Computer help

[son_ov_hades]

My computer, HP Pavilion Vista, has been pissing me off for two days. It takes forever for any program to startup, Firefox took 5 minutesto to start. It refuses to restart and shutting down takes a long time. Oh and I can't open the task manager.

Any ideas on what to do?

[Rogles]

Nothing's wrong, you're just running vista.
Seriously though, try a system restore or some kind of anti-virus software.

[Doc]

Gimme a screencap of your task manager, I specifically want to see if anything interesting is taking up a ton of CPU space.

[son_ov_hades]

No you don't understand, task manager refuses to open.

[Doc]

Download HijackThis:

http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html

and click "Do a Systemscan and Save a Logfile"

Post that Logfile on here.

[son_ov_hades]

So I have no idea what any of this means but here you go.

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 6:40:59 PM, on 3/1/2009
Platform: Windows Vista SP1 (WinNT 6.00.1905)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6001.18000)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\QuickPlay\QPService.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\QLBCTRL.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP QuickTouch\HPKBDAPP.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\HpqSRmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\HPWAMain.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\WiFiMsg.exe
C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\hpwuSchd2.exe
C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\LightScribe\LightScribeControlPanel.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmpnscfg.exe
C:\Windows\ehome\ehtray.exe
C:\Program Files\DAEMON Tools Lite\daemon.exe
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\ONENOTEM.EXE
C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.exe
c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSvcHst.exe
C:\Windows\ehome\ehmsas.exe
C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.bin
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\HpqToaster.exe
C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPHelper.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Taskmgr.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Taskmgr.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Taskmgr.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgui.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgscanx.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgcsrvx.exe
C:\Windows\system32\SearchFilterHost.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://ie.redirect.hp.com/svs/rdr?TYPE=3&tp=iehome&locale=en_us&c=81&bd=Pavilion&pf=laptop
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.daemon-search.com/startpage
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://ie.redirect.hp.com/svs/rdr?TYPE=3&tp=iehome&locale=en_us&c=81&bd=Pavilion&pf=laptop
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://ie.redirect.hp.com/svs/rdr?TYPE=3&tp=iehome&locale=en_us&c=81&bd=Pavilion&pf=laptop
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: &Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: AskBar BHO - {201f27d4-3704-41d6-89c1-aa35e39143ed} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: NCO 2.0 IE BHO - {602ADB0E-4AFF-4217-8AA1-95DAC4DFA408} - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\coShared\Browser\2.0\coIEPlg.dll
O2 - BHO: Symantec Intrusion Prevention - {6D53EC84-6AAE-4787-AEEE-F4628F01010C} - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\SYMANT~1\IDS\IPSBHO.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: AVG Security Toolbar - {A057A204-BACC-4D26-9990-79A187E2698E} - C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\AVGTOO~1.DLL
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: HP Print Clips - {FFFFFFFF-FF12-44C5-91EC-068E3AA1B2D7} - c:\Program Files\HP\Smart Web Printing\hpswp_framework.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Show Norton Toolbar - {7FEBEFE3-6B19-4349-98D2-FFB09D4B49CA} - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\coShared\Browser\2.0\CoIEPlg.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: DAEMON Tools Toolbar - {32099AAC-C132-4136-9E9A-4E364A424E17} - C:\Program Files\DAEMON Tools Toolbar\DTToolbar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: AVG Security Toolbar - {A057A204-BACC-4D26-9990-79A187E2698E} - C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\AVGTOO~1.DLL
O3 - Toolbar: Ask Toolbar - {3041d03e-fd4b-44e0-b742-2d9b88305f98} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SynTPEnh] C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QPService] "C:\Program Files\HP\QuickPlay\QPService.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QlbCtrl] %ProgramFiles%\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\QlbCtrl.exe /Start
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [OnScreenDisplay] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP QuickTouch\HPKBDAPP.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UCam_Menu] "C:\Program Files\CyberLink\YouCam\MUITransfer\MUIStartMenu.exe" "C:\Program Files\CyberLink\YouCam" update "Software\CyberLink\YouCam\1.0"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Defender] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe -hide
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccApp] "c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [hpqSRMon] C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqSRMon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Health Check Scheduler] c:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Health Check\HPHC_Scheduler.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [hpWirelessAssistant] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\HPWAMain.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [WAWifiMessage] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\WiFiMsg.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG8_TRAY] C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Software Update] C:\Program Files\Hp\HP Software Update\HPWuSchd2.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 8.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\NvMcTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sidebar] C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [lightScribe Control Panel] C:\Program Files\Common Files\LightScribe\LightScribeControlPanel.exe -hidden
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [HPAdvisor] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Advisor\HPAdvisor.exe autoRun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [WMPNSCFG] C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ehTray.exe] C:\Windows\ehome\ehTray.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [DAEMON Tools Lite] "C:\Program Files\DAEMON Tools Lite\daemon.exe" -autorun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [DW6] "C:\Program Files\The Weather Channel FW\Desktop\DesktopWeather.exe"
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - Startup: OneNote 2007 Screen Clipper and Launcher.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\ONENOTEM.EXE
O4 - Startup: OpenOffice.org 3.0.lnk = C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\quickstart.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: S&end to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra button: HP Smart Select - {58ECB495-38F0-49cb-A538-10282ABF65E7} - c:\Program Files\HP\Smart Web Printing\hpswp_extensions.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\REFIEBAR.DLL
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O18 - Protocol: linkscanner - {F274614C-63F8-47D5-A4D1-FBDDE494F8D1} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgpp.dll
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: avgrsstx.dll
O23 - Service: Lavasoft Ad-Aware Service (aawservice) - Lavasoft - C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware\aawservice.exe
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Automatic LiveUpdate Scheduler - Symantec Corporation - c:\Program Files\Symantec\LiveUpdate\AluSchedulerSvc.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Free8 E-mail Scanner (avg8emc) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgemc.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Free8 WatchDog (avg8wd) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgwdsvc.exe
O23 - Service: B's Recorder GOLD Library General Service (bgsvcgen) - B.H.A Corporation - C:\Windows\system32\bgsvcgen.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Event Manager (ccEvtMgr) - Symantec Corporation - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSvcHst.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Settings Manager (ccSetMgr) - Symantec Corporation - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSvcHst.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Lic NetConnect service (CLTNetCnService) - Symantec Corporation - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSvcHst.exe
O23 - Service: Com4Qlb - Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\Com4Qlb.exe
O23 - Service: COM Host (comHost) - Symantec Corporation - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\VAScanner\comHost.exe
O23 - Service: GameConsoleService - WildTangent, Inc. - C:\Program Files\HP Games\My HP Game Console\GameConsoleService.exe
O23 - Service: HP Health Check Service - Hewlett-Packard - c:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Health Check\hphc_service.exe
O23 - Service: hpqwmiex - Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\hpqwmiex.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: LightScribeService Direct Disc Labeling Service (LightScribeService) - Hewlett-Packard Company - C:\Program Files\Common Files\LightScribe\LSSrvc.exe
O23 - Service: LiveUpdate - Symantec Corporation - c:\Program Files\Symantec\LiveUpdate\LuComServer_3_4.EXE
O23 - Service: LiveUpdate Notice - Symantec Corporation - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSvcHst.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe
O23 - Service: QuickPlay Background Capture Service (QBCS) (QPCapSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\HP\QuickPlay\Kernel\TV\QPCapSvc.exe
O23 - Service: QuickPlay Task Scheduler (QTS) (QPSched) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\HP\QuickPlay\Kernel\TV\QPSched.exe
O23 - Service: Cyberlink RichVideo Service(CRVS) (RichVideo) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\CyberLink\Shared Files\RichVideo.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Core LC - Unknown owner - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\SYMANT~1\CCPD-LC\symlcsvc.exe
O23 - Service: XAudioService - Conexant Systems, Inc. - C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\xaudio.exe

--
End of file - 12344 bytes

[Doc]

C:\Windows\system32\SearchFilterHost.exe

Is a common Windows program, but has also been reported to be a malware file placed on the computer that looks like the real thing.

What sort of anti-virus/malware protection do you have on your computer?

O2 - BHO: &Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll

Did you install this toolbar yourself?

O2 - BHO: AskBar BHO - {201f27d4-3704-41d6-89c1-aa35e39143ed} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll

This is malware.

O3 - Toolbar: Ask Toolbar - {3041d03e-fd4b-44e0-b742-2d9b88305f98} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll

As is this.

OK, go back into HijackThis, click Run a System Scan Only, and place a check over the following items, then click "fix checked".

O2 - BHO: AskBar BHO - {201f27d4-3704-41d6-89c1-aa35e39143ed} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Ask Toolbar - {3041d03e-fd4b-44e0-b742-2d9b88305f98} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll

And then tell me how your computer is running.

[son_ov_hades]

I did install that toolbar but it sucks, I should get rid of it. I deleted those two and instantly my computer is running better. As for anti-virus I'm running AVG, I'm not sure if it's good or not though.

[Doc]

Are you able to now use the Task Manager?

Is that all you have? No wonder, you need more than just one anti-virus scanner!

Here are some good options for malware scanners:

Spybot: Search and Destroy
SUPERAntiSpyware
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Download any of them, update whichever one, and let it scan your computer.

Afterwards, post a fresh new Hijackthis log!

And if you use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, please post that log as well!

[son_ov_hades]

So it got so bad I had to do a system restore, everything seems fine now. I'm running like every spyware program out there.

[nurd]

Bumping this for need of computer help.

My computer makes an annoying alarm noise when I plug it in. Nothing shows up on the screen, but the fan whirrs.

I dont know why this is happening, any suggestions?

[UglyJoe]

The alarm noises are a code.  Your PC will beep a certain number of times in order to indicate what's wrong with it.  You usually need to track down the manual for your motherboard in order to figure out what the sequences mean.

If you can post information about the computer (make / model of the computer assuming it's a Dell or HP or other retail box; make / model of the motherboard if it's a custom box) then I (or someone else here) might be able to google up a manual for you.

Failing that, common problems for this sort of thing are loosely fitted hardware (RAM / video cards / whatever), bad power supplies, or worse.

[133MHz]

Also some motherboards beep like a police siren when something's wrong with the CPU fan (not connected or running slowly) to avoid frying the processor. Open up your case and check that your CPU fan is running correctly.

[PatMan33]

My first instinct is that there is a loose power cable on his video card. Those things make a hell of a racket when they're not getting the juice they need; plus, I personally think that he would have said it was a beep and not an alarm if it had in fact been a beep... though that's my own little theory.

Either way, it could be a loose power cord on a video card which would explain the noise and the lack of any images on screen.

[nurd]

Fixed it

RAM was in wrong :X


Argh.