Window's Performance very slow & losing music files

[Guest]

My Windows XP is running acceptionally slow ever since I was infected by
viruses from MySpace.com. I have since installed Zone Alarm and have
supposibly cleaned out all viruses. I have run "Disk Clean", Defrag, and
cleaned out unused programs.
It continues to run very slow at startup and openning/closing programs.

When CDs are downloaded into the IPOD library, somehow the music file gets
deleted. I also run the risk of losing my downloaded pictures from the Kodak
library.

What do I do? I have considered reloading Windows XP or reformatting the
harddrive and reloading Windows XP. Is there another easier fix?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My Windows XP is running acceptionally slow ever since I was infected
by viruses from MySpace.com. I have since installed Zone Alarm and
have supposibly cleaned out all viruses. I have run "Disk Clean",
Defrag, and cleaned out unused programs.
It continues to run very slow at startup and openning/closing
programs.

When CDs are downloaded into the IPOD library, somehow the music file
gets deleted. I also run the risk of losing my downloaded pictures
from the Kodak library.

What do I do? I have considered reloading Windows XP or reformatting
the harddrive and reloading Windows XP. Is there another easier fix?

There are many possibilities for a slowdown, including what background
programs you have starting automatically, but these days, the most likely
problem is malware. Your first step in troubleshooting should be to
completely rule out that possibility, so I recommend that you go to Malke's
Malware Removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and follow
the instructions there.

What I do *not* recommend is reformatting and reinstalling. Besides its
being lots of work and trouble, and possibly leading to additional problems,
if you do that without first finding out what your problem is, you will very
likely quickly repeat the behavior that caused the problem and find yourself
back in the same situation.

 

[Guest]

--
Mdancy

There are many possibilities for a slowdown, including what background
programs you have starting automatically, but these days, the most likely
problem is malware. Your first step in troubleshooting should be to
completely rule out that possibility, so I recommend that you go to Malke's
Malware Removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and follow
the instructions there.

What I do *not* recommend is reformatting and reinstalling. Besides its
being lots of work and trouble, and possibly leading to additional problems,
if you do that without first finding out what your problem is, you will very
likely quickly repeat the behavior that caused the problem and find yourself
back in the same situation.

Thank you for your response. I will first try what you recommended and look
at my startup programs. I will reply if the problem persists.