RandyL

It's a big change indeed brundle. Some things I like and some things I detest. It took me a while to figure out how to tweak it but it's been working fine for me. Either way if you're going to buy a new Windows OS there is no point in buying XP at this point. Vista will be supported longer. You could wait for Windows7 but who knows how long that might take. I'm not familiar with the programs you mention but one thing I do know is you will never see a Norton product on my PC again. (I had a trial when I bought my computer)

Good deal. I'm a little unclear as to whether you can get on the net. I assume you use IE. If you can't click on the IE icon type iexplore in the run box or from a command prompt type "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" Google Please follow ALL the following steps in order if you can. Your computer could be infected with Malware. Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. It is a combination of the words malicious and software. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. Required Cleanup StepsDisable the Spybot Search & Destroy TEA TIMER if you use it and if it is enabled Run a Temporary file and cache cleaner (ATF) Run 2 Anti-Malware scanners (Listed Below) Run an Online Anti-Virus / Anti-Malware Scanner (Listed Below) Clear out old System Restore points If continued Malware type activity is present you may be asked to post a TrendMicro™ HijackThis™ Log file, do not do so unless requested. The reason to run multiple scanners is to ensure that no single scanner is missing something. The time it takes will vary depending on your system and your internet connection speed. Typically the SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes scanners will take between 10 to 90 minutes. The ESET online scan should take between 1 to 3 hours. In most cases, these scans will suffice to clean and disinfect your computer. Heavily infected systems or slower PCs can take much longer to scan and clean. For best results print the following instructions and bookmark this Web page To keep this guide printer-friendly, use your cursor to highlight the contents below. From your browser select File - Print and in the printer dialog box under "Print range" click the Selection choice to print out these instructions for removal of malware. http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn266/FPCH/Malware%20Guide/printer-selection.gif ____________________________________________ STEP 1 Disable Spybot Search & Destroys' TEA TIMER: (if installed, if not go to Step 2)Run Spybot-S&D in Advanced Mode. If it is not already set to do this Go to the Mode menu select "Advanced Mode" On the left hand side, Click on Tools Then click on the Resident Icon in the List Uncheck "Resident TeaTimer" and OK any prompts. Restart your computer. __________________________________________________ STEP 2 Follow these instructions carefully. Download ATF-Cleaner from Snapfiles.com to remove un-needed temporary files from your computer that may contain malware. You can also download it from Majorgeeks.com When you run ATF-Cleaner, check the items as shown below for Main. For FireFox, be sure to click on the FireFox tab on top and check the items as shown below for FireFox NOTE: If you don't have FireFox or Opera installed then they will be grayed out and can be ignored Then click on "Empty Selected". http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn266/FPCH/Malware%20Guide/atf-cleaner01.gif . http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn266/FPCH/Malware%20Guide/atf-cleaner02.gif __________________________________________________ STEP 3 Install and run the free version (not the Professional version) of SUPERAntiSpyware from SUPERAntiSpyware.com Accept any prompts to allow SUPERAntiSpyware to install the latest rules and infection definition files. You do not have to send them your e-mail address, just click next. You can leave the automated check for updates on. You can uncheck "Send a diagnostic report to research center" if you don't want to send the information. DO NOT allow SUPERAntiSpyware to protect your Home Page settings. On the Top Left select the Scan your computer button. Make sure there is a CHECK MARK on all Fixed Drives. Click "Perform a Complete Scan". Click "Next" to Repair issues found and reboot the computer when prompted to do so. __________________________________________________ STEP 4 Install and run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from Malwarebytes - (direct download) Accept all defaults for the installer Allow the program to update the definitions Click on the Quick Scan and click Next. If any items are found allow it to clean them and then Reboot your computer. __________________________________________________ STEP 5 Run an online scan with ESET from Free Virus Scan: Use ESET's Online Antivirus Scanner You must use Internet Explorer for this online scan. FireFox, Opera, etc will not work for this scan. If your computer is running Window's Vista, then you must first start Internet Explorer as an Administrator. To do so, right-click on the Internet Explorer icon in the Start Menu and select "Run as administrator" from the popup context menu. Accept the terms and click "Start". Once the scanner is ready, check "Remove found threats" AND "Scan unwanted applications". Click "Start" to begin the scan. When completed restart your computer __________________________________________________ Make sure your internet firewall security is enabled, and then please return to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help and tell us how the computer seems to be operating. At that time, you will receive instructions to assist you in removing malicious programs from your Add/Remove program list if warranted. If required this is the download link for TrendMicro™ HijackThis™ Unless instructed to by the Technician helping you then do not download this tool. Once you and the Technician agree that your system appears to be clean then you should delete all your System Restore points and recreate a new one. Please follow the instructions here How to turn off and turn on System Restore in Windows XP How to turn off and turn on System Restore in Windows Vista

Hi Mikey. Always good to see new people here. Have a look around.

Look at this page on accessiing control panel functions. Typing appwiz.cpl in the run box or in a command prompt should open add/remove. Once removed I'll be back in a while and provide cleanup steps. A mac can get infected too it's just that there is more malware written for windows then a mac.

Hi brundle. Welcome to the forums. just jump right in and enjoy.

Hi blue; To be honest here you seem to be downloading and installing crap via a torrent program. On top of that you're probably getting infected with malware from the crap. In addition your AV is far from a good choice. Your computer shows all the classic signs of being re-infected over and over again. If you wish to proceed with this matter you need to get rid of all P2P and torrent programs and keep them off. Please note that it is against the rules for us to assist you with P2P or torrents so they have to go since it is the source of your problems. Are you willing to do so?

Is this a desktop and if so have you looked inside to see if it needs cleaned?

Well said Mara. It puts things into perspective.

Here in the USA the Salvation Army runs an Adopt-A-Family program. Where I used to work most of the departments and shifts would adopt a family. We would take up a collection and buy them what they put on their list. Individuals can adopt a family too. We always had money left over and would buy them everything they needed for a great christmas dinner. You would be surprised at how little they asked for and usually the items were what the more fortunate consider the basics of life. A very worthwhile cause.

I'm glad you figured it out caskin. On another note if you do a System Restore in Safe Mode you can not undo it. Please keep that in mind. I realize that was not the case with you. Also thanks for the information. You know we will see it again so thanks.

When was the last time you updated it. Like Daylo said there were some issues a while back. The best fix was to uninstall it and and download the latest version.

Hi mark; I think Dalo is referring to the GPU - Graphics Processor Unit I don't know where to find the driver version but I'm sure Dalo can help you with that.

That was good.

Check out W3C's validators to help look for errors. Note: If you want to validate your CSS style sheet embedded in an (X)HTML document, you should first check that the (X)HTML you use is valid. I see the (X)HTML validator brings up 16 errors.

Great examples Saxon. I also agree with never getting extended warranties. Chelle as to what type of computers you need is totally dependant on what you intend to use them for. Now and in the future. Where you buy them is important but I think what brand you buy is important too. The first thing that comes to my mind is the level of support from the manufacturer. Although I am not recommending any brand over another I've found some models totally lacking in support while others will offer support for quite some time when it comes to troubleshooting, driver updates and downloads etc. I would also make sure you can obtain or make a set of recovery DVD's instead of just having the option to restore from a hidden partition on the hard drive.

Why did you try to choose the port manually. It should be automatic? Remove any printers from the control panel and try again. Reboot just to make sure. Remove the usb cable before rebooting. Next time click no when it asks you if you want to select a port manually.

Your home page is working in IE7 now. Did you change something?

What is the exact make/model/number of this laptop? Which version is corrupt? What was the XP version it originally had? Do you have the disk for the original version? Is there a recovery option from within Windows? (original factory restore) Where did these three versions come from? Do you have the other two disks? I think we need to completely get rid of all the versions and reinstall the original.

XP Clean Install

I can get it to open properly in Opera 9.22 and FireFox2 but not IE7. This has to be a code issue on the website. Is your older PC using IE6?

For that price you can do a lot better for security. I would go for NOD32 Security Suite. It's the first one on the list from the link wolfeymole provided. You can keep virgin as your isp. Just uninstall pcguard before installing another security suite. But like I said no security will protect you if you bypass it. By the way I'm glad everything is working well again for you.

I'm really not a fan of pcguard but I understand why you have it if your getting it for free. Either way no security product can protect you if you or someone else allows something to bypass it. Downloaded games, screensavers or file sharing P2P programs come to mind. This is probably what happened.

Well if that's all you put on it since you got it and since it's brand new I would return it as it has to be a hardware problem like a bad hard drive or memory. At least it will still be under warranty so there is no reason to worry about diagnostics. That's their problem. Let us know what they say especially if they try to charge you anything.

Mcafee is fine but what programs have you installed?

I doubt overheating could have anything to do with it. The three most common causes of a slow running computer are: 1. Malware. 2. A failing hard drive. 3. Too many startup items. 1. What security do you have? Are you running any P2P as these can install or allow malware onto your computer. 2. Is this a brand new computer? If not have you done a hard drive check? 3. Have you installed a lot of programs on it that might be running at startup?