Very slow computer

[TurcoLoco]

lol....a 'sticky' is a thread where the crap (info) posted is assumedto have worthy material in it to keep it around for everyone to see/read so that it does not age and get moved down on the server/site. It simply stays at the very top of the section where it is posted.

Sorry, this is the best explanation I can think of...

PP is short for Pumpkin Pie....hahaha, just kidding, it is short for PhilliePhan (the Mid West stud who might kill me after my last joke).
He is a spyware fighting phreak who is an expert in malware removal. Some claim that he retired but as you can see from his posts to your own thread that does not seem to be true...

Ok, I will end this post right here so he won't ban me!

Jokes asides, wait for his feedback on everything he asked you to do, ok?

~TL

PP is a good friend of mine (at least I consider him so).

[PattiChati]

Ironically enough, when I opened my mail, there was an email from a company called Ascentive that sold PC Speed Scan Pro - says it will fix all errors and speed up your computer. What do you think about this program - have you ever heard of it?

[PhilliePhan]

Ironically enough, when I opened my mail, there was an email from a company called Ascentive that sold PC Speed Scan Pro - says it will fix all errors and speed up your computer. What do you think about this program - have you ever heard of it?

I believe that it is a reputable product, but I am not particularly familiar with it. Don't know how it stack up against the competition, freeware and paid...

--- Looking at your PFind log, it doesn't show much in the way of malware. A few remnants and a couple items I am not familiar with, but that look benign. I think we can rule out malware as a cause of the slowness.

-- Could it be overheating? This happens more often than people think.

-- If you want to try a registry cleaner, by all means do so. As long as you back up the registry beforehand. This is easy enough on an XP system via regedit.
A tool that I use is ERUNT
I have not dabbled with the NT Registry Optimizer, though.
-- Looks like TL mentioned ERUNT above . . . .

He is a spyware fighting phreak who is an expert in malware removal. Some claim that he retired but as you can see from his posts to your own thread that does not seem to be true...

LOL! Semi-retired!

PS. wonder why the entry

wklnhst.dat
that I noticed in one of your logs shows up on many many links pointing to infected systems when I searched in google? Is it bad or ..., search on it further and wait for PP's feedback.

I think this one is benign - Not sure if it is related to a baddie, but uploading here ---> http://virusscan.jotti.org/ could answer that. Doubt it is a problem, though

-- Hey TL - Any thoughts on the cause of the slowdown?

PP

[TurcoLoco]

No, I do not know anything about the program but I think I heard the program or seen it listed on a log. I dont think you need that program but it is your call.
PP and I have already mentioned decent alternatives, more will be on the sticky.

I have yet to see a single program that does everything (clean, repair and improve overall system performance) without coming short or even not too good in certain areas!

From most people's HJT logs, I noticed one thing, they have not done regular, adeguate maintenance on their system and waited till sh*t hit the fan and did wayyyyy too much (and possibly did them wrong too) which in return bulloxed things up instead of doing good.

Bottomline, doing the related maintenance periodically and in a correct way is just as important as doing the required maintenance itself.

Please wait for my sticky for further info. It, hopefully will be ready over the weekend (work has been murder lately).

~TL

[TurcoLoco]

I think this one is benign - Not sure if it is related to a baddie, but uploading here ---> http://virusscan.jotti.org/ could answer that. Doubt it is a problem, though

You are probably right, I just wanted to mention it since I couldn't get a chance to do a good search on it but from what little I did, I thought it'd be worth to mention it.

-- Hey TL - Any thoughts on the cause of the slowdown?

PP

Hard to give a definite answer from this much info. I will try to review the previous posts in this thread and try to come up with more questions that might help me get more constructive info.

There is always the chance that the Operating System even the HardDisk got old and bad...the first one could be remedied by software based maintenance or by a clean install as a worst case scenario but if it is the disk (regardless of its age), then Patti has to cough up some dough and get a new one....

....to be continued...

~TL

[PattiChati]

Thanks for all the info. How do I get to the sticky's? Also, I do what I think is a regular maintenance. I think I already mentioned all my spyware and virus programs that I run on a daily basis and then run Ccleaner. Should I use a different cleaner? Oh, I think you were saiyng you would have info on your sticky after this weekend. I have not noticed my computer overheating and it isn't snail pace slow that would require a new disk. I tried downloading jotti's malware, but it said the server is very busy and it hasn't happened yet.
So I will look forward to hearing from one of you. Thanks again.

[PattiChati]

My security settings won't allow me to download either of those reg cleaners you suggested. I have tried to go in and change the security settings, but have no luck. Any ideas? Thanks. also, I keep getting a message saying the page might not look right because of my active x settings - once again, I can't fix that.

[PattiChati]

My computer is going beserk - I think it is having brain farts. It will just stop loading a new page. I will try to close the internet out and I will get all these different screens cascading on my window. I sometimes cannot turn off the computer unless I turn off the power completely. The icons will change on my desktop. I am using slimbrowser with IE.
I have gone in and done all the spyware and virus protection and defrag. Nothing is touching this mess. I don't know what else to say. I wasn't able to get on your website all weekend, it said something about a 404 error.
I tried to find your "stickys", but had no success.
I think I have already ruined my registry. How do you undo what has already been done.
Oi Vai - I need a tech out here now!!!!

[PattiChati]

I also sometimes cannot open links in a website - never had that problem before. And also, when I open a page it might say "page might not look right because of my security settings on Active X". I tried looking this up on Google and my settings are set where they are supposed to be. Again, I never used to get this error.

[TurcoLoco]

I was too busy to get around to working on my sticky so it is far from ready. I will try to finish it soon but it might be a bit too late in the game for you so let me just tell you this:

Do NOT go berserk like your PC and do a whole bunch of things in random just to 'fix' the problems. When it comes to spyware or registry cleanup, you have to follow a certain procedure, you can't rush things and more importantly you have to do one thing/use one program at a time so it would be easier to recover from unexpected problems occuring from each work.

As far as recovering/reverting back the changes you had done so far goes, what have you done to backup the system or the registry?
If you can't even remember what you have been doing the last few days or the last thing you had done prior to the problems started occuring, you are pretty much SOL on resolving the problem and it would definitely not making it easy for even an expert who is trying to help.

Spywareand AV scanners are only as good as their definition files for the most part. Even if they help cleanup an infected system, they can NOT help repairing or replanishing the missing/corrupt system files and/or registry values...

I will try to follow up but you have to provide the details on what you have been doing to your system all this time. You can't say "I did all the spyware scanning and defragging...' that is not enough detail but if that is literally what you have done, it sounds inadequate to say the least and still, you have to disclose what scanners you ran, what they found, what they could fix/couldn't fix, etc.

Remember (this goes to all those crying for help):

Better (exact wording, details, screenshots, whatever is possible) the info you provide, better the help you will receive!
You must take time and do things properly when working on a PC problem, you can't rush things.
Taking the PC to a nearby computer shop might be a good thing, it all depends. We are here to help the best possible way but know the limitations of free online help!