Problems with user account - HELP

[Guest]

I hope I have the right forum for this and that someone can help me. For
some strange reason, my companion's user account is acting strange. His
background picture is gone, all the icons on the left side of the Start Menu
(Internet Explorer, Outlook Express) are gone, the screen is on the smallest
settings and will not allow you to change them, and he can not get into his
Outlook Express (when he tries, he gets the manage identy screen - when he
tries to put in his name, he gets a message that he could not log on as
another window is opened).

Does anyone have any idea of what is going on and how this can be fixed?

Any and all help is appreciated. Before anyone asks, NO, he does not back
up his files (even though I have told him repeatedly to do this).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Malke]

I hope I have the right forum for this and that someone can help me.
For
some strange reason, my companion's user account is acting strange.
His background picture is gone, all the icons on the left side of the
Start Menu (Internet Explorer, Outlook Express) are gone, the screen
is on the smallest settings and will not allow you to change them, and
he can not get into his Outlook Express (when he tries, he gets the
manage identy screen - when he tries to put in his name, he gets a
message that he could not log on as another window is opened).

Does anyone have any idea of what is going on and how this can be
fixed?

Any and all help is appreciated. Before anyone asks, NO, he does not
back up his files (even though I have told him repeatedly to do this).

Thanks in advance.

Is this a shared PC? IOW, do you have a user account on the same machine
and yours is fine?

First, back up your companion's data. Second, do all normal
troubleshooting for viruses/malware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Then if the computer is 100% clean and you still get the errors, create
a new user account for your companion and copy his/her data to it. You
will need to log into the new account once before you can copy anything
to it.

If the new user account works and the computer is clean, once you are
sure you have everything you need from the old account, you can delete
the old account.

Malke

 

[Ron Sommer]

Is this a shared PC? IOW, do you have a user account on the same machine
and yours is fine?

First, back up your companion's data. Second, do all normal
troubleshooting for viruses/malware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Then if the computer is 100% clean and you still get the errors, create
a new user account for your companion and copy his/her data to it. You
will need to log into the new account once before you can copy anything
to it.

If the new user account works and the computer is clean, once you are
sure you have everything you need from the old account, you can delete
the old account.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Companion is definitely a he.
7 he, 2 his, and 1 him

 

[Guest]

Yes, computer is shared. My user account works fine.

How do I back up his data? I checked his folder in My Computer and the
folder is completely empty - yet when I go to his side, his desktop has all
the files and his document folder has all his documents. Is there some where
on the C drive where this information is stored?

Just prior to all of this happening, I got hit with the SpyFalcon
virus/malware which seem to take forever to get completely off the computer.
So the computer has been checked, double checked and triple checked for any
spyware, adware, malware, etc.

However, there still seem to be some minor (and irrating) problems with the
computer. When I open the My Computer icon, the flashlight icon comes on and
it seems to take 3 - 5 minutes before the contents of My Computer are
visible. Also there are times when My Computer will stop responding. I
thought maybe a defragment might be in order but when I go to the properties
of the C Drive, Defragment is shaded and won't work. I can go under the My
Programs\Accessories and get it that way. Any ideas why the above is
happening? I am a couple of steps above a Novice when it comes to this and
feel totally out of my element.

And, yes, companion is a he.

 

[Malke]

Yes, computer is shared. My user account works fine.

How do I back up his data? I checked his folder in My Computer and
the folder is completely empty - yet when I go to his side, his
desktop has all
the files and his document folder has all his documents. Is there
some where on the C drive where this information is stored?

Just prior to all of this happening, I got hit with the SpyFalcon
virus/malware which seem to take forever to get completely off the
computer. So the computer has been checked, double checked and triple
checked for any spyware, adware, malware, etc.

However, there still seem to be some minor (and irrating) problems
with the
computer. When I open the My Computer icon, the flashlight icon comes
on and it seems to take 3 - 5 minutes before the contents of My
Computer are
visible. Also there are times when My Computer will stop responding.
I thought maybe a defragment might be in order but when I go to the
properties
of the C Drive, Defragment is shaded and won't work. I can go under
the My
Programs\Accessories and get it that way. Any ideas why the above is
happening? I am a couple of steps above a Novice when it comes to
this and feel totally out of my element.

Without having seen your computer, I have no way of knowing what malware
(besides Spyfalcon) you had and what might have been damaged. I'm going
to assume you have XP Home - if not, tell me.

Make sure you are logged into an account with administrative privileges.
This does not have to be the built-in Administrator account; it just
can't be a Limited account. I'm not sure what "when I go to his side"
means, either. But make sure you can see all hidden files. From the
Folder Options applet click the View tab, click Show hidden files and
folders, click to clear the Hide protected operating system files check
box, and then click OK.

Now go to My Computer, C: (your system drive), Documents and Settings,
Friend's Username. You should be able to see all his documents in his
My Documents folder. Copy all his stuff to a usb thumbdrive or burn to
a cd-r. Since I have no idea what his data is or what he does on the
computer, you'll have to talk to him. Normal data is stuff in My
Documents, Favorites, emails (possibly), Quicken/Quick Books or
Microsoft Money. Naturally, you should be backing up your own data too!

BTW, although you say your user account "works fine", the "minor"
problems you described are not normal and not symptoms of a computer
that is working "fine". So I'm not convinced that your machine is 100%
healthy.

Once you have all his data backed up, you can try and repair the system.
I think I'd probably run the System File Checker and also Chkdsk /r,
and I'll give you those commands BUT what I really think would be best
for you would be to take the machine to a professional computer repair
shop (not your local version of BigStoreUSA) and have them retrieve all
data and fix your computer.

Start>Run>sfc /scannow [enter]
(have XP cd handy)

For Chkdsk, see:
http://tinyurl.com/2obcd

If sfc and Chkdsk solve your other issues and the computer now behaves
normally and you've got all his data saved, create a new user account
for your friend and copy the data over to it. If everything works well,
you can delete the old user account.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Yes I am using Windows XP Home Edition.

From all I can see, the only malware problem I had was with Spyfalcon. I
downloaded the Microsoft Malware program and that was all they came up with.
Also have Nortons Internet Security 2005. Both found Spyfalcon too but the
Microsoft program was the one that seemed to kill the little darling.

What I mean by "his side" is when Windows Starts, you have the option of
logging in as either one of us. I have always referred to it as his side and
mine. Both user accounts have administrative priveleges (is this a good or
bad idea?).

I called my cousin who builds/repairs computers and got some of the same
information from his that you gave. I was in a panic when I found no files
in my companion's document folder so I was able to find the folder, set up a
new folder with a different name and copy all the files. Oh yeah, I got the
same advice....back up all the files to a CD! Amazing how great minds think
alike. And was also told the symptoms are not normal. I am a former Mac
user - don't shoot me - so Windows and a PC are new to me.

I have another question concerning the TaskBar and Start Menu Properties.
Under the Customize Notifications, is there any way to delete the Past Items?
Spyfalcon shows up there and I sure don't want this on my computer again
EVER!

If I don't have a cd-r will a dvd-rw work?

Thank you so much for all your help.

Without having seen your computer, I have no way of knowing what malware
(besides Spyfalcon) you had and what might have been damaged. I'm going
to assume you have XP Home - if not, tell me.

Make sure you are logged into an account with administrative privileges.
This does not have to be the built-in Administrator account; it just
can't be a Limited account. I'm not sure what "when I go to his side"
means, either. But make sure you can see all hidden files. From the
Folder Options applet click the View tab, click Show hidden files and
folders, click to clear the Hide protected operating system files check
box, and then click OK.

Now go to My Computer, C: (your system drive), Documents and Settings,
Friend's Username. You should be able to see all his documents in his
My Documents folder. Copy all his stuff to a usb thumbdrive or burn to
a cd-r. Since I have no idea what his data is or what he does on the
computer, you'll have to talk to him. Normal data is stuff in My
Documents, Favorites, emails (possibly), Quicken/Quick Books or
Microsoft Money. Naturally, you should be backing up your own data too!

BTW, although you say your user account "works fine", the "minor"
problems you described are not normal and not symptoms of a computer
that is working "fine". So I'm not convinced that your machine is 100%
healthy.

Once you have all his data backed up, you can try and repair the system.
I think I'd probably run the System File Checker and also Chkdsk /r,
and I'll give you those commands BUT what I really think would be best
for you would be to take the machine to a professional computer repair
shop (not your local version of BigStoreUSA) and have them retrieve all
data and fix your computer.

Start>Run>sfc /scannow [enter]
(have XP cd handy)

For Chkdsk, see:
http://tinyurl.com/2obcd

If sfc and Chkdsk solve your other issues and the computer now behaves
normally and you've got all his data saved, create a new user account
for your friend and copy the data over to it. If everything works well,
you can delete the old user account.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Ron Sommer]

DVD-RW should burn a CD-R.
--
Ron Sommer

Yes I am using Windows XP Home Edition.

From all I can see, the only malware problem I had was with Spyfalcon. I
downloaded the Microsoft Malware program and that was all they came up
with.
Also have Nortons Internet Security 2005. Both found Spyfalcon too but
the
Microsoft program was the one that seemed to kill the little darling.

What I mean by "his side" is when Windows Starts, you have the option of
logging in as either one of us. I have always referred to it as his side
and
mine. Both user accounts have administrative priveleges (is this a good
or
bad idea?).

I called my cousin who builds/repairs computers and got some of the same
information from his that you gave. I was in a panic when I found no
files
in my companion's document folder so I was able to find the folder, set up
a
new folder with a different name and copy all the files. Oh yeah, I got
the
same advice....back up all the files to a CD! Amazing how great minds
think
alike. And was also told the symptoms are not normal. I am a former Mac
user - don't shoot me - so Windows and a PC are new to me.

I have another question concerning the TaskBar and Start Menu Properties.
Under the Customize Notifications, is there any way to delete the Past
Items?
Spyfalcon shows up there and I sure don't want this on my computer again
EVER!

If I don't have a cd-r will a dvd-rw work?

Thank you so much for all your help.

Without having seen your computer, I have no way of knowing what malware
(besides Spyfalcon) you had and what might have been damaged. I'm going
to assume you have XP Home - if not, tell me.

Make sure you are logged into an account with administrative privileges.
This does not have to be the built-in Administrator account; it just
can't be a Limited account. I'm not sure what "when I go to his side"
means, either. But make sure you can see all hidden files. From the
Folder Options applet click the View tab, click Show hidden files and
folders, click to clear the Hide protected operating system files check
box, and then click OK.

Now go to My Computer, C: (your system drive), Documents and Settings,
Friend's Username. You should be able to see all his documents in his
My Documents folder. Copy all his stuff to a usb thumbdrive or burn to
a cd-r. Since I have no idea what his data is or what he does on the
computer, you'll have to talk to him. Normal data is stuff in My
Documents, Favorites, emails (possibly), Quicken/Quick Books or
Microsoft Money. Naturally, you should be backing up your own data too!

BTW, although you say your user account "works fine", the "minor"
problems you described are not normal and not symptoms of a computer
that is working "fine". So I'm not convinced that your machine is 100%
healthy.

Once you have all his data backed up, you can try and repair the system.
I think I'd probably run the System File Checker and also Chkdsk /r,
and I'll give you those commands BUT what I really think would be best
for you would be to take the machine to a professional computer repair
shop (not your local version of BigStoreUSA) and have them retrieve all
data and fix your computer.

Start>Run>sfc /scannow [enter]
(have XP cd handy)

For Chkdsk, see:
http://tinyurl.com/2obcd

If sfc and Chkdsk solve your other issues and the computer now behaves
normally and you've got all his data saved, create a new user account
for your friend and copy the data over to it. If everything works well,
you can delete the old user account.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Malke]

nightowl wrote:

See my comments inline:

Yes I am using Windows XP Home Edition.

From all I can see, the only malware problem I had was with Spyfalcon.
I downloaded the Microsoft Malware program and that was all they came
up with.
Also have Nortons Internet Security 2005. Both found Spyfalcon too
but the Microsoft program was the one that seemed to kill the little
darling.

I would run through the Spyfalcon removal steps listed at the link
below, starting with doing the preparatory work at the first link:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Smitfraud_Trojan

This should get rid of the leftover Spyfalcon entries. The fact that you
still have them means the infestation hasn't been completely removed.
It can't hurt for you to do this, and it would be smart to go through
at least some of the other removal steps at the first link.

What I mean by "his side" is when Windows Starts, you have the option
of logging in as either one of us. I have always referred to it as
his side and mine. Both user accounts have administrative priveleges
(is this a good or bad idea?).

Actually, I think that's rather a nice and cute way to think of
things. The general rule is that it is better to surf in a Limited
User Account, but to be honest with you I think it is too difficult to
do this in XP. A better idea is to just practice "Safe Hex". Here are
some links to help you with that:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971 - So How Did I Get
Infected Anyway?
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - Eric Howes on
Rogue Antispyware Programs

I called my cousin who builds/repairs computers and got some of the
same information from his that you gave. I was in a panic when I
found no files in my companion's document folder so I was able to find
the folder, set up a new folder with a different name and copy all the
files. Oh yeah, I got the same advice....back up all the files to a
CD! Amazing how great minds think alike. And was also told the
symptoms are not normal. I am a former Mac user - don't shoot me
- so Windows and a PC are new to me.

I'm glad your cousin and I agree! Don't apologize for being a Mac
user; I love OSX and wish I could afford one of the newest laptops.
It's good that you got the stuff backed up. Here's a link to a section
of my site where I've written about backing up. Maybe some of that
information will be useful to you:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Backing_Up

I have another question concerning the TaskBar and Start Menu
Properties. Under the Customize Notifications, is there any way to
delete the Past Items? Spyfalcon shows up there and I sure don't want
this on my computer again EVER!

See my comments in the first part of this post for the Taskbar/Start
Menu cleanup.

If I don't have a cd-r will a dvd-rw work?

Yes. A DVD burner will burn both cd-r's and dvd-r's.

Stay safe now,

Malke

 

[Guest]

I am getting there! Did everything you put in your article including
downloading the Ewido program. When I ran it in Safe Mode, it found almost
700 files. Most were tracking cookies (and I had done the delete cookies on
all the browsers!). It did find Spyfalcon in the System back up and in two
other places. Of course I did the "get rid of this crap NOW" thing.
Restarted my computer and ran Ewido again (to be safe). It came up with
nothing.

The computer is running faster than it was. And I have discovered a couple
other little problems that perhaps you can help me with. In the Document and
Settings folder on the C drive, there are two new folders for my companion.
One has his name - the other has his name followed vy the computer name. Is
this normal?

The second problem....let me see if I can describe it so this makes sense.
Again, I am in the C drive under the documents and settings. In each folder
is a NTUSER.DAT file that is a text document. I believe this is as it should
be, isn't it? There is also a file called just NTUSER that is a Video CD
file. I am not sure if this is normal or not. Plus in my document folder
(and only in mine) is a RRR file - is this normal and should it be in all
three folders?

It seems the more I progress, the more questions I have. I knew when I went
to college, I should have majored in computers instead of English
Literature!

Thanks.

 

[Malke]

I am getting there! Did everything you put in your article including
downloading the Ewido program. When I ran it in Safe Mode, it found
almost 700 files. Most were tracking cookies (and I had done the
delete cookies on all the browsers!). It did find Spyfalcon in the
System back up and in two other places. Of course I did the "get rid
of this crap NOW" thing. Restarted my computer and ran Ewido again (to
be safe). It came up with nothing.

Excellent. It sounds like you're clean now. Naturally your computer is
running faster, and you've made it feel loved. This makes it work
better. ;-)

The computer is running faster than it was. And I have discovered a
couple other little problems that perhaps you can help me with. In
the Document and Settings folder on the C drive, there are two new
folders for my companion. One has his name - the other has his name
followed vy the computer name. Is this normal?

This is because he had corruption in his user account at some point and
so Windows made him the "temporary" user account (the one with the
computer name). Check to see which one he's really logging into. I know
there is a technical way to do this, but honestly I can't remember it
right now. Just have him use Notepad to make a test.txt file and save
it in his My Documents. Then go to Documents and Settings and see which
My Documents test.txt shows up in. Then you can decide which account to
continue using (assuming all is now working properly), copy over any
data if you need to, and delete the folder with the computer name. Or,
if you want to be completely safe, go ahead and make him a new user
account, copy over his data, and delete those others.

Again, I am in the C drive under the documents and settings. In each
folder is a NTUSER.DAT file that is a text document. I believe this
is as it should be, isn't it? There is also a file called just NTUSER
that is a Video CD file. I am not sure if this is normal or not.
Plus in my document folder (and only in mine) is a RRR file - is this
normal and should it be in all three folders?

OK, just for you I'll turn on the Windows machine and see what I have. I
don't want to do this from memory at 4:30 AM. The ntuser.dat files
contain the user profile for the user who is logged onto the computer.
You will have one for each user on the computer. Here's what I've got
on mine - it may be a little different than yours since I have XP Pro:

All Users - ntuser.dat, ntuser.LOG, ntuser.pol
Default User - NTUSER.DAT, NTUSER.LOG
My account - ntuser.dat, ntuser.dat.LOG, ntuser.ini, ntuser.pol

Only the *.log files are text files. On my machine I have a generic icon
for the *.dat files because they shouldn't be associated with any one
program. Same for the *.pol files. It sounds to me like your file
associations are a bit mixed up. You might want to run some of Doug
Knox's file association fixes from www.dougknox.com. Look under his
Fixes category. Or leave it alone. The NTUSER file that has an icon for
a video cd sounds like it is damaged. If everything is working, I'd be
inclined to leave it alone. I'm sorry to be waffling here, but I'm so
hesitant to say "delete" anything on a machine I can't see.

According to www.filext.com, the .RRR file belongs to the Rhapzodé
program.

It seems the more I progress, the more questions I have. I knew when
I went to college, I should have majored in computers instead of
English Literature!

My background is also English and Art. I don't think it has to be
"instead". Life is about learning and it can be "also". So much to
learn, so little time. ;-)

Malke

 

[Guest]

Just when I thought things were going good another little problem erupted. I
tried to answer this post (yes I was signed in and all that good stuff).
When I had finished writing everything and hit the post button, I was
directed to the sign in page again. When I tried to sign in, the page opened
as a blank, the green progress bar at the bottom would go from blank to fully
green back to blank to fully green and the computer would make a beeping
sound. When I opened Task Manager to find out what was going on, under the
processes tab the msmsgs.exe entry was flickering and a new entry would come
on above the first (both were msmsgs.exe file) and disappear and then come
back. The page never did load. And I am not sure the original reply was
posted. Dare I ask what in heck is going on? Drat and the computer was
running so good.

 

[Malke]

Just when I thought things were going good another little problem
erupted. I tried to answer this post (yes I was signed in and all
that good stuff). When I had finished writing everything and hit the
post button, I was
directed to the sign in page again. When I tried to sign in, the page
opened as a blank, the green progress bar at the bottom would go from
blank to fully green back to blank to fully green and the computer
would make a beeping
sound. When I opened Task Manager to find out what was going on,
under the processes tab the msmsgs.exe entry was flickering and a new
entry would come on above the first (both were msmsgs.exe file) and
disappear and then come
back. The page never did load. And I am not sure the original reply
was
posted. Dare I ask what in heck is going on? Drat and the computer
was running so good.

Nightowl, I don't want you to feel hurt or abandoned, but I really think
you've exhausted the help you can get in a newsgroup. Take your
computer to your cousin (or to someone he recommends) and have him fix
it or do a clean-install of Windows. You've had too much damage, still
have stuff going on, and I can't see your computer from here.

I hope you understand that I don't want to hurt or offend you, but I
really think this is the best solution for you.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke:

No, I don't feel hurt or abandoned or anything of the sort. Just because I
know how to change the oil in my car doesn't mean I know how to put a water
pump on the car. That I leave to the experts. You have been wonderful in
your help and have graciously allowed me to pick your brain. I can't thank
you enough.

Two more quick questions (I promise!). Before doing a clean install of
windows - back up the files - correct? Will a clean install erase the
registry keys for all the recently installed programs or should I copy down
all the keys/files for these programs? (Sorry, guess that could be three
questions....please don't shoot me!)

Again, thanks for the help. I have your website bookmarked (as I said, you
have some really neat links and neat material that I can learn from). Wish I
was closer so you could look at my computer. I know I can trust you to be
very honest with me.

Nightowl

 

[Malke]

Malke:

No, I don't feel hurt or abandoned or anything of the sort. Just
because I know how to change the oil in my car doesn't mean I know how
to put a water
pump on the car. That I leave to the experts. You have been
wonderful in
your help and have graciously allowed me to pick your brain. I can't
thank you enough.

Two more quick questions (I promise!). Before doing a clean install
of
windows - back up the files - correct? Will a clean install erase the
registry keys for all the recently installed programs or should I copy
down all the keys/files for these programs? (Sorry, guess that could
be three questions....please don't shoot me!)

Again, thanks for the help. I have your website bookmarked (as I
said, you
have some really neat links and neat material that I can learn from).
Wish I
was closer so you could look at my computer. I know I can trust you
to be very honest with me.

I'm glad you understand and aren't hurt. Yes, you want to back up all
your data, including any license keys, product receipts in emails, that
sort of thing. After a clean install, there won't be anything left of
your stuff; the computer will be as if it came from the factory. Give
some thought as to what you would be upset (that *you* created) to
lose. Some general things re backing up:

1. Documents you created.
2. Addressbook/emails - know what your username/password is for your ISP
and email settings.
3. Favorites/bookmarks
4. Any specialized programs that will need to export their data, like
Quickbooks, Quicken.
5. Installers for programs you downloaded from the Internet.
6. License numbers, keys, etc.

Good luck and do post back to let me know what happened.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke:

I am finally back! You asked me to tell you how things went, so here goes.

The computer technician came to my house (happened to be someone I
know...but did not know he worked for the computer repair store). He tried
most of the things you had said to do, some of the things I had tried and a
few more that I don't even want to know how to do! At first it seemed like
some real progress was being made. The computer started running a lot
faster. Then that little gem of a piece of malware started to undo
everything that had been tried. It would jump from device to device.
Wonderful little piece of crap (and I am being nice...I called it much worse).

The repairman decided we should try to repair windows xp. I put in the disk
and at the appropriate time, hit the F8 key to accept the EULA. The minute I
touched the key, the computer brought up a message to "Flash the Bios". The
repairman looked at me and I looked at him and we both said "Crap" (OK, so we
may have used a little stronger language!). We ended up doing the clean
install. Once that was done and I could connect to the Internet, I went to
the Dell webpage (the mfg of my computer) and got the files to Flash the Bios
which I did as quickly as I could.

I have spent the last day and a half putting applications back on my
computer. I also discovered that when I copied my system folder (with all my
email information), the file got corrupted so I have lost all my email info
(like the address book and any email still in my account). NO problem with
my companions user account (it figures). I guess if that is all I lost, I am
pretty lucky. From what I saw and was told, this could have been a lot
worse.

Thank goodness the repairman is a friend. I found I could not download
Windows SP 1 or SP2 - in fact I kept getting an error message when I would
try to install the Automatic update software. When I finally did get the
Automatic updates to work, the update would show 3 items that I needed to
download. Only problem was all three were 0 K files so when I did download
them, nothing happened. The repairman had SP1 and SP2 on a disk that he let
me borrow (he made a special trip back out to give me the disk) so I could
get the service packs I needed. I got back some of the items that were
missing (like the disk defragmenter) so I am one happy camper. And my
companion has learned not to go to those X-rated sites ever again (I don't
think he wants to face my evil twin ever again - saying I was upset about
what happened is putting it mildly).

Again, thank you so much for your help and guidance. You have inspired me.
I am looking at our local community college for computer courses in the fall.
And I am seriously thinking about taking some of the certification courses
(like A+ Certification) so I can help people who run into some of the same
problems that I did much like you helped me (of course I may never get as
good as you are at this but I can try!).

Nightowl

 

[Malke]

Malke:

I am finally back! You asked me to tell you how things went, so here
goes.

I've snipped your long post for my reply, but I assure you I read every
bit of it. I'm glad you posted back because I did think about you and
wondered how you were.

It's too bad you lost stuff - now you'll back up regularly right? ;-)

I'm proud of you for sticking with it so long. You've learned a lot, and
you were a pleasure to work with.

Here's a fun thing for you and your companion to try. Either buy another
computer and put Linux on it for surfing "those sites" or install
VMWare's free VM Player and the Browser Appliance. What this will do is
create a "virtual machine" which is actually running a different
operating system. The Browser Appliance is really Ubuntu Linux. This
means that you could surf "those sites" without infecting your host
operating system (XP) because the operating system running on the
virtual machine is completely separate from the host. Here are some
links for this:

http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/browserapp.html

The information at the first link explains the whole thing/concept
better than I can do at this point (worked very hard today and am
having some wine!).

Take care and thanks again for letting me know how you are.

Malke