My computer Sucks!!

[Reef Runner]

I have a Dell that is about 5 years old. It has a pentium 3 I think. When i am online, it keeps trying to open other pages. I am with Earth link and my pop up blocker is on. The pages never appear but it slows everything down. Sometimes it even freezes it up. it is trying to open hundereds of sites at once. I have ran Ad-Aware in safe mode and I have cleaned out all my cookies. Any idea on wht is happing here??

It only happens on certin sites.

Thanks

[Big-Al]

Back up your data, do a format and reinstall of all your software and start over. Every machine that is used much at all can benefit by this once a year or so. You can probably get rid of your problem easier than that, but this is a sure fix and gets rid of lots of problems and potential problems.

It is time consuming and a pain, but well worth it in my opinion.

[upnorth]

If you don't want to format you can try spy bot too. What version of windows are you running. If it is 2000 or xp you can create a new profile and dump the old, that should get rid most of your problems. You can also run msconfig (98, ME and XP) and kill all that useless stuff that starts at boot up. Go to start, run key in msconfig and then click the start up tab on the top and you can pretty much deselect everything but your anti virus. That should help, many of those d@mn spyware apps install and restart and re add themselves int that exact manner. If non of that helps you may have to format and re-install.

[Whoaru99]

Quote:

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Back up your data, do a format and reinstall of all your software and start over.

It is time consuming and a pain, but well worth it in my opinion.

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I pretty much agree. I'm the "computer expert" in my circle of friends and family. For the time one can spend trying to fix a virus or spyware problem (unless you are truly expert and know exactly how to cure each one), it's often faster and easier to save your data, format, and do a clean reinstall.

Of course, there is some knowledge required in that too for settings etc. It also assumes you have the install discs which are not always supplied with the computer.

However, if you want to give it a go, this site majorgeeks, gives you information and a logical process by which to clean up your computer. As it says, follow EXACTLY....

I've worked on some very hard ones and gotten them all following this guide. It's still not easy and can be very time consuming, but consider it a challenge!!

[MNmikew]

I just spent a week on a friends PC that was doing the same thing. There were so many viruses, spyware, adware, ect that it was not saveable. Format C: /s, start over.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOUR FIREWALL IS ON AND YOUR VIRUS DEFINITIONS ARE UP TO DATE! Dang hacker scum.

[Sandmannd]

I would do the format. You can get an external Hard drive fairly cheap to backup too. That's what I use. You can also use your CD or DVD burner, but I can fit a lot more on my 250 gig backup drive. I try to format at least once a year. If you do a lot of burning or surfing, it corrupt your system. There is a lot of other things you can do, but a format for me is quicker than fighting all the dump that gets on your system.

[R_B]

Try Ewido. It worked great for me when my pc was hosed.

[ZapBranigan]

Wow some of you guys scare me lots. Do NOT Format your hard drive unless you know what you are doing. With XP you better have the original install disks. And they are not normally shipped with your computer. Because the reload starts with windows and with Xp it has to get registered or it will expire in 15 or 30 days. So unless you have the 25 digit code to put in when you reinstall you are doomed. Also all software has to be reinstalled. You almost NEVER are going to be successful just copying the folders back in. The registery files have to get updated. This happens from an install. So unless you have all the original installation disks for everything I would never recomend this to anyone else. Scary advice you guys spew out here. Sure not to bad for say older windows 98. But really "just format your harddrive" don't do it unless you know the consequenses.

[Surface Tension]

Before you get started backup all the files you want saved onto your partition or onto a CD. You should also have a firewall on a CD or on your partition to install after the Windows install. Don't go back on-line until the firewall has been installed.

If you have the system disc from Dell it'll have everything you need to install Windows. If you don't have it and you fdisk then your out of luck. Just stick in the CD and reboot. When you get to the option to install Windows do so.

[Valv]

Even Win98 has same problems, any operating system except for DOS has same issue, if you don't have original disk you won't install.

With a virus in your computer there is not much else to do many times, it will fight any antivirus installation or removal.

The alternative is taking it to a shop and spend countless hours at $ 125/hr to have it fixed without format, the tech will be a little grumpy at the end, but after 3 days of fighting you might have your system back and at same cost of a new boat.

ID number on most sytems is a label on side of case, wether you had custom built or not. If you had a "borrowed" copy of software you should get the copy again, and you should have a disk with drivers installation for Video, Sound, Modem, Network, etc.

An alternative is to find a friend with a GOOD UPDATED antivirus, remove your hard drive and install it in his as a secondary/slave and have it scanned completely.

If you want to send me an email I can see if with a picture of your registry edit maybe some lines that don't belong can be erased, but if you don't antivirus it they will come back again.

Finally you could just replace your system with a new one, go to Dell.com check their outlet section, you can buy a new system MUCH better than what you have now for a couple hundred bucks, which is only 3 times as much as a new Antivirus software, it has one already installed, and has ALL the CDs to reinstall software if this happens again

[upnorth]

Something I didn't think of before, you can possibly do a system restore to a date when your PC was running correctly, that is if you are running XP. Depending on how your system was setup you may have to go back to your original setup point but it may be easier than a format or hours of trying to fix the problems.

[Big-Al]

Zap-

Obviously this is not a simple process and should not be attempted by the faint of heart and without having some basic computer knowledge.

I (and several others probably) made some assumptions:

1. The machine is a Dell, so it came with reinstall disks to restore to original condition. The user also has any other software disks that he/she has installed.

2. The user has some basic computer knowledge and can follow direction.

Certainly as a computer geek you will agree that wiping and reinstalling is a necessary evil sometimes and may be the best way to ultimately resolve lots of problems. That coupled with good prevention and maintenace should keep your machine running smoothly.

I will stand by my statement that on machines that are used extensively, a once a year wipe and reinstall is just good business.

[Whoaru99]

I agree.

A format and clean re-install is not that big of a deal if you have the disks and license keys.

There is a good point to consider though. Some of those re-install disk sets will not work with a clean drive. The OP would need to be sure of having a full copy of the OS before proceeding.

[cylinder]

Ya, if you don't have pix, data, documents to save, wipe it and reinstall -- look to see that you have the installation CD AND driver disk, along with installation CDs for any software that you use (MS Office, for example)

There is some free software that takes some time to run, but it may help. First one is AVG Antispyware- get it at free.grisoft.com Install, do the updates, then scan in SAFE MODE. Disable System Restore first, then re-enable it when you're done cleaning the computer.

One thing that many people don't know is that many of the tools that claim to remove spyware/adware actually put more of the junk on your computer. Be careful what you download & install.

Other free ones that can help are Spybot Search & Destroy1.4 & Adaware personal Edition 1.06. Get them at www.download.com Run them in Safe Mode; if you have more than one user account (kids, wife) scan each of them separately in Safe Mode.

If you have Windows XP go to download.microsoft.com and get Windows Defender. That is also a good free tool.

There are some other methods, but without proper instruction you can easily cause more problems than you fix.

Getting rid of this stuff takes a long time-- several hours of scanning. A reputable computer shop can get rid of the stuff for $75-100 or so. Is the computer doing everything you want it to be doing? Maybe it's time for a new computer rather than putting money into a PIII. If you aren't asking it to do things it wasn't designed to do, then don't worry about it. A PIII can handle Internet, word processing, accounting fine. If you want to get into video editing, or the kids want the newest games then I wouldn't put any more money into this one. I suspect that you aren't the only one out there with this problem.

[Slyster]

DEFENITLY spyware.

Run both Adaware and SpyBot (both free) and it will greatly help. I run both at least once per month.

[cylinder]

After re-reading all the posts, I stand by what I said but I do agree with ZapB. If you have important data on the machine, be very careful about backing it up. The process of backing up, reformatting and starting over is time consuming but not hard to do if you know what you are doing, but if you have never done it before it can be tricky.

R_B made a reference to Ewido software-- it's now AVG Antispyware. AVG bought it. You might want to uninstall it after you are done with it if you go that route, as it slows the computer down somewhat.

[upnorth]

No matter what you do, be sure to run some kind of Anti Virus and Anti Spyware software against the data you are backing up. Just because it is data doesn't mean it is not a source of infection. Prior the the internet being a big thing floppy disks were most probable way to spread viruses.

[Whoaru99]

If you want to try fixing it, go to the "Majorgeeks" HSOforum then, at the very top of the page, select "Support Forum". On the support forum page scroll down to the "Help & Technical Forums" then go into the "Malware Removal" forum.

Review all the stickies for good spyware/malware advice, but particularly the "READ AND RUN ME FIRST Before Asking For Support" sticky. This is a very complete and methodical step-by-step approach to removing malware/spyware.

As it says right up front in the sticky "Please do not cheat by skipping any steps. You are only hurting yourself if you do. And you will waste more time.".

If you have some particular nasties, there is also a sticky on "Special Removal Procedures" in the very same forum.

Again though, start at the beginning of the "READ ME FIRST..." sticky and you CAN/WILL get it fixed yourself.

[Sandmannd]

Another option is a new PC. This is a good week to buy, with black friday coming up after Thanksgiving. I know I'm up at 4 AM that day to sniff out the deals. Already found a list on google and there are a few PC's on there for low prices. Thought I would throw that in the bucket.

[Reef Runner]

Thank you ALL for your advice!!

It would appear that booting up in safe mode did the trick.

I booted up in safe mode and ran Ad Aware and SpyBot.

She's purring like a kitten now.

THANKS!!!!!