behaving weird

[tismehi]

my young niece told me her year old hp laptop was very problematic. i looked at it and found and deleted a lot of unwanted software i also updated windows, anti malware, antivirus and drivers.

i now notice that in the add and remove progs there is a limited amount listed. there were easily about 50 before and i deleted about 7 and now there are only about fifteen remaining. also, there is an optimizer which runs at start up but is not in the start up folder plus i removed it earlier. i tried to remove firefox as there were lots of weird toolbars, but it too is not listed in add and remove.

i downloaded revo uninstaller and it only lists 3 programs installed. i get a couple of error messages at start up too. i am currently running a disk check and have done most housekeeping too.

it is a hp pavilion g6 running windows 7 and intel i3. over 100 gb free hd.

[Plastic Nev]

Hi nice to see you again,

It does look like a lot of problems indeed, so I would suggest you look into the malware removal section with this, follow the instructions for downloading the various tools and post the logs, our malware guys will be able to see more from the logs and help remove anything else unwanted that will be hidden from normal views.

 

Here is a link to the instruction page, then either post them here and we will move this thread to the security and malware, or you could start a new thread in there.

 

http://extremetechsupport.com/threads/10689-Before-posting-for-Malware-Removal-help-WinXP-Vista-and-Win7#.U0RmqVfDWng

 

Edited to add, ignore my link and scroll to the bottom of this thread and follow Starbucks instructions in his post please.

 

Nev.

[Dokie]

Hello! Very new to the forum, but familiar with HP products. Have you considered restoring back to factory. Hp has a hidden partition that will a low you do do that in most cases. This would make sure your rid of all malware and give you clean start.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=5118781

[KenB]

Have you considered restoring back to factory.

This is always used as a last resort - and should only be considered AFTER all other options have been exhausted.

[Dokie]

This is always used as a last resort - and should only be considered AFTER all other options have been exhausted.

I agree and there are a lot more options in the link I provided. You can always copy any important data to a flash before restoring to factory settings. It is a great tool when the PC has been abused as seems to be the case you are describing. Here's how to remove Firefox!

 

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/uninstall-firefox-from-your-computer

[DSTM]

Hi.Dokie. Happy Birthday.

Everyone are very friendly here.

Just a friendly word of advice.

If Senior staff direct a member to Malware removal, then in this case best to not offer alternatives.

This only confuses the member what route they should take and can lead to confusion.

[Dokie]

Hi.Dokie. Happy Birthday.

Everyone are very friendly here.

Just a friendly word of advice.

If Senior staff direct a member to Malware removal, then in this case best to not offer alternatives.

This only confuses the member what route they should take and can lead to confusion.

Hello! Thank you for your advise. It is much appreciated. Not here to cause trouble or confusion. I just want to help here on your forum. I have no problem with advise from senior forum members like yourself. I was just offering advise to the OP that a clean install or back to factory might be some thing to considered sense the PC had been so neglected and abused, and possibly had a lot of problems besides Malware. In my retirement village, I have restored computers back to factory. I then make recommendations how not to let a computer get into these conditions.

PS DSTM Thank you for your birthday wishes and your advise. Please do not be afraid to offer advise any time in the future. I promise that it will be excepted warmly. I'm here to learn, help when I think I can, and pass it forward.

[KenB]

Dokie

 

I have deleted your last post - it was irrelevant as PlasticNev had already directed the OP to Malware Removal.

 

I agree and there are a lot more options in the link I provided.

There may be a lot of options in the link - but they are not relevant to this problem.

And if you agree - why suggest reinstalling in the first place?

 

You were advised by DSTM that once a member had been directed by a Moderator to Malware Removal then you refrain from posting.

This is for a reason.

So far in this thread you have made more posts than the OP!!

 

==========

tismehi .....please ignore everything other than Nev's link to Malware Removal

 

Thanks :)

[tismehi]

thanks guys for your usual professional advice.

 

under advice from me, she previously had malwarebytes, avira, superantispyware and spybot. i had already run these and things improved quite a bit, although the specifics i described are still present. my niece needed to take the laptop home as she had to finish assignments for college. hopefully i will get my hands on it soon and i will continue with the repair.

 

thanks again.

[KenB]

Get back to us when you can :)

[Starbuck]

there is an optimizer which runs at start up but is not in the start up folder, plus i removed it earlier.

 

i get a couple of error messages at start up too

These 2 are quite possibly connected.

Because of what you have said about the problem can i change the link given to you by Plastic Nev to this one:

http://extremetechsupport.com/threads/15547-Before-posting-for-Malware-Removal-help-Windows-8#.U0b8_6J1lwE

 

Nev's link would normally be the correct link for a Win7 system...... but i feel that the FRST program would be better suited to this problem.

FRST will run on any windows OS from XP through to Win8... instructions are the same.

 

Thanks.

[tismehi]

thanks. i'll do that when i get my hands on her laptop again. hopefully soon. cheers all.

[Starling]

Thanks for all the advice. I have been experiencing a few of the same problems so this is good to know. Is this just an Hp thing?