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sheeny
07-01-2012, 08:49 AM
Just got back from holidays to find my desktop PC is very sick.

Its running Windows 7 Ultimate and ESET NOD32 antivirus.

First thing I noticed was it would not connect to the network:


it says no network is available
cables are all OK
network is working fine for other puters

ESET NOD32 also has a message saying it could not protect email and web services because the Diagnostic Policy Service is disabled. When I run services.msc I can't enable/start the Diagnostics Policy Service. I get an Error 5. Also can't correct it from the trouble shooter as an administrator.



I also noticed some other odd things like the computer is supposed to be part of a home group, but the link to view/change the homegroup password does not respond.


In case it was a virus I ran a scan, which came up with 1 infection which it supposedly cleaned, but I didn't see any details.


I had a suggestion of uninstalling and reinstalling ESET NOD32 to straighten that out, but now I've uninstalled it I can't reinstall it. It just says an error occurs and backs out of the installation.:shrug:


It was also suggested I should do a windows repair, but when I put my windows system disk in, I only get the option to install - not to repair. Does a repair option come up after the install option? I've been caught this way years ago on XP and ended up with 2 windows installations:rolleyes:.


I'm hoping my son can come out tomorrow and help me sort it out, but I'd appreciate any leads and suggestions anyone can make about how to progress with solving this. I'm a bit lost ATM I must admit.


I'm feeling sort of bogged and not sure what to try next.


Thanks,


Al.

Tandum
07-01-2012, 10:38 AM
Al, you could try a system file check. Run a command prompt as admin and type: sfc /scannow

And you could try a system restore. Right click computer on the menus, select properties and system protection.

Might even be worth doing a hard drive scan for errors. Right click on C: in explorer, select properties / tools and tick the boxes for a full error check of the drive.

Good luck.

sheeny
07-01-2012, 11:00 AM
Thanks Robin.

I forgot to mention I tried a system restore but it wouldn't let me do that either (restore failed I should say not a permissions issue). I'll give the other suggestions a go.:thumbsup:

Al.

supernova1965
07-01-2012, 11:26 AM
You could have more luck doing system restore in safe mode press F8 on boot and choose safe mode with Networking:question:

I always find that Malware Bytes is useful for finding malware that is tough to fix use the free version no need for non business users to pay for it.

acropolite
07-01-2012, 10:42 PM
Al, your symptoms bear a strking resemblance to a trojan problem I had some time ago.

I had one trash my laptop OS, despite having Nod32 and Spybot S&D. The trojan got in via a vulnerability in IE and basically locked down everything I needed to remove it and prevented me from re-installing my AV and spyware. Nod 32 detected and reported cleaning it, but in reality the trojan had imbedded itself within the AV. Every administrative tool of use was locked down and wouldn't run, system restore wouldn't run either.

After several hours of trying to resolve the problems, I ended up backing up my data and re-installed the OS and apps.

I agree with Warren, see if you can install Malwarebytes antimalware, I've found that it will detect and clean problems that the other tools cant even find.

sheeny
08-01-2012, 07:40 AM
OK thanks for the tips. I'll download Malwarebytes and try that. From my research it also sounds like it could be a corrupt user profile.

Al.

chappo
08-01-2012, 12:35 PM
Microsoft have made available an offline version of Windows Defender.
The download creates a bootable memory stick or CD and runs in a protected mode of Windows.
I regularly scan my laptop with both Malwarebytes and Spybot R&D, but Windows Defender was able to find eight trojans on my system, and was able to successfully remove them all.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline

mithrandir
08-01-2012, 01:14 PM
Al, you could go for UBCD for Win http://www.ubcd4win.com/ and run Malwarebytes from a CD or USB stick. Download and create a CD on a different PC if you can.

By booting a different copy of windows you stop the virus/trojan/rootkit getting in the way. That only leaves BIOS level rootkits.

sheeny
08-01-2012, 06:01 PM
Oh well... after trying everyhting I could and all the siggestions here (up till John and Andrew's:)) we had no joy at all, so it was format C and reinstall windows.:sadeyes:

Now for a few weeks of reinstalling apps...

At least it works now;).

Al.