Dear LJ Genie...

[snugglekitty]

So, my desktop is still having big issues. Despite every virus scan I have done, it's still doing weird popups that purport to be from Explorer (I run Firefox, not Explorer) and restarts for no apparent reason.

I am okay with troubleshooting my computer to the point where it needs to be restarted or maybe a cable needs to be taken out and put back. I also know how to open the mouse, take out the little ball, and dust it. I'm feeling a little out of my depth. Any help would be awesome.

Second and far less importantly, how do I alter settings on my laptop? It's a Dell running Windows XP Service Pack 1. What I want to do is set it to automatically turn itself off if there's no activity for an hour. I looked under Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Power Options but didn't find anything. (And, if it can't be done, that's okay.)

I am used to having a desktop so I haven't quite adjusted yet. I don't think to turn it off when I leave the house, so I would like to have it turn itself off.

(Edited to put the first priority first.)

Comments

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

Control Panel -> Power Options

Power Schemes tab
then under the settings for portable laptop heading there are options for shutting off both the monitor and hard disks after a delay.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Yup, it's already set up to do that. Is that good enough? Like if I leave the house for a while and I'm not thinking?
mrpet said that laptops are not designed to be left on all the time and it's bad for them.

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

as long as you set it up to turn off both the monitor and the hard disks that should be good enough.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Okay, good. Thanks. :)

[trouble4hire.livejournal.com]

this message talks about a patch for firefox which sounds really important:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/nikkinewsnet/371520.html
also, have all of the virus scans been inside the operating system? the best way to get rid of all viruses is to boot off a virus scan disk. most virus scan programs should have an option to make a boot disk. put the disk in, turn on the computer, and tell it to scan the local hard drives. the boot disk should walk you through the process.
Most laptops have power options already set to hibernate or turn off after 15 minutes to an hour. if you have time to put your laptop somewhere and putter around the house, you can test it.
if either of your computers is still acting up next wednesday, let me know.
from what I understand, laptops need to be run off the battery at least once a month until the battery is as close to uncharged as possible. then it should be charged with the computer off. running a computer off a power cord all the time will eventually make the battery go bad.

in order...

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Yup, I patched that first thing this morning.

I did scan all the local hard drives and the boot sector during this process. Is that what you're talking about? Do I still need a boot disk?

Good to know about running the laptop off the battery.

If I still need a computer doctor by Wednesday, I'll let you know. "I don't mind company..."

Re: in order...

[trouble4hire.livejournal.com]

Scanning from a boot disk is different than scanning the local hard drives and boot sector. If you are in DOS instead of Windows, the virus scan can access more files. A number of viruses hide in areas that aren't accessible once the Windows operating system has started, so they can only be cleaned by booting off a disk.

Re: in order...

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Okay - would this also be called a "rescue disk"? That's what I can find in the McAfee security center that looks the closest.

[deravyn.livejournal.com]

Despite every virus scan I have done, it's still doing weird popups that purport to be from Explorer

Have you done a spyware/adware scan? If not, I recommend downloading either AdAware or Spybot (both if you want they are free) and having them scan your system after you get the most recent defenitions. A lot of times adware/spyware is not caught by anti-virus software.

If that does not work there are a couple of avenues to explore but lets see if the above works.

Hope this helps.
-D

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Yup, I ran both AdAware and Spybot with new definitions about two weeks ago. They found a lot of stuff, but I'm still having problems. The same problems I was having before.

[deravyn.livejournal.com]

Not to state the obvious but it may be something that has been added to their defenitions in the past two weeks, worth a try anyway.

Barring that, there are three things I would look at. First, you can run a program calles msconfig (just type msconfig from the run menu) and go to the "startup" tab. In there are all of the programs that your system is running when it boots. If there are programs in there that you don't think belong, you can google them and try to see if you can catch something that way.

Second, if you go into the control panel and under administrative tools there is an event viewer. This records all "events" that happen to your computer. There are two types of events you want to look at, application and system. You should be able to figure out the times that your computer has rebooted from these lists and see if there are any errors (things with a red icon) that could give you more insight into what is causing the reboot.

Lastly, you can do Ctrl+Alt_Delete and go to the "Task Manager" which will allow you to look at all of the processes that are running on your computer. Look at the ones that are running under your user name and you can google them if you don't know what they do and if any of them is a suspicious item the google search should turn it up.

If I explained anything in a confusing way just let me know and I will try to clarify for you.

-D

Now we're getting somewhere!

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Okay, I ran msconfig and went to startup tab. I found two entries labeled
"svcpack" and "196_150_ni" under a command "System 32." According to the Internet this is a virus! Progress!

So, I unchecked both of them so they wouldn't run on startup and hit "apply." I assume the next thing to do is to delete them and restart the computer?

For location it says, "HKCV\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run." Confirming the theory of 7j that the trouble is outside the OS (if I understand this right). How should I remove it? With the boot disk suggested by 7j in all her studliness?

Re: Now we're getting somewhere!

[trouble4hire.livejournal.com]

Upon doing some more research, it looks like you need a clean computer to make a boot disk. since you have a laptop, that shouldn't be a problem, unless you are seeing similar problems with the laptop. also, both computers should have a floppy disk drive. if they don't, you have to mess with cds.

if you google "virus scan boot disk" you will get several pages with appropriate instructions.

I would make a rescue disk and boot your computer off of it, then attempt to scan the computer. svcpack might be a program with a virus in it--if you delete the whole thing, you could loose whatever function the program runs.

if the rescue disk only reverts you to a previous profile, instead of allowing you to scan the hard drive in DOS, you might have to delete the programs manually.

check out these links before doing anything
http://forum.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/print?board.id=si_virus&message.id=43082
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/archive/index.php/t-15619.html

i think the first instructions are less invasive, but if they don't work you can try the second.

be sure to boot your computer into safe mode before attempting to delete those programs. there are instructions for starting in safemode here, though you can just hold down the f8 key on starting:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2001052409420406?OpenDocument&src=sec_doc_nam

hope this makes sense, and is helpful.

Re: Now we're getting somewhere!

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

First let me say how much I appreciate your time and patience with those who are not quite as technically literate as you are. :)

So, now. My laptop is clean, should be no trouble creating a boot disk from that. However, she only has a CD drive inserted right now. There is also a floppy drive which can be swapped in, but I don't know where it is and I don't think we own any floppy disks anyhow. So what would be ideal if possible would be to do this from CD. Is that just going to be a ridiculous amount of trouble? Should I ask mrpet where the other drive is and buy a floppy?

Re: Now we're getting somewhere!

[trouble4hire.livejournal.com]

If you know someone with the same operating system (it is the same for both the laptop and desktop, right?) and a cd burner, making a cd should also work. however, i would vote for swapping in the flopping drive. Floppy disks are easy to come by if you work in an office with older computers. some could even fall into your bag as you're running out the door to a lecture or reading.

Re: Now we're getting somewhere!

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Okay, the project is at a brief standstill. I have a CD burner on my laptop, but apparently no software, and the software page for Nero (that lets you burn bootable CDs) is having this weird issue. "Click here for trial version" leads to a page saying "This isn't a demo version, don't you dare download it unless you have a serial number." And I can't find the floppy drive, so mrpet is bringing one home from work.
Maybe this is a sign from the heavens that I should eat lunch.

(This is starting to remind me of Stargate SG1. "If you want the cure, you need to give me my necklace back." "If you want the necklace back, you have to give me my generator back." "If you want the generator back, you have to get me back my starship." And suddenly there you are facing down a whole starfleet for a cure that might not even work... *le sigh*)