Firewall and AV won't start

[Guest DustyB]

G'day all;

 

I'm running XP Media Center version 2002, w/SP3 v.3311. Up until the last

few days, it was on auto-update, running along smoothly on my HP Pavilion,

M7680N, as it has for years...

 

The problem I'm having started a few weeks ago with Outlook; in that every

time I fired it up, it would come up in that stupid 'non-"Show Full Menus"

mode'. I always have full-menus set, and didn't change from that in any way

that I can think of.

 

During some back-&-forth with MVP's in the Outlook forum, it was finally

suggested that my registry hive must have become corrupted, and it was

suggested that I run: UPHClean. Did that. Didn't help any more than any of

the dozen or so other things that had been suggested to me...

 

In any event, the next morning I come in and find the 'Security Center'

telling me that the 'Firewall' is off as well as the 'Virus Protection'.

None of the instructions on how to turn on the FW do anything, as all option

boxes are grayed out. I've run HiJackThis!, and can see what's running, and

all seems to be okay. I've also run both the local and remote versions of

LOC as well. My usual ace-in-the-hole, CounterSpy, won't install and/or run

citing, "The system administrator has set policies to prevent this

installation". I am the system admin! I (overtly) set no such thing! I

take all the defaults and never fool around in the "policy editor", as I

don't even really know what it is (nor do I want to...).

 

Finally, having had enough of this, I thought I'd revert back to a restore

point a few days past. No such luck. The restore function WILL NOT allow

me to restore to an earlier point. I get, "Restoration Incomplete. Your

computer cannot be restored to: <date>..." I tried a number of other

restore points. All get the same reply.

 

I'm fresh outta ideas....any suggestions?

 

 

TIA,

Dusty - Everett, Wa.

[Guest Kayman]

Re: Firewall and AV won't start

 

On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:52:56 -0700, DustyB wrote:

> G'day all;

>

> I'm running XP Media Center version 2002, w/SP3 v.3311. Up until the last

> few days, it was on auto-update, running along smoothly on my HP Pavilion,

> M7680N, as it has for years...

>

> The problem I'm having started a few weeks ago with Outlook; in that every

> time I fired it up, it would come up in that stupid 'non-"Show Full Menus"

> mode'. I always have full-menus set, and didn't change from that in any way

> that I can think of.

>

> During some back-&-forth with MVP's in the Outlook forum, it was finally

> suggested that my registry hive must have become corrupted, and it was

> suggested that I run: UPHClean. Did that. Didn't help any more than any of

> the dozen or so other things that had been suggested to me...

>

> In any event, the next morning I come in and find the 'Security Center'

> telling me that the 'Firewall' is off as well as the 'Virus Protection'.

> None of the instructions on how to turn on the FW do anything, as all option

> boxes are grayed out. I've run HiJackThis!, and can see what's running, and

> all seems to be okay. I've also run both the local and remote versions of

> LOC as well. My usual ace-in-the-hole, CounterSpy, won't install and/or run

> citing, "The system administrator has set policies to prevent this

> installation". I am the system admin! I (overtly) set no such thing! I

> take all the defaults and never fool around in the "policy editor", as I

> don't even really know what it is (nor do I want to...).

>

> Finally, having had enough of this, I thought I'd revert back to a restore

> point a few days past. No such luck. The restore function WILL NOT allow

> me to restore to an earlier point. I get, "Restoration Incomplete. Your

> computer cannot be restored to: <date>..." I tried a number of other

> restore points. All get the same reply.

>

> I'm fresh outta ideas....any suggestions?

>

 

Did you get the HJT log analysed? If not:

Download and execute HiJack This! (HJT)

http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/HJTInstall.exe

 

Please, do not post HJT logs to this newsgroup.

Fora where you can get expert advice for HiJack This! (HJT) logs.

 

NOTE: Registration is required in any of the below before posting a log

 

http://www.theeldergeek.com/forum/index.php?s=2e9ea4e19d3289dd877ab75a8220bff6&showforum=29

http://www.thespykiller.co.uk/index.php?board=3.0

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html

http://castlecops.com/forum67.html

http://forums.tomcoyote.org/index.php?showforum=27

http://www.5starsupport.com/ipboard/index.php?showforum=18

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5

 

Other suggestions:

 

1.CCleaner - Free

Cleans temporary internet files, cookies, history, recent urls, application

MRUs, etc. ...

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

If Windows Defender is utilized go to Applications, under Utilities

uncheck "Windows Defender".

 

2.Download David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV.EXE from the URL:

http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe

http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

English:

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with-multiple-anti-virus-for-free/

 

and/or

 

Kaspersky® AVPTool

http://downloads5.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/

There's no updating involved since the scanning engine is updated

several times a day and you simply download the updated scanner whenever

you want to do a scan.

 

Dr.Web CureIt!® Utility - FREE

http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/

 

Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe

Note:

It is Free for private use.

Just download (do NOT buy) and install.

 

SuperAntispyware - Free

http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

 

After the software is updated, it is suggested scanning the system in Safe

Mode.

How do you boot to Safe Mode?

By pressing/tabbing F8 (or F5 on some keyboards) during re-boot.

Alternatively:

click onto Start==>Run, type "msconfig" (without quotation marks), click

OK. Then click onto BOOT.INI tab and 'check' /SAFEBOOT then OK and click

Restart. To go back to Normal Mode, you must access the System

Configuration utility again and click the General tab then click/check the

radio button 'Normal Startup'- load all device drivers and services'.

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=315222

[Guest PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Re: Firewall and AV won't start

 

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

 

Run a /thorough/ check for hijackware, including posting your hijackthis log

to an appropriate forum.

 

Checking for/Help with Hijackware

http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm

http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=5878

http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm

http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html

http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

http://defendingyourmachine2.blogspot.com/

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

 

When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2

(http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.exe) is the preferred tool to use.

It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware with

assistance from an expert. **Post your log to

http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,

http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22,

http://castlecops.com/forum67.html, or other appropriate forums for review

by an expert in such matters, not here.**

 

If the procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting this

isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and

independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA) computer repair shop.

 

--

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)

MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002

AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net

DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

 

DustyB wrote:

> G'day all;

>

> I'm running XP Media Center version 2002, w/SP3 v.3311. Up until the last

> few days, it was on auto-update, running along smoothly on my HP Pavilion,

> M7680N, as it has for years...

>

> The problem I'm having started a few weeks ago with Outlook; in that every

> time I fired it up, it would come up in that stupid 'non-"Show Full Menus"

> mode'. I always have full-menus set, and didn't change from that in any

> way

> that I can think of.

>

> During some back-&-forth with MVP's in the Outlook forum, it was finally

> suggested that my registry hive must have become corrupted, and it was

> suggested that I run: UPHClean. Did that. Didn't help any more than any

> of

> the dozen or so other things that had been suggested to me...

>

> In any event, the next morning I come in and find the 'Security Center'

> telling me that the 'Firewall' is off as well as the 'Virus Protection'.

> None of the instructions on how to turn on the FW do anything, as all

> option

> boxes are grayed out. I've run HiJackThis!, and can see what's running,

> and

> all seems to be okay. I've also run both the local and remote versions of

> LOC as well. My usual ace-in-the-hole, CounterSpy, won't install and/or

> run

> citing, "The system administrator has set policies to prevent this

> installation". I am the system admin! I (overtly) set no such thing! I

> take all the defaults and never fool around in the "policy editor", as I

> don't even really know what it is (nor do I want to...).

>

> Finally, having had enough of this, I thought I'd revert back to a restore

> point a few days past. No such luck. The restore function WILL NOT allow

> me to restore to an earlier point. I get, "Restoration Incomplete. Your

> computer cannot be restored to: <date>..." I tried a number of other

> restore points. All get the same reply.

>

> I'm fresh outta ideas....any suggestions?

>

>

> TIA,

> Dusty - Everett, Wa.

[Guest DustyB]

Re: Firewall and AV won't start

 

G'day "Kayman" & all;

 

"Kayman" <kaymanDeleteThis@operamail.com> wrote in message

news:O354yDq4IHA.2348@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

....

>> I'm running XP Media Center version 2002, w/SP3 v.3311. Up until the

>> last

>> few days, it was on auto-update, running along smoothly on my HP

>> Pavilion,

>> M7680N, as it has for years...

....

> Did you get the HJT log analysed? If not:

> Download and execute HiJack This! (HJT)

> http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/HJTInstall.exe

Yes. I've analyzed and reanalyzed it. All looks well.

 

....

> Other suggestions:

>

> 1.CCleaner - Free

Thanks. But that did nothing.

 

....

> 2.Download David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV.EXE from the URL:

> http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe

> http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

> English:

> http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with-multiple-anti-virus-for-free/

Thanks. While I'm sure that it's a great tool, I prefer to stick with my MS

Live OneCare solution. It used to work just find. Now it won't. Changing

to another horse is an option, but I'd rather fix and understand this one

instead.

 

....

> Kaspersky® AVPTool

> http://downloads5.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/

> There's no updating involved since the scanning engine is updated

> several times a day and you simply download the updated scanner whenever

> you want to do a scan.

Thanks. Another interesting proggy for my tool kit. But it gets the same

answer as the reply for the previous suggestion.

> Dr.Web CureIt!® Utility - FREE

> http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/

Ran it. Interesting proggy, that. It found lots of stuff already snagged or

quarantined by other tools. But nothing new...yet...

> Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware

> http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe

Already have it. Used it again just to be sure... Nada!

 

....

> SuperAntispyware - Free

> http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

Another new item. Thanks for the tip. But it got nada!

> After the software is updated, it is suggested scanning the system in Safe

> Mode.

Good point. Did that--hadn't done that before. Still no joy.

 

I think that what I've done is conflate several issues into a single post.

My bad! So, to get back to the subject of this post, the original problem

was that the Security Center reported that neither the firewall nor the AV

was working. LOC's been taking care of that task for some years now.

That's what I want to recover.

 

I've taken a heap of advice over the last few days, all I'm certain well

intentioned, but not all "safe". In the course of taking some of it, I've

managed to screw-up the registry, lock myself out from recovering previous

restore points, and I still can't fire up LOC!

 

All of these results were from my original query about how to permanently

set that *&^%$#X@!~ 'ALWAYS SHOW FULL MENUS' option in Outlook. Damn it!

My guess is that there's some mysterious setting in Office somewhere that

controls all of that. But now every time I fire up Outlook, or Word, or

whatever, those damned short menus show up. And as if that weren't enough,

now even NOTEPAD.exe has gotten into that act. When I try to save a simple

text file, it asks me about Unicode characters. Unicode? I don't care

about Unicode! Just save the damned text like it's been doing for the last

couple of decades w/o asking me more silly questions... Darn it all!

Updates! Phbbbbbbt!

 

I've managed to get the firewall working, by uninstalling LOC. Of course, I

can't get LOC working, as the installer file blinks at me briefly when I

click it, and then shows only a stony face of silence...<big sigh!>

 

After years of good service, this sure has become a lot of trouble...which

started right after I ran "UPHClean"....<very big sigh!>

 

 

L8r all as I continue to scratch my butt looking for solutions...

Dusty -- Everett, Wa.