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Please help! Computer won't restart/shutdown, font change .txt firefox, weird behaviors etc

tomcuise3230

About my computer: custom build computer build by professionals on ncix dot com, windows XP Home Edition service pack 2 . AMD 2.1 mhz processor, 1 GB ram, 320 GB seagate HD (it has 58% space available), File fragmented only 1%, 1.96 virtual memory available. 8-9 months old

It all started when i updated windows update on april 14 and also installed youtube uploader and the the problem started right after 2 days ago later then that. I uninstalled youtube uploaded but the problem still persist. what happens is the computer works fine for the whole day but after 9-10 hours or more for some reason it acts weird like first on a saved notepad .txt the place where the name of the .txt is disappears (where the name and Red X mark is to close whatever your using). Even if i close and re-open it, its their and it happens basically to all programs, files I open and including firefox browser. Then it gets worst first when i re-open a saved .txt file the font changes and also the font changes on firefox also. Then I try to restart and shutdown my computer many times but it doesn't do anything (no message, its like i didn't even click the restart or shut down button) Then it gets more worse by firefox browser not opening and start menu saved shortcuts disappeared. So I Had no choice but to manually power off the computer by unplugging it and when it is back on EVERYTHING IS BACK TO NORMAL! But just to be caution, I deleted all temporary internet files and cache. Then, I scanned my computer with kaspersky internet security but it didn't find anything. Also checked windows task manager for any suspicious process running and googling it and didn't find anything suspious. I even tried hijackthis tool but it didn't find anything also. I don't know whats the problem is since after 10-11 hours again (not continous work since I only surf online, read ebooks, sell on ebay, watch vidoes and nothing like that needs a lot of power like playing games, photoshop, making movies, etc) it does the same thing over in the same pathern. Please ADVISE on what I should do since I do not want to damage/erase all the MEMORABLE documents, photos and other things My family deeply cherish. We will be waiting on anything that can remedy our situation!

 
Apr 19, 08 1:28 am
holz.box

teh interwebs abhors scientology, tom

Apr 19, 08 1:35 am  · 
 · 
Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

of course you have backups of all your priceless data...





... right?

Apr 19, 08 3:03 am  · 
 · 
Ron Nichols

try Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.5.2

It's 100% safe.

1. Install
2. Update
3. Scan
4. Fix whatever you may find
5. Uninstall

I hope it works...

Apr 19, 08 6:54 am  · 
 · 
trace™

I think Spybot is a little outdated, was super a few years back. Spydoctor seems to be getting great reviews in the last few years.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2251725,00.asp

Read the reviews, it'll be worth a few minutes.

Apr 19, 08 8:42 am  · 
 · 
Ron Nichols

overall I agree with trace, but the point is...

Spybot IS FREE

Spydoctor IS NOT

Apr 19, 08 9:35 am  · 
 · 
e909

look at castlecops, wilders, fileforum, softpedia or etc for trojan hunters. what kind of active defense do you have? router? software fw? av? (superstition:) I'd tighten up IE even i you rarely use it, because some apps use IE.

most of those symptoms seem explorer.exe (the folders windows) related, not iexplore.exe (ie) related.


definitely backup data (buy usb drive. if not using one already. it takes a lot of time to specify all of your docs and settings, but you can choose only the most critical settings (bookmarks, favorites, userchrome, etc). hopefully ntbackup will work, so you won't need to install a backup app.

Or for immediate "backup", use hd imaging (eg, acronis, tho there's some freeware imagers.)) there should be enough space for this on a new usb drive :-)


if you had sys restore on, you could try restore back before utubeDL install. http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/system_restore.htm (google found this outline of rstrui (aka restore))
when you redo the 14Apr xp patch, restore should make a new "point" in case you need to revert again (!)
_________________________
so, will spybotSD snuff out hidden scientologists? ("bwahaaa")

Apr 19, 08 12:44 pm  · 
 · 
e909

typo: "tighten up IE even if you rarely use it,"

Apr 19, 08 12:46 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

I didn't back-up data yet (it will take a lot of time so i don't want to waste time if it was just a minor problem). I ran spybot search and destroy and this is what it found:



Microsoft.WindowsSecurityCenter.AntiVirusOverride: [SBI $3604910C] Settings (Registry change, nothing done)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center\AntiVirusOverride

Microsoft.Windows.AppFirewallBypass: [SBI $9FD0556E] Settings (Registry value, nothing done)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\List\C:\WINDOWS\system32\usmt\migwiz.exe

Microsoft.Windows.AppFirewallBypass: [SBI $9DD943AA] Settings (Registry value, nothing done)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\List\C:\WINDOWS\system32\usmt\migwiz.exe

MediaPlex: Tracking cookie (Firefox: default) (Cookie, nothing done)


--- Spybot - Search & Destroy version: 1.5.2 (build: 20080128) ---

2008-01-28 blindman.exe (1.0.0.7)
2008-01-28 SDDelFile.exe (1.0.2.4)
2008-01-28 SDMain.exe (1.0.0.5)
2007-10-07 SDShred.exe (1.0.1.2)
2008-01-28 SDUpdate.exe (1.0.8.8)
2008-01-28 SDWinSec.exe (1.0.0.11)
2008-01-28 SpybotSD.exe (1.5.2.20)
2008-01-28 TeaTimer.exe (1.5.2.16)
2008-04-19 unins000.exe (51.49.0.0)
2008-01-28 Update.exe (1.4.0.6)
2008-01-28 advcheck.dll (1.5.4.5)
2007-04-02 aports.dll (2.1.0.0)
2007-11-17 DelZip179.dll (1.79.7.4)
2008-01-28 SDFiles.dll (1.5.1.19)
2008-01-28 SDHelper.dll (1.5.0.11)
2008-01-28 Tools.dll (2.1.3.3)
2008-04-16 Includes\Adware.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\AdwareC.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\Cookies.sbi (*)
2007-12-26 Includes\Dialer.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\DialerC.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\HeavyDuty.sbi (*)
2008-03-19 Includes\Hijackers.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\HijackersC.sbi (*)
2008-02-27 Includes\Keyloggers.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\KeyloggersC.sbi (*)
2004-11-29 Includes\LSP.sbi (*)
2008-03-26 Includes\Malware.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\MalwareC.sbi (*)
2008-03-26 Includes\PUPS.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\PUPSC.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\Revision.sbi (*)
2008-01-09 Includes\Security.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\SecurityC.sbi (*)
2008-04-16 Includes\Spybots.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\SpybotsC.sbi (*)
2008-04-16 Includes\Spyware.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\SpywareC.sbi (*)
2007-11-06 Includes\Tracks.uti
2008-04-16 Includes\Trojans.sbi (*)
2008-04-17 Includes\TrojansC.sbi (*)
2008-03-04 Plugins\Chai.dll
2008-03-05 Plugins\Fennel.dll
2008-02-26 Plugins\Mate.dll
2007-12-24 Plugins\TCPIPAddress.dll


Are the harmless or should I delete them?



Also, If i do a system restore prior to april 14 or when i updated windows updates will the problem go away if the cause of the problem was the update and not a malware or a virus?

Apr 19, 08 12:50 pm  · 
 · 
strlt_typ

you may have tried this already but if not, you can copy/paste/search each of those .exe files in google and you will get a few entries explaning the function of each one of those and advice on whether you should delete them or not...

Apr 19, 08 1:03 pm  · 
 · 
sameolddoctor

are all your files safe? can you access them? if yes, be sure to buy an external backup drive RIGHT AWAY and copy everything to it. you can worry about doing a virus check later.
Once that is done, I'd suggest re-formatting the whole computer and re-installing windows. Once that is done, install a good antivirus. I personally like AVG Free, because, well its free and very powerful. Scan your external hard drive and copy it back.

If your computer does not even start up, then thats a different issue altogether.

Apr 19, 08 2:24 pm  · 
 · 
Ron Nichols

if you're not in 'advanced mode' you can trust the application, it's safe. delete all.

Apr 19, 08 3:23 pm  · 
 · 
Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

this isn't a spyware problem. it sounds like your registry is corrupted. you can try to fix it but the best solution might be to backup your data and reinstall windows from scratch as sameolddoctor suggests.

regardless of what you choose to do, you should have a full backup of all your data yesterday. losing your data is no joke.

Apr 19, 08 4:14 pm  · 
 · 
Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

and Ron, those files are almost certainly harmless. the programme is just picking up the other antispyware programs on the drive.

Apr 19, 08 4:16 pm  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

Is it always after 9-10 hours? I wouldn't immediately rule it out as a virus problem. It could be over heating issues ie bad power supply, heatsink, or bad RAM.

First and most important, listen to sameolddoctor and start backing up your personal and important data. Get an external hard drive or very large USB drive. You can worry about them being infected later. Also stop using the computer for things other than the following. If you can take out the hard drive and connect it to another computer for scans that would be best.

There are two routes you can start with:

One

Attempt a System Restore to a date well before this started happening. Then proceed with route 2.

Two

1st, the first 3 entries in your Spybot S&D are normal. There's no need to get into details at this point, but those will always come up on any XP machine.

2nd, download CCleaner (www.ccleaner.com) and run it. There is a temp/junk file cleaner and registry cleaner portion.

3rd, you can go to Trend Micro and use their online virus/spyware scanner. The only thing I don't like about this is that it takes forever. Hope that it finds something and at the very least delete the infection. If you opt to connect the infected hard drive to another computer, install Kaspersky, download updates/definitions and scan the drive.

4th, download and install critical MS updates.

Is the computer enabled to go into computer go into hibernation or sleep mode?

What external devices are connected to the computer?

Apr 19, 08 4:17 pm  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

Oh and go into your Add/Remove programs and uninstall anything and everything that you don't need or use.

Apr 19, 08 4:19 pm  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

by the way, another method of doing a soft shutdown is by hitting CTRL-ALT-DEL simultaneously to get into Task Manager. From there you can chose to shut down. Doing a hard shut down (unplugging) should only be used as a last resort.

Apr 19, 08 4:23 pm  · 
 · 
trace™

Try www.extremetech.com for good advice (think that is it)

There are some more extreme things you can do, but I am not one to suggest how (like edit your registry). I've had others detail how, though, and it worked well (some virus/trojans can reinstall themselves on a reboot, quite persistent little devils, they are)


Apr 19, 08 6:12 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

This is what I did for now I backed up all my important data to external seagate HD so I am okay now. I also scanned my computer with kaspersky internet security, spybot search and destroy, hijackthis 2.0 and they didn't find anything. Plus also deleted junk files using CCleaner .

From what I gathered I believe it is a heating issue because the problem started to happen when it was more humid then usual then i ever encounter before when i start living here and the CPU temperature was 95F and CASE temperature was 94F. (The case I have is Home theatre PC which is this one: http://www.directron.com/htpc200ba.html ) Is that normal? The local temperature reaches 72 degrees now and I live in the attic (its not a normal attic since you can walk easily and the size of the whole house) where i rarely open any windows. (sometimes when I return to my attic I feel the humid and I don't feel like staying because of the humid but i get used to it) So please tell me how can i make the computer in a cooling condition and what accessories I should buy to keep it below normal temp. level. So far I have been using the computer for 9 hours now and no problem has started yet and the CPU temp. is 87, case is 84 temp.)

Apr 19, 08 9:02 pm  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

If humidity is an issue, Miami users would be screwed.

How do you read the case temperature? Does it have a display for it? In the picture, the case has 3 fans. Are all 3 operational?

I think case temperature at 95F is rather high, bcause that means CPU temp is higher. How much higher? I don't know. You might be able to tell if you go into your BIOS. Some BIOS manufacturers provide core temperature readings.

If you know the type/model of your CPU, check the specs from manufacturer's website to find normal operating temps.

I doubt you work consistently on the computer for all 9-10 hours. Do you have any power settings on?

Apr 19, 08 9:20 pm  · 
 · 
e909

by quick search, i found only two "YouTube Uploader" wares.
one Uploader from youtube.com but i can't find it at youtube.com. I did find this http://www.prevx.com/filenames/X1489472153935549425-0/YOUTUBEUPLOADER.MSI.html
which doesn't look nice.

one Uploader from http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-YouTube-Uploader.htm


did the installer ask any questions like, "installer wants to write over a newer version of [blahblah filename]. do you want to do this?"



Apr 19, 08 9:35 pm  · 
 · 
e909

hmm, i think if you had ram or cpu trouble, you'd see blue screens, "if this is the first time you've seen this... "
http://blogs.technet.com/photos/markrussinovich/images/482355/original.aspx

Apr 19, 08 9:41 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

to afrdzak : how do i tell that all 3 fans are operational please? I read the CPU and Case temp. on the front display of the Case (you can see on the picture to the top left that it displays them. Here is the link again:
http://www.directron.com/htpc200ba.html) I have AMD 2.1 ghz processor but don't know what the model is so how do i find out what it is and how do i go into my BIOS without restarting my computer?

Also what i mean by 9-10 hours is I have it turned on all time for that many hours (actually its more like 12 hours) but i do take a break every 2 or 3 hours or so for 1 hours. And when it is time to sleep i put it in standby mode every time. And I don't know what you mean by power settings but if you mean power option then i have it on presentation


To e909: You can download youtube uploader here:

http://www.youtube.com/multifile_installer

And i never recieved EVER any blue screens


And can anyone tell me if i undo overclocking (the professionals who build my Custom PC from ncix dot com overclocked it themselves and I never did anything) Also, since I never play games or anything that require a lot of processing power, if i undo overclocking will that make the computer slower for normal use (web surfing, watching movies, downloading, listening to music and reading ebooks) This is what the screenshot looked like when my computer first arrived:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25818460@N07/2427084360/ (click on "all size" for full size)

Apr 19, 08 11:24 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

I meant if i undo overclocking will it harm my computer (I apologize for the mistake since I was rather in a hurry and didn't read it twice)

Apr 19, 08 11:31 pm  · 
 · 
Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

i still strongly doubt this is a hardware issue. it feels like a corrupt registry to me.

Apr 20, 08 1:19 am  · 
 · 
trace™

HiJackThis and Cleanup is what I used last time I had a run in with something nasty (popups started taking over, bringing me to weird sites, kept trying to install software, etc.).

First thing I'd do is get your data on another drive, worry about 'fixing' once you have a backup.





FYI, for the future, stay away from 'questionable' sites (you know what I mean), don't install all the updates immediately (this once killed 3D Studio - the new windows update was not compatible, literally brought the 3D world to its knees!! The fixed it fairly quickly, but it was a week at least, and for a business, that's a massive loss).
Honestly, I rarely ever install updates because of compatibility problems.

Virus protection (I run Norton 2008, sooooo much better than 2007) is probably your best spent money if you rely on your computer for anything. Keep that updated daily.

Apr 20, 08 8:37 am  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

Tom, you can check the fans visually. According to the first link you showed us, it has 2 in the rear and one on the side.

If this is a registry issue, then it can be fixed by doing a System Restore to a date a few days prior to the start of the problem. Of course, this is assuming that you have System Restore enabled.

I highly recommend that you stop putting a desktop computer into sleep/standby or especially hibernation mode. It's ultimately best to shut the computer down when you don't need it.

Undoing overclocking will not harm your computer so long as you know what the standard/default settings are. By how much did they overclock your CPU? Overclocking a CPU definately promotes heat (which is bad) and "overworks" your CPU. It would help if you could find out what kind of CPU you had, and by how much it was overclocked.

Apr 20, 08 4:12 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

To afrdzak : why do you say "I highly recommend that you stop putting a desktop computer into sleep/standby or especially hibernation mode."

The CPU i have is AMD athon 64 X2 core dual processor 4000. I am asking the people who build my computer how much they overclocked and post it when I get the info.

Apr 20, 08 7:14 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

Never mind about the heating issue because i was wrong since this time the problem start happening again and the temperature was low. I believe it is a registry issue since it happened as soon as i clearned some registry from cclceaner (Ccleaner.com) and I had to manually shutdownn again (tried CTRL + DEL + ALT didn't work) So what should I do know?

Apr 20, 08 9:45 pm  · 
 · 
Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

reinstall everything from scratch.

Apr 21, 08 12:40 am  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

system restore, and if that doesn't work then format and re-install.

Apr 21, 08 12:49 am  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

tried system restore already guess my only option is to re-install but before I do that can you tell me if i re-install windows xp home edition will it delete

Apr 21, 08 1:28 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

Will it delete EVERYTHING even spyware, virus if their was one and quarantine object from my kaspersky database?

Apr 21, 08 1:30 pm  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

If you do a re-install over the existing, it won't delete anything except the core Windows files including registry.

FYI: If the original CD is not a SP2, it might not even let you install it over your existing OS. I don't recall of the top of my head, but it might let you if you you start the installation booting off the CD.

Apr 21, 08 1:39 pm  · 
 · 
trace™

Do a clean install, don't try to reinstall over the existing junk.

Get that external hd, they are cheap (and you should have one anyway for backup). Backup what you can, then reformat and wipe it clean.

Before you put the data back onto the clean install, make sure you scan the external drive for viruses/trojans/etc.

Apr 21, 08 2:30 pm  · 
 · 
sameolddoctor

reformat the drive already! make sure you have EVERYTHING backed up!

Apr 21, 08 2:47 pm  · 
 · 
tomcuise3230

Also, do you think it is a hacker attacking my computer because i had a fight online with a hacker and he probably put a trojan or any malware on my computer since he knew my IP address since I sended him a email when we fought (but i changed it later) and the problem also started right after once we fought.

Apr 22, 08 12:36 pm  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

lol... this is starting to sound like a big joke

Apr 22, 08 1:00 pm  · 
 · 
BabbleBeautiful

but in all seriousness, it's hard to tell. It could be anything.

Apr 22, 08 1:02 pm  · 
 · 
strlt_typ
lesson: don't.put.junk.in.computer, especially.one.used.for.work.
Apr 22, 08 1:24 pm  · 
 · 
sameolddoctor

ha tomcruise, you sound like my boss. He once sent an angry email to a russian spammer, who proceeded to send him 50 emails per day, for about a week. He, ultimately had to block all emails from .ru

Apr 22, 08 1:57 pm  · 
 · 
Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

tom, it's no big deal. over time the windows registry gets filled up with junk and gets corrupt. There's not necessarily anything malicious happening. The kind of thing you're describing happens all the time on windows (less on XP and Vista than it used to - I had to reinstall windows ME every six months).

1. You back up your data
2. You format the hard drive (this removes everything - documents, programs, viruses, spware, preferences)
3. You reinstall windows, and then all your programs
4. You copy your documents back onto your HDD.

Apr 22, 08 3:29 pm  · 
 · 

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