Howdy all, first off I want to say I get out of school May 26th, so I can't reformat or risk any of my data until then. Keeping that in mind, here's my issue:

About three weeks ago my computer started to act up, first the sound was quieter (this may just be the speakers getting shitty), then it was running slow, and now its to the point where my computer will hang if I try to do too many things. Right now I have to shut it off by holding the power button, then when I get to the log-in stage I restart it from there to ensure it has a quality bootup and it works about 2 outta three tries. Every now and then I have to restart it again.

I can't think of any other symptoms. Any ideas, otherwise I'm reformatting on the 27th :D

gather some information noted HERE

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I agree most likely malware

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infidel, I'd like to check another avenue out first:

To me, these two problems>slow> hang> point to a memory problem of some kind:

1. Too many processes starting on boot and running in the background.
This will make the load time longer on boot, the surf time slower and the shutdown time longer.
2. Not enough RAM
Having too little RAM will be evident when you try to do too many things at one time.
Inactive programs take up 'space' on the hard drive, but when you use the programs, they use RAM.
3. Hanging applications frequently are cause by a process being on the Start menu that does not need to be there. This can usually be resolved by identifying the process and unchecking it on the Start Menu.
4. If the above don't address the problem, then it could be a faulty RAM chip. That is checked by running a memtest.

If you would like to check this out:
1. Open the Task Manager: right click on Taskbar. Look on the lower left corner for the number of processes running.
2. Check the Startup menu for processes at boot: Start> Run> msconfig> enter> Selective Startup>
How many processes are checked?
Are these processes "other than" the antivirus, firewall and touchpad if you have a laptop>
Because those three are all you need to start on boot> the rest is gravy. Mash potatoes are good with gravy but you can eat them without! Those extra processes may be a convenience for you, but the system doesn't need them to run all the time.

Give me the numbers for #1 &2.

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Stop Nuisance Startups

Bobbye - I've already reduced the number of start-up programs. I have about 80 processes running after start-up. I have 2 gigs of ram. I ran memtest and the hard drive tests in the BIOS and all of them passed.

Attached are the log files from the reports.

One of those numbers tells it all: 80 processes running is twice as many as average. With Firefox open with 9 tabs loaded, my email Outlook Express minimized and 2 Wordpads open, I only have 38 processes. And a look at the HijackThis log explains your slow access. And I doubt even 2GB of RAM will adequately support so many processes.

Malware is not the main issue with your system- too many processes starting on boot and running in the background is. ALL you need to Start on Boot are the AV, third party firewall if you have one, touchpad if on laptop and possibly a network process.

We need to run SDFix to make sure there is no remaining WinAntiSpyware/WinAntiVirus 2006/2007
Download SDFix and save it to your Desktop.

Double click SDFix.exe and it will extract the files to %systemdrive%
(Drive that contains the Windows Directory, typically C:\SDFix)

Please then reboot your computer in Safe Mode by doing the following :

• Restart your computer
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• After hearing your computer beep once during startup, but before the Windows icon appears, tap the F8 key continually
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Instead of Windows loading as normal, the Advanced Options Menu should appear
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Select the first option, to run Windows in Safe Mode, then press Enter
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Choose your usual account.
  
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Open the extracted SDFix folder and double click RunThis.bat to start the script.
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Type Y to begin the cleanup process.
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• It will remove any Trojan Services and Registry Entries that it finds then prompt you to press any key to reboot.
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Press any Key and it will restart the PC.
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• When the PC restarts the Fixtool will run again and complete the removal process then display Finished, press any key to end the script and load your desktop icons.
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Once the desktop icons load the SDFix report will open on screen and also save into the SDFix folder as Report.txt
  (Report.txt will also be copied to the clipboard ready for posting back on the forum).
  [/*:m:1bbf6jcb]
• Finally attach the Report.txt back on the forum with a new HijackThis log[/*:m:1bbf6jcb]

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Stop Nuisance Startups

touche bobbye

attached are the logs. thanks!

Not necessary. You would eventually end up in the same fix. Please handle what I have set up below. Once that is done, we can look into reducing the number of processes, including Services, starting on boot.

SDFix shows that you have 2 files sharing programs (P2P:
P2P Warning!

• IMPORTANT I notice there are signs of one or more P2P (Person to Person) File Sharing Programs on your computer.
  
  Azureus> nowcalled Vuze : Bittorrent Client.
  Ares:: a p2p for windows"
  
  Please note that as long as you are using any form of Peer-to-Peer networking and downloading files from non-documented sources, you can expect infestations of malware to occur
  
  Once upon a time, P2P file sharing was fairly safe. That is no longer true. You may continue to use P2P sharing at your own risk; however, please keep in mind that this practice may be the source of your current malware infestation
  
  I'd like you to read the Guidelines for P2P Programs where we explain why it's not a good idea to have them.
  
  References for the risk of these programs can be found in these links:
  
  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...rotection.mspx
  http://www.techweb.com/wire/160500554
  http://www.internetworldstats.com/articles/art053.htm
  
  See Clean/Infected P2P Programs HERE
  
  I would recommend that you uninstall Azureus and Ares, however that choice is up to you. If you choose to remove these programs, you can do so via Control Panel >> Add or Remove Programs.
  
  If you wish to keep it, please do not use it until your computer is cleaned.

You also have 2 software firewalls and 2 antivirus programs:
Trend Micro Office Scan:
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\CNTAoSMgr.exe
Trend Micro Intrusion Defense Firewall

C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\ntrtscan.exe
OfficeScanNT RealTime Scan

C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\pccntmon.exe
Trend Micro OfficeScan Antivirus real-time scan monitor

Avast AV:
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe

ZoneAlarm firewall:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe

Please remove either the OfficeScan suite OR Avast and ZoneAlarm. It is possible that conflicts caused by the duplication is causing a part of the problem.

Many of the 'extra' processes you load at boot are very 'labor intensive', that is, high RAM use and/or high CPU usage. Review the processes on the Startup Menu. Uncheck those that you do not need to start on boot and run in the background. See how much difference that makes. Most don't need to run all the time and can be started manually when you do need them. After making those changes- which are best done in Safe Mode> click on Apply> OK and boot into Normal Mode. Ignore and close the nag message that comes up after checking 'don't show this message again.' Stay in Selective Startup to retain the changes.

Post a new HijackThis log after completing the above.

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Stop Nuisance Startups

Argh. I knew the day would come when someone would finally tell me to uninstall those lol.

Okay I uninstalled trend micro and both p2p programs.

Attached is the new log.

both of these should be started on an AS-NEEDED basis;
set both to start manually and then using an Admin login,
get a command prompt (run->cmd) and enter[indent:2w9zf12t]net start MySql
net start Apache2[/indent:2w9zf12t]
once started you can let them run to shutdown OR issue net stop in the reverse order

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