[Essexboy]

Download Revo Uninstaller free from here http://www.revounins...e_download.html and use that to uninstall the programmes

Let me know if that works

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OK - Revo Uninstaller worked. Any thoughts about the "explorer" crash?
(I ran a disc check last night and I'm now running a defrag)

[briz_dad]

OK - Revo Uninstaller worked. Any thoughts about the "explorer" crash?
(I ran a disc check last night and I'm now running a defrag)

[Essexboy]

The crash occurred within a windows module which does a lot of work for other programmes, a possible cause is the file was terminated wrongly by corel or it tried to access a restricted memory area. These crashes are usually very vague

What is the current state of play now ?

[briz_dad]

I think we're good here then.

Thank you EssexBoy.

Is there any final report or clean-up you'd like to see done before closing out?

[briz_dad]

d'oh - sorry - things are running quicker and smoother

[Essexboy]

Subject to no further problems

I will remove my tools now and give some recommendations, but, I would like you to run for 24 hours or so and come back if you have any problems

Now the best part of the day ----- Your log now appears clean

A good workman always cleans up after himself so..The following will implement some cleanup procedures as well as reset System Restore points:

Remove ComboFix

• Hold down the Windows key + R on your keyboard. This will display the Run dialogue box
• In the Run box, type in ComboFix /Uninstall
  (Notice the space between the "x" and "/")
  then click OK
  
  
  
• Follow the prompts on the screen
• A message should appear confirming that ComboFix was uninstalled

Run OTL and hit the cleanup button. It will remove all the programmes we have used plus itself.

Clear Restore Points

Go Start > All Programmes > Accessories > System tools
Right click Disc Cleanup and select run as administrator
When it pops up at the first prompt select OK after it has done some calculations the tabs will appear
Select More Options tab
Press Sytem Restore and Shadow Copies Cleanup button

Now that you are clean, to help protect your computer in the future I recommend that you get the following free programmes:

CryptoPrevent install this programme to lock down and prevent crypto ransome ware



Malwarebytes.

Update and run weekly to keep your system clean


It is critical to have both a firewall and anti virus to protect your system and to keep them updated.

To learn more about how to protect yourself while on the internet read our little guide How did I get infected in the first place ?Keep safe

[briz_dad]

well... things are still very slow. It took about 2 minutes for Power Point to open up.

I brought up task manager and see that the physical memory is about 75% - 90% used with very little opened.
(Just IE & task manager opened now and it is at 91%)

There are just 2GB of RAM - is this a large cause of the sluggishness do you think? Is there a way to know for sure if it is a memory issue?

There were about 4 "explorer.exe" processes open and each running about a 1/4 GB of processing power.

(Sorry for the long delay in communication - work beckoned.)

[Essexboy]

Unfortunately Vista is notorious for speed issues

Lets try a clean boot

Step 1: Start MSConfig

Click Start, type msconfig in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.

Step 2: Configure Selective Startup options

1.In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click Selective Startup on the General tab.



2.Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box.
Note The Use Original Boot.ini check box is unavailable.

3.Click the Services tab.



4.Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.
5.Click Disable All, and then click OK.
6. When you are prompted, click Restart.

Has the speed improved any ?

[briz_dad]

still painfully slow... it seems to be:

• imeadiately after one of your instructions/requests - things run good
• then after restart, things dragging again

It is almost as though it gets reinfected right away - not as bad as the beginning of all this was.

It has me wondering if there is a hardware (bad memory?) failure somewhere...

[Essexboy]

If it was hardware I would expect it to be a little more consistent in the slow boot

Lets try an experiment

Download and run this small programme and then reboot. Make a note of the amount of files cleaned

Then do three further reboots with about two minutes in between (do not run any programmes please)

Let me know if there is an immediate difference between the reboots or if it is progressively getting slower

Clear Cache/Temp Files
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.

[briz_dad]

i think this computer is "officially hosed"

since posting, it has:

• explorer.exe crash/stopped working
• Blue Screen of Death: PAGE_fAULT_IN_NONPAGE_AREA
• TFC crashed/stopped working

Then, while posting this response (this is my 2nd attempt), "geekstogo.com stopped working"

what do you think? Time for a new laptop/computer?

[Essexboy]

I must admit I am not a fan of Vista, but an alternative is to back up all the personal files and data and then restore to factory settings to give it a final chance

[Essexboy]

Due to lack of feedback, this topic has been closed.

If you need this topic reopened, please contact a staff member. This applies only to the original topic starter. Everyone else please begin a New Topic.