r0adrunner

I performed the same scan again twice this morning as recommended, but again no violations were found. The laptop has been running normally ever since the original incident which caused me to open this thread. I notice it might be connected to watching video streams. Shall I let things be for now or is there anything further I can do? Meanwhile, in the first reply to my original post, Plastic Nev suspected I have a faulty screen. The vertical lines are still there. Shall I get it repaired? Thanks for your help.

Sorry for the delay in replying. I re-started the laptop, tapping the F8 key as suggested, and I was able to perform the sfc /scannow in Safe Mode. It began with this message Beginning verification of system scan then it did the scan, showing the % progress, until the final messages appeared Verification 100% complete followed by Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations. Did I do the scan correctly? If so, is there anything else I can do? Thank you.

I tried that too but it makes no difference, I still only get "cmd" appear, not "cmd.exe". Left or right click on it brings the same black background dialogue box with the prompt as in post #4 above with the prompt C:\Users\James>

Since I can only go directly to the Security Window, I typed sfc /scannow at the prompt C:\Users\James> but the following error message was received: You must be an administrator running a console session in order to run the sfc utility. (I cannot post screenshots because I receive an error message saying they take up too much data.) Thanks.

Thank you. When I click (with right or left button) on the cmd icon - the only one to appear when I type cmd.exe in the Serach box - a dialogue box appears,with a prompt, there are no actual options. Thanks.

1. Yesterday when I switched on my Sony Vaio laptop I was immediately directed to the CTRL-ALT-DEL commands, requiring me to start Windows from there. This morning, while Windows started normally, the laptop froze after several minutes and I had to use hold down the power button in order to switch it off and then switch it on again using the power button in order for it to become responsive again. I then ran a full MS Security Essentials scan that found no threats. Any advice about what I can do would be appreciated. 2. For the last few months I have had two narrow vertical lines appear on the screen, towards the left-hand side. They come and go - right now they have disappeared - but they are usually there. I connected the laptop to the TV today using a HDMI cable while the lines appeared on the laptop screen, but they did not appear on the TV screen. Again, any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you for the advice. I managed to run a full MS Security Essentials scan which found no threats. Since it is working fine now, do you still think it is worth pursuing it with the retailer (Amazon) or manufacturer (Sony)? Cheers.

Yesterday I received an error message on my laptop - which I bought new about 8 months ago - saying "Operating System not found." After switching it off it re-started normally. I ran a full Malwarebytes scan which found 6 infected files and removed them. It produced the log below. Later today I will run a full MS Security Essentials scan. I wondered whether anyone knew what might be wrong. Thank you. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.75.0.1300 http://www.malwarebytes.org Database version: v2013.06.17.05 Windows 7 Service Pack 1 x64 NTFS Internet Explorer 10.0.9200.16618 James :: JAMES-VAIO [administrator] 17/06/2013 22:37:40 mbam-log-2013-06-17 (22-37-40).txt Scan type: Full scan (C:\|Q:\|) Scan options enabled: Memory | Startup | Registry | File System | Heuristics/Extra | Heuristics/Shuriken | PUP | PUM Scan options disabled: P2P Objects scanned: 362990 Time elapsed: 49 minute(s), 46 second(s) Memory Processes Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Memory Modules Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Keys Detected: 2 HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{00CBB66B-1D3B-46D3-9577-323A336ACB50} (PUP.Blabbers) -> Delete on reboot. HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{963B125B-8B21-49A2-A3A8-E37092276531} (PUP.Blabbers) -> Delete on reboot. Registry Values Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Data Items Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Folders Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Files Detected: 4 C:\Users\James\AppData\Local\Temp\DM\chMHnU6Wv3j5QsC\installer.exe (Adware.DomaIQ) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. C:\Users\James\AppData\Local\Temp\DM\chMHnU6Wv3j5QsC\Player_Setup.exe (Adware.DomaIQ) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. C:\Users\James\Downloads\Player_Plugin.exe (Adware.DomaIQ) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. C:\Users\James\Downloads\Player_Setup.exe (Adware.DomaIQ) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. (end)

Ah, I see. I will try it then and report back. Thank you.

I have found the RJ45 socket on the laptop, but I cannot find one on the TalkTalk router, just 4 LAN sockets, a DSL socket (which is in use) and a USB socket. Does this mean I cannot connect the router to my laptop using a cable? Thanks.

No, so far I am not experiencing any problems, so I will assume things are ok. Thank you. I am very pleased with the performance of this Sony Viao laptop so far.

I have installed the latest version of Malwarebytes and run a quick scan with the results below. Is there anything which needs further action? Thanks. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.70.0.1100 http://www.malwarebytes.org Database version: v2013.01.01.03 Windows 7 Service Pack 1 x64 NTFS Internet Explorer 9.0.8112.16421 James :: JAMES-VAIO [administrator] 01/01/2013 16:19:44 mbam-log-2013-01-01 (16-19-44).txt Scan type: Quick scan Scan options enabled: Memory | Startup | Registry | File System | Heuristics/Extra | Heuristics/Shuriken | PUP | PUM Scan options disabled: P2P Objects scanned: 211775 Time elapsed: 5 minute(s), 25 second(s) Memory Processes Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Memory Modules Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Keys Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Values Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Data Items Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Folders Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) Files Detected: 0 (No malicious items detected) (end)

I followed your instructions and performed a Quick Scan and 72 threats were found and deleted. Is a Quick Scan sufficient? Thanks.

Thanks for the instructions. I uninstalled the McAfee programs using the Windows Uninstall Program tool (I could not use the tools on the McAfee website because I had not registered there before the free trial which came with the laptop expired). I installed the MS Essentials program and performed a full scan which resulted in no threats being detected. Is there anything else I need to do? Thanks.

Should I uninstall the free McAfee program which came with the laptop before I install MS Essentials, I can i do it afterwards? Thanks.