemed to run all the tasks you outlined.

Saturday Morning 6/11/05
Turned on computer looks OK. except that I get amessage that AVG Anti virus is corupted. Fortunately this is easy to repair, so I got it working again.

I decided to Look at System monitor to see if it was still showing 100% CPU Utilization. System Monitor will not run, just fets a box with just the Menu at the top showing. Ran scan disk in Normal mode (found errors and corrected them).

I ran system file checker again Still found some corupted files. Found 2 files FM2.dll, and ascontrol.dll said it could not find new files on system disk. Still cannot run system monitor.

The desktop has a weird look on the quick launch area(the lower right area of the screen). The background is black instead of grey and has an area on the right about an inch long that does not have icons in it.

I stopped for awhile and installed a new door in the family room.

What do I do next, this computer is wierd.

Thanks for your help.
[email address removed]

Edited by admin, 11 June 2005 - 04:32 PM.

[Retired Tech]

Try here

http://support.micro...kb;en-us;178563

http://support.micro...kb;en-us;227131

Have a look at cool beans to see if it gives you the same information

http://fileforum.bet...fo/1032906144/1

[beaniethegenie]

Hi Keith:
I did as you suggested. It looks like maybe the 100% CPU utilization is not a real problem. ?????????
I installed the monitor you suggested. It shows 100% usage. The othe items it monutors look reasonable.

The problem with the fast launch area looks normal this morning. I looked at Microsoft system monitor and looked a little more closely. What had happened was it had lost the setting to display the CPU Utilization. I never had to set that before.

Now back to the origonal problem, why is the computer so unstable. Is the CPU really running 100% and causing instability.

About 60 % of the times I run regular Microsoft Scan disk it finds errors (cross linked files and incorrect free space readings ) which it repairs.

About a week ago I did a through disk scan and checked the C: drive for surface defects. It gave a clean bill of health for it. It took about 8 or nine hours to do it.

Thanks beaniethegenie

[Retired Tech]

Having cleaned the registry, rebuilt the registry and then replaced missing system files, it's strange that there has not been an improvement.

Maybe you could consider following the steps in the pinned topic at the top of this section to reinstall 98 without losing all you data

[beaniethegenie]

Hi keith & thatman:
First I will tell you the latest escapade the computer pulled on me. When I turned it on yesterday I got this warning Validation failed when trying to load Zone Alarm Fire wall. This happened once before so I new how to fit easily.

Keith I have reloaded the operating system 3 times in the last month. I would not mind doing it again, as I am getting pretty used to it, but I am going to follow thatman's suggestion to try working on the virus angle.

I did the online scan from Panda Software. AOL kept going off and reconnecting.
The scan kept going and finished. I did a Print Screen of the results. All it found was 1 spyware item. The Aol connection failed completely, and I was never able to find a log to download, when I went back on. I then ran ad-aware it found 2 data miners. I ran spybot sd, TDS-3, CWShredder,and AVG Anti Virus. They were all clean.

I have The Ultimate Trouble shooter from answersthatwork.com. I fave used it to disable some of the useless tasks that all the software companies think I need.(HAH).
I turned them back on for the scan.

Here is the HJT log you requested.

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 8:31:54 PM, on 6/13/05
Platform: Windows 98 SE (Win9x 4.10.2222A)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mmtask.tsk
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ZONELABS\VSMON.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\TOPSPEED\2.0\AOLTSMON.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\ACS\AOLACSD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KB891711\KB891711.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\TOPSPEED\2.0\AOLTPSPD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CMMPU.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAY.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\GRISOFT\AVG FREE\AVGEMC.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\GRISOFT\AVG FREE\AVGAMSVR.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\AMERICAN SYSTEMS\PRINT SCREEN DELUXE\PRNTSCRN.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\HPZTSB04.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ZONE LABS\ZONEALARM\ZLCLIENT.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\GRISOFT\AVG FREE\AVGCC.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\STIMON.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\HEWLETT-PACKARD\HP SHARE-TO-WEB\HPGS2WND.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TASKMON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SPOOL32.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\ACS\AOLDIAL.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\HEWLETT-PACKARD\HP SHARE-TO-WEB\HPGS2WNF.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PWSTRAY.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT OFFICE\OFFICE\OSA.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\1117139307\EE\AOLHOSTMANAGER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WMIEXE.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\1117139307\EE\AOLSERVICEHOST.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDHELP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RNAAPP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TAPISRV.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\AOL SPYWARE PROTECTION\AOLSP SCHEDULER.EXE
C:\HJT\HIJACKTHIS.EXE

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Window Title = Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by America Online
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = ;127.0.0.1;<local>
F1 - win.ini: run=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\cmmpu.exe
O1 - Hosts: 64.91.255.87 www.dcsresearch.com
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHELPER.DLL
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADOBE\ACROBAT 5.0\READER\ACTIVEX\ACROIEHELPER.OCX
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {4982D40A-C53B-4615-B15B-B5B5E98D167C} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSDXM.OCX
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Tweak UI] RUNDLL32.EXE TWEAKUI.CPL,TweakMeUp
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_EMC] C:\PROGRA~1\GRISOFT\AVGFRE~1\AVGEMC.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_AMSVR] C:\PROGRA~1\GRISOFT\AVGFRE~1\AVGAMSVR.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Print Screen] C:\PROGRAM FILES\AMERICAN SYSTEMS\PRINT SCREEN DELUXE\PRNTSCRN.EXE /m
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HPDJ Taskbar Utility] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\hpztsb04.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Zone Labs Client] C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] C:\PROGRA~1\GRISOFT\AVGFRE~1\AVGCC.EXE /STARTUP
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HostManager] C:\Program Files\Common Files\AOL\1117139307\EE\AOLHostManager.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [StillImageMonitor] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\STIMON.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Share-to-Web Namespace Daemon] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Share-to-Web\hpgs2wnd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TaskMonitor] C:\WINDOWS\taskmon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ScanRegistry] C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AOL Spyware Protection] "C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\AOL\AOLSPY~1\AOLSP Scheduler.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\QTTASK.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AOLDialer] C:\Program Files\Common Files\AOL\ACS\AOLDial.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [InCD] C:\Program Files\Ahead\InCD\InCD.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [mdac_runonce] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\runonce.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PWSTray] PwsTray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [TrueVector] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ZONELABS\VSMON.EXE -service
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [AOL TopSpeedMonitor] C:\Program Files\Common Files\AOL\TopSpeed\2.0\aoltsmon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [AolAcsDaemon1] "C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\AOL\ACS\AOLACSD.EXE"
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [KB891711] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KB891711\KB891711.EXE
O4 - Startup: SoftStuff Wallpaper Changer.lnk = C:\Softstuf\softstrt.exe
O4 - Startup: hp instant support.lnk = C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\hpis\bin\matcli.exe
O4 - Startup: Office Startup.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA.EXE
O8 - Extra context menu item: &AOL Toolbar search - res://C:\PROGRAM FILES\AOL TOOLBAR\TOOLBAR.DLL/SEARCH.HTML
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {CD67F990-D8E9-11d2-98FE-00C0F0318AFE} - (no file)
O9 - Extra button: AOL Toolbar - {4982D40A-C53B-4615-B15B-B5B5E98D167C} - (no file)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: AOL Toolbar - {4982D40A-C53B-4615-B15B-B5B5E98D167C} - (no file)
O12 - Plugin for .pdf: C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\PLUGINS\nppdf32.dll
O12 - Plugin for .spop: C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\Plugins\NPDocBox.dll
O14 - IERESET.INF: START_PAGE_URL=http://www.aol.com
O16 - DPF: {56336BCB-3D8A-11D6-A00B-0050DA18DE71} (RdxIE Class) - http://207.188.7.150...tzip/RdxIE6.cab
O16 - DPF: {4A3CF76B-EC7A-405D-A67D-8DC6B52AB35B} (QDiagAOLCCUpdateObj Class) - http://aolcc.aol.com...kup/qdiagcc.cab
O16 - DPF: {E77C0D62-882A-456F-AD8F-7C6C9569B8C7} (ActiveDataObj Class) - https://www-secure.s.../ActiveData.cab
O16 - DPF: {CE28D5D2-60CF-4C7D-9FE8-0F47A3308078} (ActiveDataInfo Class) - https://www-secure.s...ta/SymAData.dll
O16 - DPF: {C606BA60-AB76-48B6-96A7-2C4D5C386F70} (PreQualifier Class) - http://www.verizon.n...tivePreQual.cab
O16 - DPF: {4ED9DDF0-7479-4BBE-9335-5A1EDB1D8A21} - http://download.mcaf...83/mcinsctl.cab
O16 - DPF: {BCC0FF27-31D9-4614-A68E-C18E1ADA4389} - http://download.mcaf...,20/mcgdmgr.cab
O16 - DPF: {EF791A6B-FC12-4C68-99EF-FB9E207A39E6} - http://download.mcaf...430/mcfscan.cab
O16 - DPF: {9B03C5F1-F5AB-47EE-937D-A8EDA626F876} (Anonymizer Anti-Spyware Scanner) - http://download.zone...ctor/WebAAS.cab
O16 - DPF: {9A9307A0-7DA4-4DAF-B042-5009F29E09E1} (ActiveScan Installer Class) - http://www.pandasoft.../as5/asinst.cab

Thanks for helping me, beaniethegenie

[Retired Tech]

The Hijack This log needs to go to the malware section

http://www.geekstogo..._Log-t2852.html

Run the programmes in the list, as advised then post a current log to the malware section

[beaniethegenie]

Hi Keith
Sorry about my missunderstanding, I thought I was following the instructions from thatman that was posted in post #8.

Is it alright to have a post open in malware at the same time as in system windows 98.
thanks beaniethegenie

[Retired Tech]

Yes, post the log to the malware section and continue other harware issues here

[beaniethegenie]

Hi Keith
Thanks for the quick reply. I will go about posting the log in the Maleware section.
beaniethegenie

[beaniethegenie]

Hi Kieth
If you are still monitoring this. I gave up and bought a new computer. This should solve the problem. You can delete my thread if you want to.
beaniethegenie

[Retired Tech]

Neat way of solving it, though get it kitted out

http://www.filehippo...re/antispyware/

http://www.filehippo...ware/firewalls/

http://www.filehippo...ware/antivirus/

Hope it goes well

Thank You for letting me know