Would Kapaskey fix my problem

leon · #1 19-02-2014, 02:17 PM

Hi Guys, yes this is another post about the same slow computer as before, however a different question.

I run XP have only Microsoft essentials as my virus protection, and that seems to have served me well.

The question is this: if i have a virus or slow computer and i bought a new virus protection, say Kapaskey or similar would that sort out all the bugs in my computer.

Thank you.

Leon

mithrandir (Andrew) · #2 19-02-2014, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leon

Hi Guys, yes this is another post about the same slow computer as before, however a different question.

I run XP have only Microsoft essentials as my virus protection, and that seems to have served me well.

The question is this: if i have a virus or slow computer and i bought a new virus protection, say Kapaskey or similar would that sort out all the bugs in my computer.

Leon, AVG free edition has served me well for years, but none of the A/V products will clean up all the damage done by some of the viruses/trojans/etc.
CCleaner and Malwarebytes do a pretty good job of fixing what they can, but in some cases a complete wipe and reinstall is the only way to go.

noeyedeer (Matt) · #3 19-02-2014, 03:32 PM

hi Leon,
shame it's still slow

. AVG is excellent for free, would be better than Microsoft's that you're using. Kaspersky is decent as well for $40 and I think that's with a 2 year license.

as was mentioned in the other thread, ctrl-alt-del and run task manager and look for any conspicuous programs running and or hogging cpu.

if there's any dodgy looking ones, Google the exact file etc and it should tell you if it's meant to be running or not.

also I thought Microsoft stopped updating xp after they realeased service pack 3, so I doubt you've had any updates for a few years.

matt

AndrewJ · #4 19-02-2014, 04:03 PM

Gday Matt

Quote:

also I thought Microsoft stopped updating xp after they realeased service pack 3

Nope. The problem i alluded to in the other thread is as a result of "windows update" disappearing up its own black hole. Happened as recently as 4 weeks ago

Andrew

leon · #5 19-02-2014, 04:06 PM

Well guys have checked the the cpu usage and all programs are running normal, so it is probably elsewhere, as mentioned a reinstall might be the way to go if i cant find a solution.

thanks for your help.

Leon

noeyedeer (Matt) · #6 19-02-2014, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

Gday Matt

Nope. The problem i alluded to in the other thread is as a result of "windows update" disappearing up its own black hole. Happened as recently as 4 weeks ago

Andrew

thanks for that Andrew.
maybe it's Microsoft's new way to make people upgrade to windows 8. lol that sucks

good luck Leon

leon · #7 19-02-2014, 04:20 PM

Buy the way guys, as i was checking the cpu usage it also told me that it had 2.8 gig of RAM, however there are 2x2gig installed, could one be faulty, causing the slow speed.

leon

noeyedeer (Matt) · #8 19-02-2014, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leon

Buy the way guys, as i was checking the cpu usage it also told me that it had 2.8 gig of RAM, however there are 2x2gig installed, could one be faulty, causing the slow speed.

leon

when you reboot, how much ram is stated when it checks the memory? if it says 4096mb then you should be ok.

that's probably free memory in task manager. also check device manager to make sure there's no errors on your hdd controllers etc.

ps been a long time since I've used xp.

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #9 19-02-2014, 04:47 PM

Thats normal Leon.. Often some of you RAM is used for other computer functions like virtual drives and your Video card...

noeyedeer (Matt) · #10 19-02-2014, 04:52 PM

also Leon, when you say windows takes ages to load, is that when the windows screen comes on, or from the very beginning when you reboot?

how does it run in safe mode? if you have a friend nearby that knows about your win.ini config.sys autoexec.bat and windows.sys files is get them to have a look at those ... and the reg.ini (or whatever regedit opens)

if it is a virus or mallware or whatever, a lot of the times they attack those files, and for some reason not all is removed when they are detected. sure the virus is removed but not what it has done.

registry cleaner? I think will remove old entries that are no longer associated with installed programs.

anything if worth a shot before a reinstall I think.

matt

ps how much free hard drive space do you have? that virtual memory triggered that your swap file may be bigger then what space you have left of your HD

Marios (Marios) · #11 19-02-2014, 05:15 PM

You can try a online anti virus scanner that will detect and remove any rogue programs try this one.
http://www.eset.com/au/home/products/online-scanner/

However Windows, being Windows eventually you will need to reinstall from scratch.

leon · #12 19-02-2014, 05:32 PM

Hi Matt, when i press the on button it starts from there, it takes ages just to start, then it eventually gets to the blue screen and i put in my password and it crawls from there as well.

I will try all your suggestions and if all fails a reinstall or maybe an up grade to a newer computer, now that would be nice.

Leon

noeyedeer (Matt) · #13 19-02-2014, 05:38 PM

hmm have you tinkered with your bios at all? if you do .. there should be somewhere in there "turbo mode" make sure that is enabled.

on the old computers the turbo button use to be on the case. some virii do play with the bios. apart from that I'm out of ideas without physically sitting there and mucking around with things .. sorry

a new comp wouldnt be a bad thing either

matt

acropolite (Phil) · #14 19-02-2014, 06:33 PM

Leon, XP can only address 3.2Gb of ram, the rest is unavailable to the XP OS. If your PC is not too old it would be worth a new load, live on the edge and install W8.

I'm probably one of Win8's harshest critics, but if you load the free Classic start menu it's friendly enough and certainly boots heaps faster than the older OS'.

FWIW we had the same problem on an XP machine at work, tried everrything but never managed to find the problem. One thing I did find was that shortcuts on the desktop to anything out in the web can cause real issues, as can links to unavailable network resources.

leon · #15 20-02-2014, 01:56 PM

Thanks Phil, and to all those that offered suggestions, buggered if i know anymore, a new fresh start, or another machine looks very inviting at the moment.

Leon

ZeroID (Brent) · #16 20-02-2014, 02:41 PM

How old is this comuter ? What are the specs ?
There is a limit as to processing capability with the state of the hardware. A clean rebuild will probably help somewhat but it's probably not viable for Win 8, Win7 maybe.

leon · #17 20-02-2014, 04:40 PM

Your right Brent, did some research and it looks like Win 8 wont even load onto my machine.

All good though, I will probably get a new machine and start from scratch, it has been many years since that has happened.

Leon

leon · #18 20-02-2014, 08:18 PM

Hi Guys apparently I picked up a Trojan 32c it has been removed but things have not really improved that much.

Leon

pw (Peter) · #19 20-02-2014, 08:43 PM

You can try a scan with a different malware clean-up tool.
SuperAntiSpyware sounds like one of those scam/fake anti-virus programs that force you into paying to stop the warnings and nagging, but it is actually quite effective and similar to Malwarebytes.
Again, probably best run in safe mode to stop the malware being active and mutating when the scan and clean is being done.

Grimmeister (Anthony) · #20 20-02-2014, 09:08 PM

Hi Leon,

Jumped in on this thread but haven't seen the other one about the original infection so am speaking with limited back ground on this specific issue.

FWIW: Viruses can cause all sorts of issues for an operating system and I would suggest a rebuild at the least as a safe guard against repeat infections.

However if not a rebuild make sure you are comfortable you have cleaned the virus fully from your PC, this specific one looks to be aimed at stealing passwords and bank details so I would strongly suggest you use a different PC to change your online account passwords and check your balances. (Mind you there are a number of variants under this name and different AV Developers will call viruses different things).

One item I found was here: http://www.averscanner.com/scan/c9/~!-32c-tmp.shtml

Anyway, have you had a look at the event logs at all?? Usually an older unit that becomes slow like you have indicated is due to imminent hardware failure. Normally you will see errors about disk problems (that would be my bet on what the issue is) or other errors that may explain the root cause.

If all else fails, like I said do a rebuild and save yourself a lot of future pain.

Cheers

Anthony