RandyL

Hi Connie; Glad you could make it. RandyL

Hi Greytabby; It is never advisable to run two antivirus programs. As you suspect it could cause conflicts. Take care; RandyL

Hi Napoleon; Maybe you can find something here. http://www.xfxforce.com/web/support/supportCentral.jspa RandyL

Hi Postie. I hope you enjoy your stay. Welcome.

Hi Dan and Santa; I would take Adobe Gamma Loader and HPwuSchd2 out of Santa's list of needed startup programs. Otherwise it looks good to me. Adobe Gama Loader is part of PhotoShop wich I have. I personally could never tell the difference in color correction with it disabled. HPwuSchd2 checks for software and driver updates for HP computers which I also have. A manual check for updates on their site is easy enough if you are experiencing any issues; RandyL

Hi DSTM; The free version has less options but you still make a good point. I suggest just using the free version and the Cleaner tab on the top left. The next one down deals with the registry (Issues). DON'T USE THIS unless you know what you are doing. You are right that this program can be used wrong. And always backup the registry when dealing with such. A safer program might be 12ghosts wash LE. LE edition is free but I use the full program. http://downloads.cnet.co.uk/0,39100207,39181121s,00.htm In conclusion heed DSTM's warning on this program or any other program that deals with registry cleaning options. Thanks DSTM for the warning.

Here are the links to the programs I sugessted. CCleaner http://www.ccleaner.com/ Avast free edition http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html Spybot S&D http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html AdAware 2007 free http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php SUPERAntiSpyware http://www.superantispyware.com/ Combofix (direct download link) http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/Beta/ComboFix.exe ATF-Cleaner http://www.atribune.org/content/view/19/2/ Cure It http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/ CWShredder http://us.trendmicro.com/us/products/personal/CWShredder/index.html

Sorry gmackinnon; It was pointed out to me that I missed the fact you are disabled from using System Restore. I would still try cleaning with those programs. If it works and you can get into System Restore disable it and re-enable it to clear it so the malware can't come back from there; RandyL

Hi gmackinnon; Getting locked out of system files like msconfig, regedit and control panel and control panel programs is a sure sign your still infested. This can be fixed if the registry tools you used didn't do any harm. Use System Restore to revert if you think you did more harm then good. Most likely the two main culprits are WINAVXX and Smitfraud. In any case you'll need to do a thorough cleaning first. I'll list what I used. Then turn off System Restore to clear it. Next delete ALL your temporary internet files. You can use CCleaner for this if you want. Antivirus-Update and do a complete scan. I suggest Avast for free if you don't have one. Spyware/Adware-Use Spybot S&D, AdAware and SuperAntiSpyware. Next run ComboFix. Then ATF Cleaner. Then CureIt. For good measure also run CWShredder. Turn System Restore back on. Try these first. Let us know how it goes or if you have any trouble finding and using these programs; RandyL

Hi Just; Welcome to FreePCHelp. I'm at a loss so I hope someone else can help. Is there just one hard drive on your computer? Is it a SATA perhaps? Did you save your settings when exiting the bios? Not that it should matter. Do you have the recovery console option? Are all your ribbon cables secure? One last question. Was there any particular reason you formatted? I wish I had a solution ready made but maybe with just a little more info someone might have a clue; RandyL

Hi managers; Welcome to the forum. Networking is not my field but have you checked out their support pages? http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/DG834.asp For future refference there is a networking forum here. Once again welcome.

Hi Dan; Check out Pacs-Portal web site on start-up items. They have a fairly good data base that you can look up the msconfig start-up items to see what they are. http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php Scroll down to Programs. I usually use the Start_ups.exe file myself. Trojans, viruses and spyware can also cause slowdowns. Depending on what you have depends on what to do. Post back please; RandyL

Always glad to see new members. Glad to have you onboard.

Hi everyone. Nice screenshot Wolfeymole. I have to agree. The issue has to be one of not reading the drive. If the bios recognizes the CD drive and it is listed as the first boot option in the bios then it should work. Unless, just maybe, perhaps. The XP CD from your "other" computer is an OEM disk and not a full retail CD. The CD is damaged. The CD drive is dirty or damaged. It could be the last one even though it shows in the bios because you also stated; "I've also tried the motherboard CD. I don't have a linux CD or I would have tried that too. But nothings worked." If it was me I would try replacing or swapping the CD drive with another computer to see the effects on both. I have seen faulty drives even when they were new. Just guessing and trying to help; RandyL

I found it by looking for info on how to create an html web site. Jamey had a great tutorial on the basics. The first one that made sense to me. That was back at at the beginning at this site. (Remember Purple Cloud?) I might have been one of the first members originally. And proud of it. Was it Computing.net Jamey? RandyL

Just a guess or two here. Laptops don't cool as well as desktops. Perhaps it's overheating. Make sure the surface it's sitting in is flat and hard not cushioned. Don't leave it on so long. It's not a desktop. Cooling fans might work intermittlingy on your laptop. Please forgive my grammer and missed items in your post. I'm struggling with a temporary illness that is kicking my ***.

If you are trying to install XP on a computer that originally had 98 stop. Even if you could get it to install it will never work right. You will not have the computer specs needed. Processor, RAM, Hard drive etc. Ignore Microsofts recomendations. You'll need a whole lot more unless all you want to do is get to the desktop let alone the updates. Stay with 98 or buy a new system.

F2 on some. F3 on others.

What operating system do you use? Have you contacted the company? It doesn't appear that they have a FAQ on this issue. At first glance the site appears to be missing a lot of info that a reputable company would have listed. It could be a problem with their software. Or it could mean you have an older version of Windows and need the VB6 file from microsoft.

Hi bigmack73 and Jamey; Getting IE to open maximized windows or new windows maximized appears to be the same issue in IE7 as it was in IE6. Drag your borders of the open window to full screen. Click the box to maximize it more. Use an "IE SHORTCUT" such as the the blue e in the Quick Launch area of the task bar to open a second window. Create an IE shortcut somewhere if you don't already have one there or elsewere. Drag your borders of the NEW open window to full screen. Click the box to maximize it more. Go back to the first window and close it first. Then close the second window. Reopen IE windows to see if it worked. NOTE THAT THIS NEXT STEP MAY OR MAY NOT BE NEEDED. If the above does not work right click an "IE shortcut". Click properties. In the Run box choose the option "Open Maximized". Click "Apply". Click "OK". Repeat the steps listed above. Always works for me in IE6 and IE7. Of course if you change your windows size or settings you may need to reset it again.

New disks should not need formatting. Bad drive probably. Drive is failing. Happens with even new drives, especially floppy. The few that are left.

Are you using P2P programs? Free downloads? Do you have antivirus? You might be infected.

CD and DVD backup too.

Even a bad mouse can cause this. I once saw a mouse that had been thrown against a wall cause a one click off problem. Not mine. Not likely your issue but just in case.

What is the error report?