pc prob's update .. the fix

[nomadbkr]

.. this is an update to my previous thread "awwww crap .. puter prob's" ..
.. giving it it's own thread so's it don't get buried and missed by those that might need what I found to be the cure ..

.. took everyone's advise and started digging around for better anti virus software etc ..

.. get this ..

.. 1st thing to do was loose the virus for good ..
.. after running PcTools AntiVirus and getting limited results, I re-loaded SpyBot Search and Destroy ..
.. it found more than PcTools did and removed it ..
.. then I downloaded Avast to replace the PcTools AntiVirus that let me down ..
.. it too found more than the two others and removed/quarrantined it ..
.. then I downloaded Malwarebyte's AntiMalware and it too found and removed more crap plugging up this old pc that the other programs missed ..

.. then I found the "Bomb"" ...
.. downloaded Advanced System Care 3 .. it's a combo antivirus/antimalware ..
.. ran it and it quickly found and repaired an astounding 29 more Spyware's,,, 1014 Registry prob's ,,, 1420 privacy prob's and cleaned up 355.21 MB of junk files ..
.. that's 2463 additional prob's the other programs missed repaired in less than a half hour !! ..
.. and it repaired System Restore too ..

.. but .. after all that, disc defrag and chkdsk were still locked .. defrag still directed me to run a chkdsk /f .. but chkdsk refused to run or schedule ..

.. so ...

.. I went back to download.com and found a replacement defrag that's way better and faster than the original windows disc defrag ..
.. called "IObit Smart Defrag" ..
.. completely bypasses the original defrag, is quicker .. AND .. once your files are defragmented,  it also defrag's in real time maintaining the volumes ..

.. it was the final piece to the cure ..
.. this pc is now better'n new I'd say ..
..  in spite of now running the multiple programs in the background and the near max'd out 200GB hard drive and measley 512MB of ram this antique pc is now quicker and seems livelier than ever..

.. so .. catching that virus might have been a good thing in disquise ..
.. with everyone's .02, this puter is not only fixed, it's better'n ever ..
.. so I can again put off catching up with technology buy buying a new puter .. lol ..

.. if anyone's having similar prob's, all the software I mentioned above is at download.com ..
.. it's all freeware ..

thx again .. everyone's .02 is greatly appreciated

nomad

[truck]

Good to hear you got her going again.

[HroadhogD1]

     Glad its going again, but since the defrag, chkdsk isn't working is it possible there is still something there?
Do one more thing.  Download SuperAntiSpyware professional version.  It is a 30 day version that won't cost anything-like I said its a trial version.  
Run a scan and just use it for your 30 day trial period.  It is possible there is a small part of something there yet.  There are also free online scans from Kaspersky.  As long as you have made it this far, just try those to be sure.    
Good Luck,        Al

[panhead_dan]

I went to the site but could not find "Advanced System Care 3". I searched using for vista os. I would like to run that if I could find it.

[HroadhogD1]

  Personally I would not recommend Advanced Systems Care, But it works for some.  It is buggy.  JMO

[panhead_dan]

Found it. Downloaded it and used it.
It found and fixed a ton of crap!
So far, so good.

[JimB]

I couldnt help out on the problems because Im not that good with computers... But thanks for the info.

In todays world of large files & programs I know your 512 of memory isnt enough. If you need to boost your memory, I can recommend the Memory Store ... www.MemoryStore.com , most RAM modules start at $19.95 each.

[Panzer]

Thanks Nomad,
Way to go guy, way to go.
I downloaded System care 3 and it cleared a lot of junk from this puter too.
Always something good comes out of some thing bad.

Panzer

[nomadbkr]

truck ..
..... yea .. only took half the weekend .. LMAO ..
.. thx ...

HroadHog ..
.. yea .. forgot to mention that my initial attempts included SuperAntiSpyware .. not professional, but it did seem to be doin ok for near a year .. the virus made it all but useless though .. so I'm now running the other stuff I mentioned which found and removed much more than S'A'Spyware could .. good lil program for awhile though ..
.. as far as defrag and dskchk still not working, I'm not all that concerned 'bout it now ..
.. the new defrag program is better than what came with this xp pc and defrags in real time as the fragments occur .. the old defrag being still locked up might be my doing cuz of my previous attempts to fix things .. apparently when I tried to schedule a dskchk the old defrag picked up on it and windows figured I'd better do the dskchk ..
.. something is still running that's preventing dskchk from scheduling, but that doesn't bother me either .. things are runnin good now .. no need to fix it if it ain't broke I figure ..
.. and yea .. I read in the reviews that the old Advanced System Care had some bugs ..
.. this Advanced System Care 3 .. which is the latest version .. it's still new to me, so I can't really speak for it, 'cept to say that it was what got me up and runnin strong again .. time will tell if it lasts ..
.. thx ..

panhead_dan ..
.. yea .. glad I found it too ! .. hopefully it'll keep yur pc up to speed .. so far so good here ..
.. thx ..

FastAire ..
.... yea .. need more ram .. can expand to 3G I think
.. and more storage .. and a DVD burner .. and a better sound card .. and a better video card w/TV out ... and USB-2 .. 'yada'yada ..
..  and if I do all that, I'm still stuck with a 1.6Ghz Pentium 4 that probably can't handle larger than 400GB of hard drive .. LOL ..
.. wasn't a bad pc in it's day .. I bought the best I could afford at the time and paid dearly for it ..
.. but like about anything involving pc's, it's obsolete in a year or less ..
.. today, pc's with more than twice the power and more features are available @ half what I paid for this one .. so upgrading this old puter doesn't make sense ..
.. so I keep holding out till I can get the plastic paid down enough to pull the trigger on a new one ..
.. prob with that is that I've found that I have expensive taste in pc's ..
.. even though better pc's are way cheap now, I want the "biggest and baddest in the land" .. LOL ..
.. so .. I keep werkin with this antique, waiting it out till a deal comes along that I can't walk away from ..
.. thx for the link .. been planning on adding more ram even though a new puter is on my mind ..

Panzer ..
.. eyap .. I'm glad it worked out too .. made me realize just how dependent I am on this darn thing .. it's an addiction I tellya ..  .. LOL


.. thx to all who helped steer me to the fix in keeping this relic of a puter runnin ..
.. much appreciated ..

nomad

[CrazyRay]

I'm glad it's better, but my bet is you are still infected. I agree with 88-FXR in the other thread, re-format the hard drive after saving all your data, re-install xp. That's the ONLY way I have found to make them squeaky clean.

[nomadbkr]

CrazyRay ..

.. no can do .. way tooo much to back up with this pc .. it has no backup utility and no dvd burner .. I'd have to put everything on an online storage and that ain't gonna happen ..
.. a lot of trouble to go thru when chances are it'll happen again .. LOL ..
... I'll just keep on keepin on and hold out for a bigger badder newer pc ..
.. thx ..


.. on another note ..

........ Avast Just Caught and Stopped A Virus !!  

nomad

[92Fatty]

Congrats. Never heard of the system cleaner, i'll have to check it out.