Please help stop my computer going out the window !!

[Guest]

Ain't new technology wonderful?

Well it should be but it ain't! And it can all go pear shaped so quickly as
you will see. It could happen to you too so do read on please!

Let me tell you a little tale about what Windows XP Professional did to me
and perhaps some of you so called experts out there can analyze what went
wrong and tell me what I should have done differently and what I, and others,
should be doing to make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else again.

Well, it all started with the beta version of Microsoft antispyware [yes I
know this is not the right place for discussion beta software but stick with
this please]. I don't have a problem with the antispyware really - for beta
software it's not bad but one thing it does which really ticks me off is that
it consistently mis-detects the drivers for my ATI video card as a deadly
trojan and then deletes it - this of course screws up my video settings and
all the other customisations that are involved [so it is not a simple matter
of just reinstalling the drivers etc] It all takes time which is precious to
me as it is to most people I guess.

Note: Perhaps this ATI driver really does have some elements in it that
shouldn't be there but the MS Antispyware doesn't give me enough information
about the files that it is deleting to enable me to tell it to PERMANENTLY
leave that file alone ... which leads me to the * REALLY BIG PROBLEM * that
resulted from all this.

As a good little system administrator I created a restore point just after I
had reinstalled and configured my video card thinking that if the drivers got
deleted again that I would be able to simply return to the restore point and
continue on as if nothing had happened. So much for my plans ....

Well, as I had figured, the drivers were deleted again [and again I really
didn't get a chance to say no because 9 different bits of nastiware were
found and they weren't properly identified] - Too late - I noticed that the
ati drivers had gone again and thought - Ahaa! I will use the nifty little
restore feature of windows.

Bad mistake! * VERY BAD * Mistake.

Like a good little microsoft disciple I launched the System Restore Service
and selected the restore point mentioned above [2 hours old in fact]. As this
restore process started I was comforted by the notice on the screen that told
me that if this "restore" didn't work I could always go back to the ways
things were before all this happened. [Promises Promises Promises]

Well I suppose you can guess what happened next. The system rebooted and I
fully expected to see my system back the way it was two hours ago. Boy was I
disappointed!!!!

What I got was something more resembling the screens I saw when I first
installed windows. You know the one ... the picture of the beautiful field of
grass that gives cows erections [erect nipples of course] ..... [And, by the
way, If I see that damn little balloon offering to take me on a tour of
windows ever again I think I will consider starting a terrorist cell in
Redmond]

All my installed software had vanished. So had all my documents. All my
customisations were gone too. It was exactly as if I was a brand new user and
I hadn't used the machine at all. That's when I really started to panic.

I checked out the Documents and Settings folder and discovered that my stuff
was actually still there [Thank god] but that windows had created two new
"User folders" [at least]. If my original folder was called bill.bloggs then
what I saw was

bill.bloggs.000 and
bill.bloggs.001.

So I tried logging of as a user [with full admin privileges] and logged back
in as the system administrator and manually deleted these spurious new user
folders. Then I logged back in as myself. Did everything come back to normal?
No! It just recreated another dumb numbered user folder with none of my stuff
in it.

From here on in I was stumped. I have no idea how to force Windows to go
back to using the user profile that I have spent so much time configuring.
There is precious little documentation on the system to explain how to do
this [or even if it can be done]

I have settled for deleting my user account from the computer completely and
then manually copying back as much as I can from a backup I made of my user
folder.

So if you want to stop me throwing my new computer out the Windows then
please tell me:

(1) what I did wrong ... and ...
(2) how to stop this from happening ...and... maybe ...
(3) how to correct this if it ever happens to anybody else.

So here I sit waiting with baited breath ..... considering that I think
Windows XP Restore is a crock .... and that MS Antispyware needs to get its
act together a little bit more.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Ain't new technology wonderful?

So if you want to stop me throwing my new computer out the Windows then
please tell me:

(1) what I did wrong ... and ...

You should have told MS Antispyware to ignore the ATI files the first time
it detected them. You shouldn't have relied on System Restore, rather you
should have used a backup program.

(2) how to stop this from happening ...and... maybe ...

Don't install beta software on a pc that has important data on it. Use a
backup program rather than relying on System Restore.

(3) how to correct this if it ever happens to anybody else.

It's too probably late now to fix it. Backup your data and reinstall may be
the only option. Without seeing the system it's hard to say for sure.

So here I sit waiting with baited breath ..... considering that I think
Windows XP Restore is a crock .... and that MS Antispyware needs to get
its
act together a little bit more.

I agree that System Restore is a crock. It's a last resort type of thing
when everything else has failed. That's what putting out a beta version is
for. To "get it's act together a little bit more".

 

[Guest]

:

(1) what I did wrong ... and ...

You should have told MS Antispyware to ignore the ATI files the first time
it detected them. You shouldn't have relied on System Restore, rather you
should have used a backup program.

I didn't really get the option because MS Antispyware did not actually list
the file that it wanted to delete - it identified it as a "type" of threat -
consequently it was gone before I really had a chance to say "no".

(2) how to stop this from happening ...and... maybe ...

Don't install beta software on a pc that has important data on it. Use a
backup program rather than relying on System Restore.

Easy to say but I really don't have a spare machine lying around just to
test out something as supposedly inoccuous as MS Antispyware and I don't
think many other people do either!

Furthermore MS Antispyware is sorta a necessary evil and is required to get
rid of some of the nasties out there that get onto systems because other
areas of Microsoft software didn't perform as they outta. The very existence
of MS Antispyware is testimony to the abject failure of sensible security
measures in Windows.

(3) how to correct this if it ever happens to anybody else.

It's too probably late now to fix it. Backup your data and reinstall may be
the only option. Without seeing the system it's hard to say for sure.

Thank heavens I installed a copy of a NON MICROSOFT product [Norton Ghost]
which did a full backup a few days ago. The trouble is that as I am still
rebuilding my machine after a major trojan/spyware problem and that backup is
a bit out of date which is why I tried to use MS Restore. Furthermore.
Restore didn't warn me that it was hopeless software that should only be used
in an emergency and not trusted. I haven't seen anybody else mention this
either [mind you I haven't been looking too hard until today] - so you would
at least think it wouldn't have much trouble going back one or two hours !!!!

So here I sit waiting with baited breath ..... considering that I think
Windows XP Restore is a crock .... and that MS Antispyware needs to get
its act together a little bit more.
I agree that System Restore is a crock. It's a last resort type of thing
when everything else has failed. That's what putting out a beta version is
for. To "get it's act together a little bit more".

System Restore is NOT in beta. MS Antispy sofware is. My problem is really
with Restore. Antispyware lit the match - MS Restore turned a minor flame
into a major blaze.

Also, your post really offered little practical advise about fixing this
duplicated user directory problem that seems to be the cause of all of this
angst ....

.... hoping for a most informative post in the near future.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Repies in line.

:

(1) what I did wrong ... and ...


I didn't really get the option because MS Antispyware did not actually
list
the file that it wanted to delete - it identified it as a "type" of
hreat -
consequently it was gone before I really had a chance to say "no".

That's unusual. Usually at the end of a scan it shows you what it found and
allows you pick want you want to do. You do have to expand each found item
to see which registry keys and which files are involved.

Easy to say but I really don't have a spare machine lying around just to
test out something as supposedly inoccuous as MS Antispyware and I don't
think many other people do either!

Then don't install beta software. If you read before you install it clearly
says don't install on a production machine.

Furthermore MS Antispyware is sorta a necessary evil and is required to
get
rid of some of the nasties out there that get onto systems because other
areas of Microsoft software didn't perform as they outta. The very
existence
of MS Antispyware is testimony to the abject failure of sensible security
measures in Windows.

It's not necessary. There are many alternatives. Some of the best ones are
even free. My current favourite SpySweeper is available for a nominal cost.
It does have a free trial you can download. It seems to do a slightly better
job than MS Antispyware but then it's not in beta testing either. As for
sensible security that would hurt Microsoft's sales. The vast majority of
users will pick more features over more security. Wait until Media Edition
is more popular with everyone's stereo, TV, heating system etc. on a
wireless network. The s**t will really hit the fan then. Spyware on your TV

(3) how to correct this if it ever happens to anybody else.

It's too probably late now to fix it. Backup your data and reinstall may
be
the only option. Without seeing the system it's hard to say for sure.

Thank heavens I installed a copy of a NON MICROSOFT product [Norton Ghost]
which did a full backup a few days ago. The trouble is that as I am still
rebuilding my machine after a major trojan/spyware problem and that backup
is
a bit out of date which is why I tried to use MS Restore. Furthermore.
Restore didn't warn me that it was hopeless software that should only be
used
in an emergency and not trusted. I haven't seen anybody else mention this
either [mind you I haven't been looking too hard until today] - so you
would
at least think it wouldn't have much trouble going back one or two hours
!!!!

So here I sit waiting with baited breath ..... considering that I think
Windows XP Restore is a crock .... and that MS Antispyware needs to get
its act together a little bit more.
I agree that System Restore is a crock. It's a last resort type of thing
when everything else has failed. That's what putting out a beta version
is
for. To "get it's act together a little bit more".

System Restore is NOT in beta. MS Antispy sofware is. My problem is really
with Restore. Antispyware lit the match - MS Restore turned a minor flame
into a major blaze.

I agree with you about System Restore. I have it turned off on my pc. I
sometimes use it as a last desperate try before formatting a customer's
computer. It usually works if the restore point is within the last few days.
Unfortunately most of the pc's I see for repair were infected with spyware
through many if not most of the restore points. Before spyware became so
common System Restore worked pretty well.

Also, your post really offered little practical advise about fixing this
duplicated user directory problem that seems to be the cause of all of
this
angst ....

I did answer your question about fixing this. At this point you will
probably have to reinstall or use the Ghost image to fix it.

Kerry