I'll tell you what, I obviously have not been paying attention and I am sorry...PP noted AND I have seen the entries in your logs indicating the
Sony DRM Rootkit on your system...I am really sorry that I kept "not seeing what I was seeing".
You need to remove this with these manual removal steps from Bleepingcomputer;
Manual deletion instructions of the DRM rootkit service (Windows NT/2000):- Because Windows NT or 2000 does not include the SC.exe program, we will need to download a freeware alternative. Download SWSC and save it in your Windows folder.
- Click on the Start button.
- Click on the Run option.
- In the Open: field type cmd /k swsc delete $sys$aries and press the OK button.
- Reboot your computer
- Delete C:\%WinDir%\system32\$sys$filesystem\aries.sys (Replace %WinDir% with the directory that Windows is installed on your computer)
Reboot and then run a new HJT scan and post the log.