help!! xp not responding

[Guest]

it started with feeze ups, now, nothing works. i tried to do system recovery
but when i try to click on a button or file, nothing happens. if i do this a
few times, the whole desktop goes into freeze. im on another computer now,
but i have to fix mine andi dont knowhow to even start. i have msn with
microsoft anti spyware, nortons, avg, spyware blaster, spybot, pest patrol,
webroot spysweeper, spyblocker, zone alarm, and probably others i cant think
of off hand. when the freeze ups started a few days ago, they were short. i
ran scan after scan to try to find out what was the problem but nothing
showed up. now nothing will respond at all. can someone help? i have tons of
important work in there and i cant lose it!!
lb.

 

[lvee]

Try starting your computer in safe mode.
To do that, restart your computer and as soon as the screen turns black hit
the F8 key repeatedly until the safe mode, etc options screen comes up.
Choose safe mode, then when that loads..if that loads..Go to My
computer>local C: drive>right click>properties and on the General Tab, click
disk cleanup...this will remove all your temp files, etc...this is just for
starters,
Then, turn off system restore...from desktop, right click My
Computer>properties>system restore tab.

Now, Start with SpyBot Search & Destroy..run a full system scan.
Then run the rest of them.
Post back with the results..or if you can't get to safe mode.

 

[Guest]

thanks.
i am in safe mode now, doing a system restore back a few days. will spybot
find something in safe mode with restore shut off that it wont find normally?
(cuz i been running all my security programs scanning to find the problem
when it was just starting) if i disable system restore will i be able to
re-enable it? i dont want to lose everything and i need a way to get back.
-ugh!!!
lb.

 

[lvee]

System restore...what it does is restore your computers configuration to a
previous state. If you have any spyware, malware, or viruses and you
restore your computer to a point that contains those, you will be restoring
the virus or whatever. You will not lose any documents, etc. The only
thing you will lose are infected restore points.
By turning off system restore you are emptying all restore points (.in
effect removing the point in time on your computers memory that contained
those spyware's, etc)..therefore you will not be able to restore your
computer to an earlier point, which is no big deal since your earlier
restore points are likely filled with spyware, etc.
Yes, you will be able to turn it back on, but don't do that until your pc is
operation correctly. Once it is, turn it back on, and then you can create a
CLEAN restore point...then, if something happens that does not involve
spyware, etc, you can go back to that point that you created.
So, back to basics. Turn system restore off first, before you do anything
else.
Then, perform the DISK Cleanup,
The run SpyBot, etc.

When you are all done...remember, all this is done in Safe Mode..when you
are all done, reboot your computer, then, go to each one of your spyware,
etc programs and check for updates. When that's done, run them all once
more...timely I know.
Then, if all is well, go back to that system restore tab, and uncheck the
box that disabled your system restore..that will now enable your system
restore.
Then, you can go to System Tools and create a new restore point.
Your computer, by default, creates periodic restore points, when system
restore is turned on, but you can always create your own right before you
add anything new to your computer, or make any changes. That way, if those
changes screw things up, you can restore your computer to a time that it
worked.

 

[Guest]

thanks. here goes.
lb.

System restore...what it does is restore your computers configuration to a
previous state. If you have any spyware, malware, or viruses and you
restore your computer to a point that contains those, you will be restoring
the virus or whatever. You will not lose any documents, etc. The only
thing you will lose are infected restore points.
By turning off system restore you are emptying all restore points (.in
effect removing the point in time on your computers memory that contained
those spyware's, etc)..therefore you will not be able to restore your
computer to an earlier point, which is no big deal since your earlier
restore points are likely filled with spyware, etc.
Yes, you will be able to turn it back on, but don't do that until your pc is
operation correctly. Once it is, turn it back on, and then you can create a
CLEAN restore point...then, if something happens that does not involve
spyware, etc, you can go back to that point that you created.
So, back to basics. Turn system restore off first, before you do anything
else.
Then, perform the DISK Cleanup,
The run SpyBot, etc.

When you are all done...remember, all this is done in Safe Mode..when you
are all done, reboot your computer, then, go to each one of your spyware,
etc programs and check for updates. When that's done, run them all once
more...timely I know.
Then, if all is well, go back to that system restore tab, and uncheck the
box that disabled your system restore..that will now enable your system
restore.
Then, you can go to System Tools and create a new restore point.
Your computer, by default, creates periodic restore points, when system
restore is turned on, but you can always create your own right before you
add anything new to your computer, or make any changes. That way, if those
changes screw things up, you can restore your computer to a time that it
worked.

 

[D.Currie]

If you turn off System Restore, you will lose all of your restore points. So
you won't be able to go back any more. Which may or may not be a good thing,
depending on what the actual problem is. The reason you would want to turn
off System Restore and get rid of the restore points is that there may be
spyware or viruses hiding in there.

As far as *using* System Restore, you shouldn't lose any documents, unless
you've saved them somewhere like the desktop, which is not a protected area.
Things in "my documents" are usually safe, but the only way to be completely
sure that you aren't going to lose anything is by having a backup on CDs or
some other removable media.

As for the original problem, it could be spyware or viruses, or it could be
hardware-related. Depends partly on what you mean by "goes into freeze."

Good luck.

 

[lvee]

There is no chance of losing any documents, or anything else by turning off
system restore..it only removes restore points. You will not lose desktop
icon/programs, or anything else, so there is absolutely no reason to backup
any thing on your computer.
Using system restore is not the same thing as manually editing the registry
which if you feel the need to do, backing up your documents, and important
files is a good idea.

 

[D.Currie]

I didn't say that you'd lose documents if you disable system restore. I said
that it's possible you could lose things if you *run* system restore. For
instance, things stored on the desktop can vanish. Seriously. I've seen it
happen. If you don't panic, you can go back and get the documents, but some
people panic and can end up making it worse.

Or if the restore goes wrong somehow and the computer no longer boots, the
OP may not have the know-how or the proper software to do much but format
and start over, in which case, everything could be lost.

To me, backups are prudent any time, but especially when things are starting
to go bad. At this point, the opportunity is there to make backups. Later,
it may get more difficult.

 

[lvee]

Well, the thing about backing up a computer that has issues is that you are
also backing up those same issues. You don't really 'run' system restore,
however, for arguments sake, if you do lose anything after restoring to an
earlier point, it would be more like screensavers, desktop icon
shortcuts..and those types of things, and the reason that would happen is
because the point in which you restored your computer to did not have those
settings in place at that time, therefore they cannot be restored, but the
programs that belong to those desktop shortcuts are still in the pc.
However, updates. SP2 included can be, rather, will be lost if you restore
to a point prior to their installation. So, I understand your meaning,
Restore should never be relied upon to act as a fix-all if something does go
seriously wrong, it is only helpful in small registry changes, so having
your important files backed up is prudent. So is a boot disk.

 

[D.Currie]

I guess my notion of backing up is different in that I'd recommend backing
up important documents/photos/etc. rather than backing up the whole system.
The only time a full system backup makes sense is when the system is running
well. But if someone is about to embark into unknown territory to do
repairs, backing up documents and other irreplaceable files is a good idea.
I've had way too many people come to me after they've tried to fix something
and mucked it up terribly, and the first thing they need me to do is find
all of their files and back them up. If they did the backup before they
tried their own repairs, they'd save some money.

As far as what I was talking about on the desktop, if you had, let's say, a
folder that existed on the desktop. Not a shortcut to a folder, but an
actual folder. And that folder had documents stored in it. A system restore
could delete that folder or its contents if they didn't exist at the time
you restore to. Yes, you could restore back, but usually people simply panic
at that point. I don't know if it's *supposed* to work like that, but I've
seen it happen enough times that I know it happens. It would be better not
to store things on the desktop, but some people do, and never give it a
second thought.

As far as whether you *run* System Restore or not, I'm not sure I see the
fine point you're trying to make. System Restore (the name of the program as
it is listed on the menu) is run the way any other program is run. How would
you refer to it?

 

[lvee]

I guess I think of 'run' as in run a virus scan, etc...just semantics,
really, but I guess you also 'run' programs, so point taken. so I guess I
really do follow what you're saying, and agree.

 

[lvee]

Too bad we are the only two following this..I wonder if the OP has worked
the bugs out or not.

 

[D.Currie]

Someday someone will read it in the archives and maybe find something useful
in it.

 

[lvee]

Roger that!

Someday someone will read it in the archives and maybe find something
useful in it.