Sticky Computer Problem:

[Robert]

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 computer, running with XP Home Edition
and am connected to the Internet via DSL. It usually is fairly smooth
running and fast enough for my needs. A few days ago when I was about
to turn it off there was an alert saying to turn it off to in order to
download updates. I had seen this before so I wasn't alarmed. However,
the next day when I turned on my computer the desk top loaded as
normal but Internet Explorer doesn't function at all and my other
applications are slowed down considerably. I have over 25 gigs of free
space on my hard drive so it's not a matter of storage and I haven't
added anything new and there's only (1) game on it, Jedi Knight, Jedi
Academy.
It acts as if there's a virus. I have Norton Antivirus, A- Squared,
and Spybot. I have run all three and only Spybot came back
with anything saying my Microsoft security was disabled which I
believe is normal since I'm running Norton. It won't let me do a
System Restore either no matter what date I choose.

I finally tried disabling the Norton Antivirus and it finally let me
online but the computer is still 'not right'. It doesn't let me see
my email yet loads other pages as normal and if I try and do anything
the application hangs up. It's as though my system is in a locked loop
and cannot access the
Internet as I normally did.

It shows that I have an Internet connection but whenever I enable
Norton I get an alert which says that IExplorer is attempting to logon
to the Internet (recommended): and
shows proxy settings detected and just hangs there,..... whenever I
click ok the alert it comes right
back.
As I stated at the beginning, my system was running fine before all
this started to happen.
I'm not saying I don't believe those of you regarding your comments
and Norton products but I'm just pointing out there wasn't a conflict
with them on my system before this. The system was fast and easy to
use and hardly any wait time at all. I tried turning off my Automatic
Windows update and I got an error message from Norton. Does anyone
know of a way around it, or just let it stay that way?

Going on the principle that my computer software 'seized up' in mid
download, even though the computer gave the message to turn it off to
download updates and 'something' obviously happened. I remembered that
I had bookmarked the site and was able to gain access in that way.
Once in, I checked my computer and it showed no updates available, I
then ran all available software updates, then checked again and found
quite a few updates to download. I then went back to look for XP
updates to download because I remembered seeing (8) of them but when I
saw Internet Explorer 7 download I clicked it instead thinking it
would bring 'back up to speed'. It validated me and it seemed to
download everything fine, however near the end I thought I saw an
error message about not being able to download something and another
message flashed by with numbers, and not gaining access. It just
happened so fast. Then the computer did a self re-start and came back
up with a prompt for restart but it's as slow as ever. Then after
being online for a few minutes it gave me a message that my updates
were almost finished, so I figured that's why it was so slow. Again it
shut itself down and then prompted me to start-up again. However it's
still sluggish and I still has the problem of Norton not allowing me
to go to sites otherwise I get a alert message, so I have to disabled
Norton. Should I re-run the Explorer download? Also, is it possible
to hook up one computer to another? Don't you have to have separate
DSL lines etc coming into the room to power and connect to the
Internet? Where does the cable usually connect into? Any suggestions
or advice would be appreciated.



Thanks,

Robert

 

[Guest]

Remove Norton.

Get a decent antivirus, for example AVG

http://free.grisoft.com

 

[Rock]

Ok, I'll take a whack at asking some questions here, but it sure would help
if you put in shorter paragraphs and line breaks between thoughts. My
replies in line.

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 computer, running with XP Home Edition
and am connected to the Internet via DSL. It usually is fairly smooth
running and fast enough for my needs. A few days ago when I was about
to turn it off there was an alert saying to turn it off to in order to
download updates.

Ok, here is where some info needs to be listed. What updates were
installed? Where these from windows update or Norton or what?

I had seen this before so I wasn't alarmed. However,
the next day when I turned on my computer the desk top loaded as
normal but Internet Explorer doesn't function at all and my other
applications are slowed down considerably. I have over 25 gigs of free
space on my hard drive so it's not a matter of storage and I haven't
added anything new and there's only (1) game on it, Jedi Knight, Jedi
Academy.
It acts as if there's a virus. I have Norton Antivirus, A- Squared,
and Spybot.

Personally I recommend against Norton Home security products; even when not
otherwise problematic they are resource hogs. There are better, and in some
cases free, alternatives. I don't know anything about A-Squared.

I have run all three and only Spybot came back
with anything saying my Microsoft security was disabled which I
believe is normal since I'm running Norton. It won't let me do a
System Restore either no matter what date I choose.

What won't let you do a system restore? Do you mean system restore gives an
error when trying to restore or some message about not being able to
restore? Details are important. The failure in system restore might be due
to to the presence of Norton. System Restore is a valuable tool in just
such a case, and the fact that it can't be used possibly because of the
presence of this 3rd party program is a good reason not to use that program.
See the troubleshooting tips on MVP Bert Kinney's system restore page.

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

Another option to system restore is to remove via Add/Remove programs
whatever updates were added when this issue first started. Unfortunately we
have no information on what that was.

I finally tried disabling the Norton Antivirus and it finally let me
online but the computer is still 'not right'. It doesn't let me see
my email yet loads other pages as normal

Email where? Yahoo, google, some other online email service, or do you use
an email client such as Outlook Express, Eudora, etc?

and if I try and do anything the application hangs up.

What do you mean do anything? Do what? What application, do you mean
Internet Explorer?

It's as though my system is in a locked loop and cannot access the
Internet as I normally did.
It shows that I have an Internet connection but whenever I enable
Norton I get an alert which says that IExplorer is attempting to logon
to the Internet (recommended): and
shows proxy settings detected and just hangs there,..... whenever I
click ok the alert it comes right
back.
As I stated at the beginning, my system was running fine before all
this started to happen.
I'm not saying I don't believe those of you regarding your comments
and Norton products but I'm just pointing out there wasn't a conflict
with them on my system before this. The system was fast and easy to
use and hardly any wait time at all.

And I'm not saying Norton is the cause of all the problems, but it probably
is the cause of the system restore problem, and even when it runs ok, it is
a resource hog. Though you say the system had been running fast with it, it
would be even faster without it.

I tried turning off my Automatic
Windows update and I got an error message from Norton. Does anyone
know of a way around it, or just let it stay that way?

Why do you want to turn off Automatic updates? No I don't have a clue about
Norton. Symantec tech support is the best resource for that.

Going on the principle that my computer software 'seized up' in mid
download, even though the computer gave the message to turn it off to
download updates and 'something' obviously happened. I remembered that
I had bookmarked the site and was able to gain access in that way.

Bookmarked what site? The windows update site? You can get there manually
from Internet Explorer | Tools | Windows Update.

then ran all available software updates,

What does "all available software udpates" mean? Ran them from where?

then checked again and found
quite a few updates to download. I then went back to look for XP
updates to download because I remembered seeing (8) of them

This is very confusing here. Where did you check again? Where did you find
quite a few updates? And then you went back to look for XP updates? I
thought you just did that?

but when I saw Internet Explorer 7 download I clicked it instead thinking
it
would bring 'back up to speed'. It validated me and it seemed to
download everything fine, however near the end I thought I saw an
error message about not being able to download something and another
message flashed by with numbers, and not gaining access. It just
happened so fast. Then the computer did a self re-start and came back
up with a prompt for restart but it's as slow as ever.

It's not a good idea to apply more updates when the system is running well.
This just adds more unkowns to the mix making troubleshooting that much
harder. Fix the underlying problems first.

Then after being online for a few minutes it gave me a message that my
updates
were almost finished, so I figured that's why it was so slow. Again it
shut itself down and then prompted me to start-up again. However it's
still sluggish and I still has the problem of Norton not allowing me
to go to sites otherwise I get a alert message,

This is unclear, Norton not allow you to go to sites? What does that mean?
What alert message? All this is moot though, because there are so many
intertwined issues here.

so I have to disabled Norton. Should I re-run the Explorer download?

No, fix the system first.

Also, is it possible
to hook up one computer to another? Don't you have to have separate
DSL lines etc coming into the room to power and connect to the
Internet? Where does the cable usually connect into? Any suggestions
or advice would be appreciated.

Yes it is, but where did this question come from? What are you trying to
accomplish?

First thing I would do is investigate what updates were installed in the
first place. Go to the windows update site, do a custom scan and look in
the left pane for update history. See what updates, if any, were installed
that night. Then go to Add/Remove programs and remove those updates.

Of course it might have been something other than an update from windows
update, such as a Norton update. You haven't specified what it was.

I would also troubleshoot what was wrong with system restore to get it
running using MVP Bert Kinney's page. Then do a system restore to before
all this mess started.

Uninstall the Norton products. Afterwards visit the Symantec site to get
their removal tool to remove more of the vestiges, unfortunately it is hard
to get rid of Norton security products.

Then for anti-virus install Avast (free and my choice), AVG (free), or NOD32
or Kaspersky, neither are those free. For firewall install one of these:
Sunbelt Software's Kerio Personal firewall (free and paid), or Comodo
Personal firewall (free).

Lastly, I don't know what kind of system you have set up for backup and
recovery, but I recommend you look into getting a drive imaging program and
an external hard drive. I currently use Acronis True Image Home, version
10. I use this to daily image the system to an external hard drive. Images
can be full, incremental or differential (saving on time and space for
subsequent images). Images can be made on a drive or partition basis.
Restores can be done on a file, partition or drive basis. It also does file
backup and drive cloning.

You can purchase a preassembled external drive or put one together for less
cost by placing a bare drive in an external drive enclosure ($20 range). A
320GB setup will cost less than $100.

Then if something damages the system restore from a recent image and in
about an hour you are back to a running state.

Good luck.

 

[Daave]

I don't know anything about A-Squared.

A-Squared is a highly regarded malware remover (which is freeware):

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

 

[Robert]

Ok, I'll take a whack at asking some questions here, but it sure would help
if you put in shorter paragraphs and line breaks between thoughts.  My
replies in line.


Ok, here is where some info needs to be listed.  What updates were
installed?  Where these from windows update or Norton or what?


Personally I recommend against Norton Home security products;  even when not
otherwise problematic they are resource hogs.  There are better, andin some
cases free, alternatives.  I don't know anything about A-Squared.


What won't let you do a system restore?  Do you mean system restore gives an
error when trying to restore or some message about not being able to
restore?  Details are important.  The failure in system restoremight be due
to to the presence of Norton.  System Restore is a valuable tool in just
such a case, and the fact that it can't be used possibly because of the
presence of this 3rd party program is a good reason not to use that program.
See the troubleshooting tips on MVP Bert Kinney's system restore page.

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

Another option to system restore is to remove via Add/Remove programs
whatever updates were added when this issue first started.  Unfortunately we
have no information on what that was.


Email where?  Yahoo, google, some other online email service, or do you use
an email client such as Outlook Express, Eudora, etc?


What do you mean do anything?  Do what?  What application, do you mean
Internet Explorer?


And I'm not saying Norton is the cause of all the problems, but it probably
is the cause of the system restore problem, and even when it runs ok, it is
a resource hog.  Though you say the system had been running fast with it, it
would be even faster without it.


Why do you want to turn off Automatic updates?  No I don't have a clue about
Norton.  Symantec tech support is the best resource for that.


Bookmarked what site?  The windows update site?  You can get there manually
from Internet Explorer | Tools | Windows Update.


What does "all available software udpates" mean?  Ran them from where?


This is very confusing here.  Where did you check again?  Wheredid you find
quite a few updates?  And then you went back to look for XP updates? I
thought you just did that?


It's not a good idea to apply more updates when the system is running well.
This just adds more unkowns to the mix making troubleshooting that much
harder.  Fix the underlying problems first.


This is unclear, Norton not allow you to go to sites?  What does that mean?
What alert message?  All this is moot though, because there are so many
intertwined issues here.


No, fix the system first.


Yes it is, but where did this question come from?  What are you trying to
accomplish?

First thing I would do is investigate what updates were installed in the
first place.  Go to the windows update site, do a custom scan and look in
the left pane for update history.  See what updates, if any, were installed
that night.  Then go to Add/Remove programs and remove those updates.

Of course it might have been something other than an update from windows
update, such as a Norton update.  You haven't specified what it was.

I would also troubleshoot what was wrong with system restore to get it
running using MVP Bert Kinney's page.  Then do a system restore to before
all this mess started.

Uninstall the Norton products.  Afterwards visit the Symantec site to get
their removal tool to remove more of the vestiges, unfortunately it is hard
to get rid of Norton security products.

Then for anti-virus install Avast (free and my choice), AVG (free), or NOD32
or Kaspersky, neither are those free.   For firewall install one of these:
Sunbelt Software's Kerio Personal firewall (free and paid), or Comodo
Personal firewall (free).

Lastly, I don't know what kind of system you have set up for backup and
recovery, but I recommend you look into getting a drive imaging program and
an external hard drive.  I currently use Acronis True Image Home, version
10.  I use this to daily image the system to an external hard drive. Images
can be full, incremental or differential (saving on time and space for
subsequent images).  Images can be made on a drive or partition basis.
Restores can be done on a file, partition or drive basis.  It also does file
backup and drive cloning.

You can purchase a preassembled external drive or put one together for less
cost by placing a bare drive in an external drive enclosure ($20 range).  A
320GB setup will cost less than $100.

Then if something damages the system restore from a recent image and in
about an hour you are back to a running state.

Good luck.

Ok, I'll take a whack at asking some questions here, but it sure would
help
if you put in shorter paragraphs and line breaks between thoughts.
My
replies in line.
Sorry about the long paragraphs.

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 computer, running with XP Home Edition
and am connected to the Internet via DSL. It usually is fairly smooth
running and fast enough for my needs. A few days ago when I was about
to turn it off there was an alert saying to turn it off to in order to
download updates.

Ok, here is where some info needs to be listed. What updates were
installed? Where these from windows update or Norton or what?

I believe I was installing Windows updates.

I had seen this before so I wasn't alarmed. However,
the next day when I turned on my computer the desk top loaded as
normal but Internet Explorer doesn't function at all and my other
applications are slowed down considerably. I have over 25 gigs of free
space on my hard drive so it's not a matter of storage and I haven't
added anything new and there's only (1) game on it, Jedi Knight, Jedi
Academy.
It acts as if there's a virus. I have Norton Antivirus, A- Squared,
and Spybot.

Personally I recommend against Norton Home security products; even
when not
otherwise problematic they are resource hogs. There are better, and
in some
cases free, alternatives.
I don't know anything about A-Squared.

I have run all three and only Spybot came back
with anything saying my Microsoft security was disabled which I
believe is normal since I'm running Norton. It won't let me do a
System Restore either no matter what date I choose.

What won't let you do a system restore? Do you mean system restore
gives an
error when trying to restore or some message about not being able to
restore? Details are important. The failure in system restore might
be due
to to the presence of Norton. System Restore is a valuable tool in
just
such a case, and the fact that it can't be used possibly because of
the
presence of this 3rd party program is a good reason not to use that
program.
See the troubleshooting tips on MVP Bert Kinney's system restore
page.

When I try and do a System Restore, I select the date, and then I
select the time and click next, and it goes through the process but
each time it comes back saying that the computer cannot be restored to
that date, pick another. I have tried numerous dates and times but it
never works. It keeps doing the same thing.

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html
I tried to do a System Restore when I had Norton disabled but it came
back with the same message that it couldn’t restore to that date. I
haven’t done a System Restore from the Safe Mode however I suppose
that’s my next step.
Another option to system restore is to remove via Add/Remove programs
whatever updates were added when this issue first started.
Unfortunately we
have no information on what that was.
 I finally tried disabling the Norton Antivirus and it finally let
me

online but the computer is still 'not right'. It doesn't let me see
my email yet loads other pages as normal

As I mentioned earlier, I had cleaned up all this next but the
computer sent it as it was all scrambled. Sorry.
Email where? Yahoo, google, some other online email service, or do
you use
an email client such as Outlook Express, Eudora, etc?
 and if I try and do anything the application hangs up.
I am able to see and view my hotmail account but only when Norton is
disabled. What I find odd is that it was working fine just a few days
ago and I have no idea what happened, other than that last message.


What do you mean do anything? Do what? What application, do you
mean
Internet Explorer?

By application I mean to open anything such as a file etc, or like
when I see I have emails waiting I click on that and it just hangs
there, but that’s when Norton is running. Seems to be ok without it,
and I can at least get online, although jury rigged, yet I can still
tell the computer still isn’t right. It isn’t as fast or responsive
and I’ve tried playing Jedi Academy and its slow

It's as though my system is in a locked loop and cannot access the
Internet as I normally did.
It shows that I have an Internet connection but whenever I enable
Norton I get an alert which says that IExplorer is attempting to logon
to the Internet (recommended): and
shows proxy settings detected and just hangs there,..... whenever I
click ok the alert it comes right
back.
As I stated at the beginning, my system was running fine before all
this started to happen.
I'm not saying I don't believe those of you regarding your comments
and Norton products but I'm just pointing out there wasn't a conflict
with them on my system before this. The system was fast and easy to
use and hardly any wait time at all.

And I'm not saying Norton is the cause of all the problems, but it
probably
is the cause of the system restore problem, and even when it runs ok,
it is
a resource hog. Though you say the system had been running fast with
it, it
would be even faster without it.

Probably so, I did try running System Restore with Norton disabled
though and it still failed.

I tried turning off my Automatic
Windows update and I got an error message from Norton. Does anyone
know of a way around it, or just let it stay that way?

Why do you want to turn off Automatic updates? No I don't have a clue
about
Norton. Symantec tech support is the best resource for that.

I attempted to turn off my Auto-Updates because I thought they may
have been a source of the problem by downloading bad data.

Going on the principle that my computer software 'seized up' in mid
download, even though the computer gave the message to turn it off to
download updates and 'something' obviously happened. I remembered that
I had bookmarked the site and was able to gain access in that way.

(Another messed up spot)
Bookmarked what site? The windows update site? You can get there
manually
from Internet Explorer | Tools | Windows Update.

then ran all available software updates,

The above refers to having the Microsoft Updates site in my Favorites
because I wasn’t able to get to it via Explorer/Tools/Windows Update.
What does "all available software udpates" mean?
I means it listed about (9) separate updates and I downloaded them
from the Microsft Updates page with a pop-up screen showing the
progress and all but one was successful. I was going to go back and
try again and download the other (8) updates mentioned below when I
saw the Explorer 7 update.

Ran them from where?

then checked again and found
quite a few updates to download. I then went back to look for XP
updates to download because I remembered seeing (8) of them

This is very confusing here. Where did you check again? Microsoft
Updates

Where did you find quite a few updates? Microsoft Updates And then
you went back to look for XP updates? yes I thought you just did
that? I download software updates, they had multiple updates I wanted
to download; e.g. (9) software, (8) XP and (1)Hardware.

but when I saw Internet Explorer 7 download I clicked it instead thinking
it
would bring 'back up to speed'. It validated me and it seemed to
download everything fine, however near the end I thought I saw an
error message about not being able to download something and another
message flashed by with numbers, and not gaining access. It just
happened so fast. Then the computer did a self re-start and came back
up with a prompt for restart but it's as slow as ever.

It's not a good idea to apply more updates when the system is running
well.
This just adds more unkowns to the mix making troubleshooting that
much
harder. Fix the underlying problems first.
That’s the point, the system isn’t running well. I’m trying to restore
it to the way it was.
It doesn’t even give me the desk top anymore but always prompts me
now.

Then after being online for a few minutes it gave me a message that my
updates
were almost finished, so I figured that's why it was so slow. Again it
shut itself down and then prompted me to start-up again. However it's
still sluggish and I still has the problem of Norton not allowing me
to go to sites otherwise I get a alert message,

This is unclear, Norton not allow you to go to sites? What does that
mean?
Every time I attempt to go online and Norton is on I get the following
message:

Norton Personal Firewall
Security Alert
Low Risk
IEXPLORE.EXE is attempting to connect toa DNS server.
Program: IEXPLORE.EXE
Crogram Files\Internet Explorer\
Date/Time:
Remote Address:

What do you want to do?
Always allow connections from this program on all ports(recommended)
and whenever I click ok it comes right back and I never connect to the
site.

What alert message? All this is moot though, because there are so
many
intertwined issues here. very true which is why I’m looking for some
answers and I think System Restore from the Safe Mode is a good step,
especially since nothing else has worked.

so I have to disabled Norton. Should I re-run the Explorer download? No, fix the system first.
Also, is it possible
to hook up one computer to another? Don't you have to have separate
DSL lines etc coming into the room to power and connect to the
Internet? Where does the cable usually connect into? Any suggestions
or advice would be appreciated.

Yes it is, but where did this question come from? What are you trying
to
accomplish?
I ask this question because I’m wanting to try and save my data by
transferring it from one computer to another.
First thing I would do is investigate what updates were installed in
the
first place. Go to the windows update site, do a custom scan and look
in
the left pane for update history. See what updates, if any, were
installed
that night. Then go to Add/Remove programs and remove those updates.
Of course it might have been something other than an update from
windows
update, such as a Norton update. You haven't specified what it was.
I don’t think it was a Norton update although I can’t be certain
because the information just flashed by.
I would also troubleshoot what was wrong with system restore to get
it
running using MVP Bert Kinney's page. Then do a system restore to
before
all this mess started.
This sounds like the best way although some of his advice I’m a little
iffy on.
Uninstall the Norton products. Afterwards visit the Symantec site to
get
their removal tool to remove more of the vestiges, unfortunately it is
hard
to get rid of Norton security products.
Then for anti-virus install Avast (free and my choice), AVG (free), or
NOD32
or Kaspersky, neither are those free. For firewall install one of
these:
Sunbelt Software's Kerio Personal firewall (free and paid), or Comodo
Personal firewall (free).
Lastly, I don't know what kind of system you have set up for backup
and
recovery, but I recommend you look into getting a drive imaging
program and
an external hard drive. I currently use Acronis True Image Home,
version
10. I use this to daily image the system to an external hard drive.
Images
can be full, incremental or differential (saving on time and space
for
subsequent images). Images can be made on a drive or partition
basis.
Restores can be done on a file, partition or drive basis. It also
does file
backup and drive cloning.
You can purchase a preassembled external drive or put one together for
less
cost by placing a bare drive in an external drive enclosure ($20
range). A
320GB setup will cost less than $100.
Then if something damages the system restore from a recent image and
in
about an hour you are back to a running state.
Thanks for the good advice, I have been thinking of creating a system
back up for awhile.


Robert

 

[Rock]

"Robert" <[email protected]> wrote

Ouch Robert, you're reply got all messed up some how. I've cleaned it up
here as best I could. I've also put some replies inline with some
suggestions, but you don't need to reply to them in line. I put my advice
on how I would approach this at the end of this message.

Robert wrote
Sorry about the long paragraphs.

Robert wrote
I believe I was installing Windows updates.

You need to find out what those updates were. I mentioned before, go to the
windows update site, do a custom scan, then click on
the update history in the left pane. That will give you a list of updates
and when they were applied. Note the numbers of
the updates that were applied the night this all started.

Robert wrote
When I try and do a System Restore, I select the date, and then I
select the time and click next, and it goes through the process but
each time it comes back saying that the computer cannot be restored to
that date, pick another. I have tried numerous dates and times but it
never works. It keeps doing the same thing.

I tried to do a System Restore when I had Norton disabled but it came
back with the same message that it couldn’t restore to that date. I
haven’t done a System Restore from the Safe Mode however I suppose
that’s my next step.

Yes you should troubleshoot System Restore some more. Follow the
troubleshooting steps on MVP Bert Kinney's System Restore page.

You should try to remove the OS updates _and_ possibly the software updates
you installed from the update site after this problem started before trying
a system restore. Otherwise say you get system restore to work, it could
leave the computer in an inconsistent state after the restore (which in this
case means it wouldn't help). This is because system restore only monitors
certain files for applications. So doing a restore might not remove all
traces of the recent software update, and leave the system inconsistent.
This is an example of how adding more changes to a system that has problems
confounds the issue. Once a problem occurs fix it first before making any
more changes.

Robert wrotw
I am able to see and view my hotmail account but only when Norton is
disabled. What I find odd is that it was working fine just a few days
ago and I have no idea what happened, other than that last

message.

Ok I see.

Robert wrote
By application I mean to open anything such as a file etc, or like
when I see I have emails waiting I click on that and it just hangs
there, but that’s when Norton is running. Seems to be ok without it,
and I can at least get online, although jury rigged, yet I can still
tell the computer still isn’t right. It isn’t as fast or responsive
and I’ve tried playing Jedi Academy and its slow

Again understood now. All these problems have something to do with being
online.

Robert wrote
Probably so, I did try running System Restore with Norton disabled
though and it still failed.

Ok, there's more troubleshooting to do for System Restore.

Robert wrote
I attempted to turn off my Auto-Updates because I thought they may
have been a source of the problem by downloading bad data.

I understand now. Good idea; keep automatic updates off until you exhaust
all avenues to resolve this mess. Don't make any more changes by adding
more elements.

Robert wrote
The above refers to having the Microsoft Updates site in my Favorites
because I wasn’t able to get to it via Explorer/Tools/Windows

Update.

Hmm, has this always been a problem, or just now after this situation
develped? I assume it came with the recent problem.

Robert wrote
I means it listed about (9) separate updates and I downloaded them
from the Microsft Updates page with a pop-up screen showing the
progress and all but one was successful. I was going to go back and
try again and download the other (8) updates mentioned below when I
saw the Explorer 7 update.

Just as with the windows udpates that started this issue, you need to find
out what those specific software updates were to see if they can be undone
before trying a system restore. Follow the same tact. Check in the update
history for what these were.

Robert wrote
Microsoft Updates

Robert wrote
Yes

Robert wrote
I download software updates, they had multiple updates I wanted
to download; e.g. (9) software, (8) XP and (1)Hardware.

Ok, got it now.

Maybe that update wasn't installed. You can confirm that through windows
udpate history.

Robert wrote
That’s the point, the system isn’t running well. I’m trying to restore
it to the way it was.
It doesn’t even give me the desk top anymore but always prompts me
now.

Not sure what you mean here. I am guessing though, that you had the system
set up to auto login to the desktop. But now it stops at the welcome screen
where you have to click on your user icon? If that's the case it means one
of the installed updates added one of the versions of .Net Framework. This
installation adds an account called Asp.net which causes this change in the
auto login.

Robert wrote
Every time I attempt to go online and Norton is on I get the following

Norton Personal Firewall
Security Alert
Low Risk
IEXPLORE.EXE is attempting to connect toa DNS server.
Program: IEXPLORE.EXE
Crogram Files\Internet Explorer\
Date/Time:
Remote Address:

What do you want to do?
Always allow connections from this program on all ports(recommended)
and whenever I click ok it comes right back and I never connect to the
site.

I don't know what this Norton message means. I don't use any Norton home
security product, and won't let them near my systems.

Robert wrote
I ask this question because I’m wanting to try and save my data by
transferring it from one computer to another.

Robert wrote
I don’t think it was a Norton update although I can’t be certain
because the information just flashed by.

Check the windows update history to be sure. Note: I never let my system
update without first checking what it is and deciding if I want that update.
You can reconfigure automatic updates to alert you to new updates but not
download or install them until you give approval. I recommend after this is
all repaired that you set it up that way. That way you can see what
automatic updates is offering. You don't necessarily want every update.

Robert wrote
This sounds like the best way although some of his advice I’m a little
iffy on.

See the end of this post for some suggestions.

Robert wrote
Thanks for the good advice, I have been thinking of creating a system
back up for awhile.

You're welcome.
____________________________________

Suggestions:

A. Backup the important data now if you don't have a full and complete
backup. I don't think you should bother with trying to network two
computers at this point. You have enough going on. Copy the important data
to CD or DVD, flash drive, or an external drive and move it to the other
computer. Backup it up in at least two different ways so there is
redundancy.

If things get worse, say the system won't boot so you can't otherwise backup
the data, here are some options to do it.

1. Take the drive out of the computer and install it as a slave drive in
another Windows XP or 2000 computer. It should read the drive ok, so you can
copy the data.

2. Take the drive and put it in an external drive enclosure. Attach this
through USB to your other computer. It should read the drive ok, so you can
copy the data.

3. Create a bootable Bart's PE disk, boot from that, then copy the data to
external USB drive or flash drive. This takes some skill and effort.

4. Download a bootable Linux distro called Knoppix. Create a bootable CD
from that, boot from it, and copy the data to USB drive or flash drive, or
if the computer has two CD drives, one of which is a burner, then use the
k3b burning program on the Knoppix CD to burn the data to CD.

4. Take it to a competent computer tech to backup the data.

B. Research what updates were installed the night this all started, and
research what additional software updates you installed after the problem
started.

C. Remove as many of the updates that were installed the night of the
problem as possible through Add/Remove programs. For now don't remove any
of those software updates that were installed later. Test to see what
happens.

D. If that doesn't fix it, remove as many of the software updates you did
through windows update. Test again.

E. Whether that works or not, now troubleshoot system restore following the
tips on Bert Kinney's system restore page. If you can get system restore
working, then restore to a point right before this problem occurred.

F. If the system is working now, great! But either way, at this point
uninstall Norton. Do so through Add/Remove programs. After it is removed,
activate the windows firewall, then go online to the Symantec site (or you
can do this before hand) and download the removal utility for the Norton
software you have. I am assuming it's some version of NIS. Run that to
remove more traces of NIS.

G. If things are running ok, grab a copy of Avast Anti-virus from Alwil
software. It's free for home use. You could get this at an earlier time as
well. Now install it.

H. Set up some sort of system backup, as I suggested, using Acronis True
Image Home version 10 to image the now working system to an external hard
drive.

I. Go to the windows update site, do a custom scan, and see what updates
are offered. Start with the high priority security updates. Install them
one at a time. Test the system in between. Image at that point.

J. Post back here with what optional updates are offered for advice on what
to install.

K. Reactivate automatic updates but set to tell you about them but don't
download or install. Image the system.

L. If after step F the system still isn't running, your options might be
limited. I am assuming the OS was preinstalled by Dell, rather than
installed by you at some later time using an XP installation CD.

If it happens that you did the install using an XP installation CD, you
could try a repair install. See this link:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

However if the OS was preinstalled by Dell, then you don't have an
installation CD, but rather a recovery CD or hidden partition on the hard
drive with an image of the drive as received from the factory. In that case
the option of a repair install is not available. If Dell offers a non
destructive recovery do that. Otherwise you might be faced with a
destructive restore. This means the system is restored to the condition it
was in as received from Dell. You'll then have to reinstall all apps from
original media.

Make sure before you take this step that you have all the original media and
know all the product keys for products that need them. There is software
you can run on a running system to retrieve this product key information if
you don't have it. Look at Belarc Advisor for this. It's a free download.

After the OS is reinstalled, if things are running ok, image the system.
Reinstall all apps testing in between, then image the system. Do not
install Norton. Uninstall whatever security suite came with the Dell
installation. Activate the windows firewall (you can decide whether you
want to use a 3rd party firewall and if so which one, later. Install an AV
program like Avast. Bring back your data from the backups. Image the
system.

__________

Other option to consider: Contact Symantec tech support and see what they
have to say. Their response may be helpful or they might just suggest to
uninstall/reinstall.

Others may jump in here with suggestions for you.

Good luck Robert, and post back with your progress.

 

[Robert]

Hello Rock,

I checked my update history and found the following were updated on
5-9-07 which is when all this started to happen. The ability to go to
the Microsoft Update page developed after this situation occurred. I
never had a problem with it before

Capicom - Security Update for Capicom (KB931906)

Windows XP - Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for
Windows XP(KB931768)

Security Update for Word 2002 (KB934394)

Update for Windows XP (KB930916)

Office 2002/XP - Security Update for Excel 2002(KB934453)

Security Update for Office XP(KB934705)

I was able to delete all the above with the exception of :
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool- May 2007 (KB890830) as I
couldn't find this one.

I then checked for the updates I loaded between the 9th and the
present when I was trying to load available programs from Microsoft
Update page to try and correct the problem thinking it was missing
software even though it previously found none when I ran the test.
However, it did have other updates available; thinking these were
unfinished updates, I loaded the following:

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP
(KB931768)

Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB929969)

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 1.1 Service Pack
1(KB886903)

Update for Windows XP (KB934238)

Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1

Microsoft .Net Framework 3.0; x86 (KB928416)

Root Certificates Updates

Update for Windows XP (KB920342)

Microsoft.Net Framework 2.0x86 (KB829019)

Microsoft Base Smart Card Cryptographic Service Provider Package;
x86(KB909520)

Update for Windows XP (KB896344)

Nvidia Corporation - video - Nvidia
GeForce2MX

Microsoft .Net Framework version 1.1 (failed)

I was able to delete the following from the above list. The rest I
wasn't able to find. Is there another way of finding the other updates
listed above? I would think since it found those below it would show
them all unless of course they didn't load in the first place.

February 2007 CardSpace Update for Windows XP (KB925720)

Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client6.0) for Windows XP
(KB925876)

Security Update for Microsoft.Net Framework, Version 2.0 (KB917283)

Security Update for Microsoft.Net Framework, Version 2.0 (KB922770)



I had it set up that the computer would load all the programs and be
at the desktop when finished. Now it stops at the welcome screen and
requires me to click my name before loading.

I'm just finished investigating and deleting those programs I
downloaded to see if it makes a difference.

I have Norton disabled and there's an icon which shows updates are
ready to install but I'm rather leery of doing so right now until I
get my computer up and running as it was before.

So where do I go at this point? Try to do a System Restore? I would
like to do a System Restore from the Safe Mode but am leery of doing
so as I have never done it before. How do you go about it and how do
you exit from it?

I appreciate you suggestions and advice although I have to be honest
and say your transfer of data information was a bit over my head.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.



Thanks,

Robert

 

[Rock]

Hello Rock,

I checked my update history and found the following were updated on
5-9-07 which is when all this started to happen. The ability to go to
the Microsoft Update page developed after this situation occurred. I
never had a problem with it before

Capicom - Security Update for Capicom (KB931906)

Windows XP - Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for
Windows XP(KB931768)

Security Update for Word 2002 (KB934394)

Update for Windows XP (KB930916)

Office 2002/XP - Security Update for Excel 2002(KB934453)

Security Update for Office XP(KB934705)

I was able to delete all the above with the exception of :
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool- May 2007 (KB890830) as I
couldn't find this one.

Ok, that's normal. This update doesn't install anything so there is nothing
to remove. It does a one time check of the sytsem for malware.

Was there any change in the computer performance after removing these
udpates? That's the key point.

I then checked for the updates I loaded between the 9th and the
present when I was trying to load available programs from Microsoft
Update page to try and correct the problem thinking it was missing
software even though it previously found none when I ran the test.
However, it did have other updates available; thinking these were
unfinished updates, I loaded the following:

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP
(KB931768)

I don't understand. You mentioned this one ealier.

Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB929969)

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 1.1 Service Pack
1(KB886903)

Update for Windows XP (KB934238)

Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1

Microsoft .Net Framework 3.0; x86 (KB928416)

Root Certificates Updates

Update for Windows XP (KB920342)

Microsoft.Net Framework 2.0x86 (KB829019)

Microsoft Base Smart Card Cryptographic Service Provider Package;
x86(KB909520)

Update for Windows XP (KB896344)

Nvidia Corporation - video - Nvidia
GeForce2MX

This is an update for the driver for your graphics card. Never get driver
updates from Windows update, unless it's a MS manufacturered device. I
would roll back the driver for this. Go to

Microsoft .Net Framework version 1.1 (failed)

This is strange. Earlier you list Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 Service Pack
1
as one of the installed updates. But that can't install unless .Net 1.1 is
already installed. So why would it be offering .Net Framework 1.1 as an
update? In any event that's probably why it failed. It was already
installed.

I was able to delete the following from the above list. The rest I
wasn't able to find. Is there another way of finding the other updates
listed above? I would think since it found those below it would show
them all unless of course they didn't load in the first place.

February 2007 CardSpace Update for Windows XP (KB925720)

Again another unclear point. Why would you remove this since you didn't
have it listed above as one of the updates that you installed after the
problem started?

Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client6.0) for Windows XP
(KB925876)

Another update that wan't listed earlier as having been installed.

Security Update for Microsoft.Net Framework, Version 2.0 (KB917283)
Same

Security Update for Microsoft.Net Framework, Version 2.0 (KB922770)

Same

Robert why did you uninstall these updates that were not, as far as I can
see, installed when the problem started or after the fact?

I also don't understand why you couldn't get more of those recent updates
removed. All the .Net ones as well as some of the others should be shown in
Add/Remove programs.

I had it set up that the computer would load all the programs and be
at the desktop when finished. Now it stops at the welcome screen and
requires me to click my name before loading.

That's no big deal and the least of the current problems. This was caused
by one of the .Net framework updates.

To resestablish auto login do this.

1. Go to Start | Run and type in: control userpasswords2 | Ok.

2. On the Users tab, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To
Use This Computer check box and then click OK.

3. In the Automatically Log On dialog box that appears, type the user name
and password for the account you want to be logged on each time you start
your computer.

I'm just finished investigating and deleting those programs I
downloaded to see if it makes a difference.

I have Norton disabled and there's an icon which shows updates are
ready to install but I'm rather leery of doing so right now until I
get my computer up and running as it was before.

So where do I go at this point? Try to do a System Restore? I would
like to do a System Restore from the Safe Mode but am leery of doing
so as I have never done it before. How do you go about it and how do
you exit from it?

You can try a system restore but things are such a mess, I don't know what
will work.

I appreciate you suggestions and advice although I have to be honest
and say your transfer of data information was a bit over my head.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

First question? After removing the updates you have, is there any change?

Is all the data backed up? With that take care of, and if there is no
change, I think the next step is to try to get system restore working. If
that means doing it in safe mode then go ahead, but be prepared to face the
fact that you may end up doing a reinstall of your OS. Are you prepared to
take that step?

 

[Robert]

Hello Rock,

I checked my update history and found the following were updated on
5-9-07 which is when all this started to happen. The ability to go to
the Microsoft Update page developed after this situation occurred. I
never had a problem with it before

Capicom - Security Update for Capicom (KB931906)

Windows XP - Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for
Windows XP(KB931768)

Security Update for Word 2002 (KB934394)

Update for Windows XP (KB930916)

Office 2002/XP - Security Update for Excel 2002(KB934453)

Security Update for Office XP(KB934705)

I was able to delete all the above with the exception of :
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool- May 2007 (KB890830) as I
couldn't find this one.

Ok, that's normal. This update doesn't install anything so there is nothing
to remove. It does a one time check of the sytsem for malware.

Was there any change in the computer performance after removing these
udpates? That's the key point.

I then checked for the updates I loaded between the 9th and the
present when I was trying to load available programs from Microsoft
Update page to try and correct the problem thinking it was missing
software even though it previously found none when I ran the test.
However, it did have other updates available; thinking these were
unfinished updates, I loaded the following:

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP
(KB931768)

I don't understand. You mentioned this one ealier.

Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB929969)

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 1.1 Service Pack
1(KB886903)

Update for Windows XP (KB934238)

Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1

Microsoft .Net Framework 3.0; x86 (KB928416)

Root Certificates Updates

Update for Windows XP (KB920342)

Microsoft.Net Framework 2.0x86 (KB829019)

Microsoft Base Smart Card Cryptographic Service Provider Package;
x86(KB909520)

Update for Windows XP (KB896344)

Nvidia Corporation - video - Nvidia
GeForce2MX

This is an update for the driver for your graphics card. Never get driver
updates from Windows update, unless it's a MS manufacturered device. I
would roll back the driver for this. Go to

Microsoft .Net Framework version 1.1 (failed)

This is strange. Earlier you list Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1 Service Pack
1
as one of the installed updates. But that can't install unless .Net 1.1 is
already installed. So why would it be offering .Net Framework 1.1 as an
update? In any event that's probably why it failed. It was already
installed.

I was able to delete the following from the above list. The rest I
wasn't able to find. Is there another way of finding the other updates
listed above? I would think since it found those below it would show
them all unless of course they didn't load in the first place.

February 2007 CardSpace Update for Windows XP (KB925720)

Again another unclear point. Why would you remove this since you didn't
have it listed above as one of the updates that you installed after the
problem started?

Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client6.0) for Windows XP
(KB925876)

Another update that wan't listed earlier as having been installed.

Security Update for Microsoft.Net Framework, Version 2.0 (KB917283)
Same

Security Update for Microsoft.Net Framework, Version 2.0 (KB922770)

Same

Robert why did you uninstall these updates that were not, as far as I can
see, installed when the problem started or after the fact?

I also don't understand why you couldn't get more of those recent updates
removed. All the .Net ones as well as some of the others should be shown in
Add/Remove programs.

I had it set up that the computer would load all the programs and be
at the desktop when finished. Now it stops at the welcome screen and
requires me to click my name before loading.

That's no big deal and the least of the current problems. This was caused
by one of the .Net framework updates.

To resestablish auto login do this.

1. Go to Start | Run and type in: control userpasswords2 | Ok.

2. On the Users tab, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To
Use This Computer check box and then click OK.

3. In the Automatically Log On dialog box that appears, type the user name
and password for the account you want to be logged on each time you start
your computer.

I'm just finished investigating and deleting those programs I
downloaded to see if it makes a difference.

I have Norton disabled and there's an icon which shows updates are
ready to install but I'm rather leery of doing so right now until I
get my computer up and running as it was before.

So where do I go at this point? Try to do a System Restore? I would
like to do a System Restore from the Safe Mode but am leery of doing
so as I have never done it before. How do you go about it and how do
you exit from it?

You can try a system restore but things are such a mess, I don't know what
will work.

I appreciate you suggestions and advice although I have to be honest
and say your transfer of data information was a bit over my head.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

First question? After removing the updates you have, is there any change?

Is all the data backed up? With that take care of, and if there is no
change, I think the next step is to try to get system restore working. If
that means doing it in safe mode then go ahead, but be prepared to face the
fact that you may end up doing a reinstall of your OS. Are you prepared to
take that step?

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hello Rock,
First of all thanks for taking your time to help me, I appreciate it.
I showed/deleted the addresses you spoke of as being loaded at a later
date after my computer encountered it's problems. I just thought it
best to delete them because as you pointed out it's best not to add
anything else until the problem is corrected.

I was finally able to do a System Restore in the 'Safe Mode'. However
My Norton Antivirus would not enable afterwards. So I decided to
uninstall it and re-install and that 'seemed' to correct the problems
it was having. The computer still doesn't seem as fast as it use to be
although it takes me the desktop as it normally should. However
whenever I try to go to a web page my Norton Firewall keeps giving me
the following message just like it did before:

Nortion Personal Firewall
Program Alert
Low Risk

IEXPLORE.EXE is attempting to access the Internet. This program has
been modified since it was last used.

Program: IEXPLORE.EXE
Path: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\
Date/Time:
Remote Address: xxx.xx.xxx.xx:http (80)

It gives me the option of 'allow always'(recommended) but whenever I
click it, it keeps coming back. I don't remember changing any settings
and when I open it up and look at the settings and they seem normal to
me.
I would appreciate it if you or anyone could help me resolve this so
that my Norton Firewall will stop these pop-up alert messages because
I have to turn my Norton Firewall off to stop them at present in order
to load a web page. Perhaps I should just dump Norton and get the
other antivirus programs you mentioned? Although to be honest I have
never had a problem with it until now.

I do see that I have updates(doesn't say Windows or Norton) are
pending but I seriously doubt if that will affect it. In any case I
already loaded 7 updates from Live Update when I installed Norton.
Suggestions?

Thanks
Robert

 

[Robert]

Hello Rock,
First of all thanks for taking your time to help me, I appreciate it.
I showed/deleted the addresses you spoke of as being loaded at a later
date after my computer encountered it's problems. I just thought it
best to delete them because as you pointed out it's best not to add
anything else until the problem is corrected.

I was finally able to do a System Restore in the 'Safe Mode'. However
My Norton Antivirus would not enable afterwards. So I decided to
uninstall it and re-install and that 'seemed' to correct the problems
it was having. The computer still doesn't seem as fast as it use to be
although it takes me the desktop as it normally should. However
whenever I try to go to a web page my Norton Firewall keeps giving me
the following message just like it did before:

Nortion Personal Firewall
Program Alert
Low Risk

IEXPLORE.EXE is attempting to access the Internet. This program has
been modified since it was last used.

Program: IEXPLORE.EXE
Path: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\
Date/Time:
Remote Address: xxx.xx.xxx.xx:http (80)

It gives me the option of 'allow always'(recommended) but whenever I
click it, it keeps coming back. I don't remember changing any settings
and when I open it up and look at the settings and they seem normal to
me.
I would appreciate it if you or anyone could help me resolve this so
that my Norton Firewall will stop these pop-up alert messages because
I have to turn my Norton Firewall off to stop them at present in order
to load a web page. Perhaps I should just dump Norton and get the
other antivirus programs you mentioned? Although to be honest I have
never had a problem with it until now.

I do see that I have updates(doesn't say Windows or Norton) are
pending but I seriously doubt if that will affect it. In any case I
already loaded 7 updates from Live Update when I installed Norton.
Suggestions?

Thanks
Robert- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I think after all is said and done I'm going to get rid of Norton,
even though up to this point it hasn't been giving me problems a
number of people including yourself have suggested I don't use it
anymore and it's not working properly in any case. I'll let you know
how it performs after I make the change and hopefully I will see a
noticable improvement.


Robert

 

[Rock]

I think after all is said and done I'm going to get rid of Norton,
even though up to this point it hasn't been giving me problems a
number of people including yourself have suggested I don't use it
anymore and it's not working properly in any case. I'll let you know
how it performs after I make the change and hopefully I will see a
noticable improvement.

Good decision Robert, your system will run much better without it. I have
you some recommendations for AV, firewall and anti-spyware apps to use in
it's place.

 

[Robert]

in message

Good decision Robert, your system will run much better without it. I have
you some recommendations for AV, firewall and anti-spyware apps to use in
it's place.

Hello Rock,
Here's what I've done. I un-installed Norton Anti-virus and Firewall,
and downloaded and installed AVG and Comodo, I also have Spybot and A-
Squared on the system. At first Comodo, asked if I wanted MSN to
logon, and then is asked about svchost but I remember someone saying
it was a window process and should be running. Then a third on came up
LU something and since I didn't know what it was for I decided to play
it safe and deny it but I saved the information on Comodo just in
case. After that it seemed to load ok, and check to see if there were
any updates. The system seems fine and I do notice that it runs faster
and loads faster. Someone told me to turn off my System Restore
before I did a scan with AVG but when I attempted to do so it said
that it would delete all previous restore points. I didn't like how
that sounded so I didn;t do it and the scan found nothing. Any other
suggestions?

I still need to deal with buying and creating a back up system. I was
wondering if I could use another computer for this? I have a Dell B110
that was given to me and am just curious if it could be used as a
backup? I don't quite understand where they would hook up at if it is
feasible. What kind of software would I need or is it already built
into my XP?

Again, thanks
for your help

Robert

 

[Rock]

Hello Rock,
Here's what I've done. I un-installed Norton Anti-virus and Firewall,
and downloaded and installed AVG and Comodo, I also have Spybot and A-
Squared on the system. At first Comodo, asked if I wanted MSN to
logon, and then is asked about svchost but I remember someone saying
it was a window process and should be running. Then a third on came up
LU something and since I didn't know what it was for I decided to play
it safe and deny it but I saved the information on Comodo just in
case. After that it seemed to load ok, and check to see if there were
any updates. The system seems fine and I do notice that it runs faster
and loads faster. Someone told me to turn off my System Restore
before I did a scan with AVG but when I attempted to do so it said
that it would delete all previous restore points. I didn't like how
that sounded so I didn;t do it and the scan found nothing. Any other
suggestions?

I still need to deal with buying and creating a back up system. I was
wondering if I could use another computer for this? I have a Dell B110
that was given to me and am just curious if it could be used as a
backup? I don't quite understand where they would hook up at if it is
feasible. What kind of software would I need or is it already built
into my XP?

Again, thanks for your help

You're welcome, Robert, good to hear you're making progress. I think LU
might be the Norton Live Update Agent. Did you remove Live Update from
Add/Remove programs? I recollect that has to be done as well as removing
the main program. Then check in services to see if any Norton or Live
Update services are still installed. Go to Start | Run | services.msc to
see those. Also did you download and run the removal utility from Symantec
for your version of Norton?

Svchost.exe is needed to check for updates at the windows update site. You
only need to allow that to run when you going to the windows update site.
Otherwise it can be denied

When scanning for malware, do not remove current restore points. Firstly,
malware in a restore point cannot infect the system unless the system is
restored to that point. But if something goes wrong during scanning, you
could conceivably need system restore to get you out of a fix to get you
back to where you started, so don't turn off system restore. After scanning
if it finds malware in a restore point (and normally you'll get a message
that it can't clean it), then you can turn off system restore to remove old
restore points, turn it back on, and create a new one.

I would also add Ad-Aware SE personal (with a new version arriving in June)
to the anti-spyware arsenal. The free version is not memory resident. Use
it to occasionally scan the system. It's a good adjunct to SpyBot S&D.

Yes, you can network the computers and backup one computer to another over
the network. Ntbackup, which is installed by default in XP Pro, can do
backups. I don't recommend it though. Frankly I stopped using it years ago
in favor of a drive imaging program. I currently use Acronis True Image
Home version 10, and backup to external hard drives. In lieu of the network
you could take out the drive from that other computer, put it in an external
drive enclosure, these cost in the $20 range, and attach that to the working
computer through USB. Or buy another bare drive and enclosure. A 320GB
setup will cost under $120 at places like Newegg.com. It's easier to setup
than the network.

To setup the network get a router, and connect all the computers to the
router, either through a wired connection or wireless or a combination.
Each computer needs a NIC. I'm not sure what kind of internet connection
you have, if it's DSL or cable or dial up. If DSL or cable you go from the
broadband connection to the modem to the router. After things are
physically connected run the network setup wizard on each computer and set
up things like file sharing, permissions, etc. Networking is not really my
area, so I can't help you with the network setup.

Here are some links to get you started with networking.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/
http://www.wown.info/
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking.htm

Home Networking
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/howto/homenet/default.asp


Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

Network troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna:
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Wireless - Basic Security - http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html
MVP Barb Bowman on wireless security - http://tinyurl.com/56fc5
The six dumbest ways to secure a wireless LAN -
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/index.php?p

 

[Robert]

You're welcome, Robert, good to hear you're making progress. I think LU
might be the Norton Live Update Agent. Did you remove Live Update from
Add/Remove programs? I recollect that has to be done as well as removing
the main program. Then check in services to see if any Norton or Live
Update services are still installed. Go to Start | Run | services.msc to
see those. Also did you download and run the removal utility from Symantec
for your version of Norton?

Svchost.exe is needed to check for updates at the windows update site. You
only need to allow that to run when you going to the windows update site.
Otherwise it can be denied

When scanning for malware, do not remove current restore points. Firstly,
malware in a restore point cannot infect the system unless the system is
restored to that point. But if something goes wrong during scanning, you
could conceivably need system restore to get you out of a fix to get you
back to where you started, so don't turn off system restore. After scanning
if it finds malware in a restore point (and normally you'll get a message
that it can't clean it), then you can turn off system restore to remove old
restore points, turn it back on, and create a new one.

I would also add Ad-Aware SE personal (with a new version arriving in June)
to the anti-spyware arsenal. The free version is not memory resident. Use
it to occasionally scan the system. It's a good adjunct to SpyBot S&D.

Yes, you can network the computers and backup one computer to another over
the network. Ntbackup, which is installed by default in XP Pro, can do
backups. I don't recommend it though. Frankly I stopped using it years ago
in favor of a drive imaging program. I currently use Acronis True Image
Home version 10, and backup to external hard drives. In lieu of the network
you could take out the drive from that other computer, put it in an external
drive enclosure, these cost in the $20 range, and attach that to the working
computer through USB. Or buy another bare drive and enclosure. A 320GB
setup will cost under $120 at places like Newegg.com. It's easier to setup
than the network.

To setup the network get a router, and connect all the computers to the
router, either through a wired connection or wireless or a combination.
Each computer needs a NIC. I'm not sure what kind of internet connection
you have, if it's DSL or cable or dial up. If DSL or cable you go from the
broadband connection to the modem to the router. After things are
physically connected run the network setup wizard on each computer and set
up things like file sharing, permissions, etc. Networking is not really my
area, so I can't help you with the network setup.

Here are some links to get you started with networking.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/http.../http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking.htm

Home Networkinghttp://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/howto/homenet/default.asp

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQhttp://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

Network troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna:http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Wireless - Basic Security - http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html
MVP Barb Bowman on wireless security -http://tinyurl.com/56fc5
The six dumbest ways to secure a wireless LAN -http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/index.php?p

Whew, you sure gave me allot on information. First off, I did still
have Live Update so I
uninstalled that. I also went to the Symantec site for their removal
utility and did that.
It's amazing how much faster my system is without Norton. I had no
idea. I still get
messages from Comodo now and then to allow this or that site such as
Symantec but
I assume this will quiet down after I have selected all my sites and
for Comodo to remember
my selections.

I use to have Ad-Aware but it was only the free version since I'm
financially strapped and
so opted for A-Squared in it's place when I could no longer get it for
free. I think as far as
backups, I will end up buying an external hard drive, it sounds alot
easier. Any suggestions
for brand names or are they all more or less the same? What do you
think of thumb drives
and their uses? I have heard of Acronis before so I will probably go
with that. I was going to
use Norton Ghost but after the recent events I don't think so.


Again, thanks for your help,

Robert

 

[Rock]

Whew, you sure gave me allot on information. First off, I did still
have Live Update so I
uninstalled that. I also went to the Symantec site for their removal
utility and did that.
It's amazing how much faster my system is without Norton. I had no
idea.

Yes, even when Norton runs well it is a drag on resources. Universally,
people are surprised how much faster things are without it.

I still get
messages from Comodo now and then to allow this or that site such as
Symantec but
I assume this will quiet down after I have selected all my sites and
for Comodo to remember
my selections.

If all traces of Norton and Live update are gone you shouldn't be getting
any alerts from Comodo related to Symantec programs. Unfortunately
sometimes even with uninstalling those programs and using their removal
tool, it doesn't always get all the traces of these Norton home security
products. In the worst case scenario you need to reinstall clean to remove
all traces. Hopefully that won't be needed in your case.

I use to have Ad-Aware but it was only the free version since I'm
financially strapped and
so opted for A-Squared in it's place when I could no longer get it for
free.

I use the free version of Ad-Aware. That is what I was recommending. And
they are coming out with a new version in June. A-Squared might very well
be a fine program. I just am not familiar with it.

I think as far as
backups, I will end up buying an external hard drive, it sounds alot
easier. Any suggestions
for brand names or are they all more or less the same?

Sorry, I can't recommend any of the preassembled external drives. I don't
use them. But I do recommend you put together an external drive yoruself.
It is much cheaper. Just buy a bare drive kit (called a white box or OEM -
it's the same drive you get in a retail drive kit but it doesn't come in the
box and it doesn't come with a CD. Any utilities you might need can be
downloaded from the drive manufacturer's web site, but then you don't really
need these to set up an external drive.) And buy an self powered external
drive enclosure. These are in the $20 range. Unscrew the lid or end plate
on the enclosure, put the drive in, secure it to the enclosure with a few
screws (included), attach the drive cable and power connector, and reattach
the lid or end plate. Attach a USB cable to the case and attach that to
your computer. Takes about 10 minutes to put together. All you need is the
proper size philips head screwdriver. Most of these enclosures come with a
USB cable, and have a power switch to turn the drive on/off.

For example from Newegg.com:

WD 320GB Caviar 7200 RPM EIDE OEM drive $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144392

Kingwin KH-350U Black Aluminum hard drive enclosure $22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817146307

What do you
think of thumb drives
and their uses?

Thumb drives are fine for temporary storage or for moving files from one
system to another. I have a couple, but I don't use them for permanent
backup, and they certainly aren't big enough to use as storage for drive
imaging.

I have heard of Acronis before so I will probably go
with that. I was going to
use Norton Ghost but after the recent events I don't think so.

Acronis True Image Home version 10 seems to be a bit more user friendly than
the current version of Ghost. I can understand your reluctance to use
Symantec products, though Ghost is one of their better ones. The products
you should not uses are NAV or NIS or Norton Utilities.

Don't get ATI from their web site, shop around at the various on oline
retailers for the best price which will be better than that from Acronis
which is $49.99. Newegg.com has it for $24.99 right now, which is a great
price.

Again, thanks for your help,

You're welcome. You are doing all the right things now to get your system
running well and protecting it properly.

I have included a copy of a post by Anna, with detailed, step by step
instructions on how to use Acronis True Image for creating images. Whatever
backup solution you employ, it is critical you test it under real conditions
to see that you can in fact restore either individual files, or the whole
system to a bare drive to you see how it works and that you have confidence
in it. When you need to restore because of a disaster is not the time to be
figuring out how it works or if it works.

"Step-by-Step Instructions for Using the Acronis True Image Program to
Backup
& Restore One's Hard Drive...

Using the Acronis True Image program there are two different approaches one
can take to back up the entire contents of one's day-to-day working HDD,
i.e., the operating system, all programs & applications, and user-created
data - in short, *everything* that's on one's HDD...

1. Direct disk-to-disk cloning, or,
2. Creating disk images

By using either of these strategies the user can restore his or her system
should their day-to-day working HDD become inoperable because of
mechanical/electronic failure of the disk or corruption of the system
resulting in a dysfunctional operating system.

In undertaking either of these two backup & recovery processes you're
dealing with two hard drives - the so-called source & destination disks -
the source disk being the HDD you're backing up and the destination disk
being the HDD that will be the recipient of the cloned contents of the
source disk or the recipient of the disk image you will be creating.

When using either process it's usually best for most users to use an
external HDD as the destination drive, i.e., the recipient of the cloned
contents of the source disk or the recipient of the created disk image. This
can be either a USB or Firewire or SATA external HDD. While another internal
HDD can also serve as the destination disk there's an additional element of
safety in using an external HDD since that drive will be ordinarily
disconnected from the system except during the disk cloning or recovery
process.

One other suggestion. After you install the Acronis program on your computer
it's a good idea to create what Acronis calls their "Bootable Rescue Media"
(CD). In most cases the recovery process (described below) will utilize that
Acronis bootable CD to restore your system. This "rescue" CD is easily
created from the program by clicking on the "Create Bootable Rescue Media"
icon on the opening Acronis screen and simply going through the screens to
create the bootable CD. The following are step-by-step instructions for
using the Acronis True Image 9 program to clone the contents of one HDD to
an external HDD. (The steps are essentially the same using the newer ATI 10
version):

1. With both hard drives (source & destination disks) connected, boot up.
Ensure that no other storage devices, e.g., flash drives, ZIP drives, etc.,
are connected. It's also probably a good idea to shut down any programs you
may have working in the background - including any anti-virus anti-spyware
programs - before undertaking this disk-to-disk cloning operation.

2. Access the Acronis True Image 9 program and under "Pick a Task", click
on "Clone Disk". (In the ATI 10 version click on "Manage Hard Disks" in the
"Pick a Tool" area and on the next screen click on "Clone Disk").

3. On the next "Welcome to the Disk Clone Wizard!" window, click Next.

4. On the next "Clone Mode" window select the Automatic option (it should
be the default option selected) and click Next.

5. On the next "Source Hard Disk" window, ensure that the correct source
HDD (the disk you're cloning from) has been selected (click to highlight).
Click Next.

6. On the next "Destination Hard Disk" window, ensure that the correct
destination HDD (the disk you're cloning to) has been selected (again, click
to highlight). Click Next.

7. On the next window, select the option "Delete partitions on the
destination hard disk". Understand that all data presently on the disk that
will be the recipient of the clone will be deleted prior to the disk cloning
operation. Click Next.

8. The next window will reflect the source and destination disks. Again,
confirm that the correct drives have been selected. Click Next. 9. On the
next window click on the Proceed button. A message box will display
indicating that a reboot will be required to undertake the disk cloning
operation. Click Reboot.

10. The cloning operation will proceed during the reboot. With modern
components and a medium to high-powered processor, data transfer rate will
be somewhere in the range of about 450 MB/min to 800 MB/min when cloning to
a USB external HDD; considerably faster when cloning to another internal
HDD.

11. When the disk cloning operation has been completed, a message will
(usually) appear indicating the disk cloning process has been successful and
instructs you to shut down the computer by pressing any key. Do so and
disconnect your USB external HDD. If, however, the destination drive (the
recipient of the clone) has been another *internal* HDD, see the NOTE below.

12. Note that the cloned contents now residing on the USB external HDD take
on the file system of the source drive. For example, if prior to the
disk-cloning operation your USB external HDD had been FAT32-formatted and
your XP OS was NTFS-formatted, the cloned contents will be NTFS-formatted.
There is no need to format the USB external HDD prior to the disk-cloning
operation. Similarly, there is no need prior to the disk-cloning operation
to format an internal HDD should you be using an internal HDD as the
destination drive .

13. Restoration of the system can be achieved by cloning the contents of the
data residing on the external HDD to an internal HDD through the normal
disk-cloning process as described above.

NOTE: Just one other point that should be emphasized with respect to the
disk cloning operation should the recipient of the clone be another internal
HDD and not a USB or Firewire external HDD. Immediately following the disk
cloning operation the machine should be shutdown and the source HDD should
be disconnected. Boot ONLY to the newly-cloned drive. DO NOT BOOT
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CLONING OPERATION WITH BOTH DRIVES CONNECTED.
There's a strong possibility that by doing so it is likely to cause future
boot problems with the cloned drive. Obviously there is no problem in this
area should a USB or Firewire EHD be the recipient of the clone since that
device is not ordinarily bootable in an XP environment.


Disk Imaging: The following are step-by-step instructions for using the
Acronis True Image 9 Program to create disk images for backup purposes and
using those disk images for recovery of the system. (The steps are
essentially the same using the newer ATI 10 version):

Note: The recipient of the disk image, presumably a USB external HDD or an
internal HDD, ordinarily must be a formatted drive and have a drive letter
assigned to it. Recall that in the case of a disk-to-disk cloning operation
as previously described, an unformatted or "virgin" HDD can be used as the
destination disk.

Before undertaking this disk imaging process it's probably best to close all
programs running in the background including your anti-virus and other
anti-malware programs.

1. With both your source and destination hard drives connected, access the
Acronis program and click "Backup" on main menu.

2. The "Create Backup Wizard" screen opens. Click Next.

3. The "Select Backup Type" screen opens with two options: a. The entire
disk contents or individual partitions. b. Files and folders. Select a. and
click Next.

(In the ATI 10 version four options will be listed: My Computer, My Data, My
Application Settings, and My E-mail. Select the My Computer option and click
Next.)

4. The "Partitions Selection" screen opens. Disk 1 and Disk 2 are listed
with their drive letter designations. Check the disk to be backed up -
presumably Disk 1 - and click Next.

5. An informational message appears recommending an incremental or
differential backup if an original full backup had previously been
created.Since this will be the first backup we will be selecting, just click
OK to close the message box. (You can check the box not to show that
informational message in the future).

6. Next screen is the "Backup Archive Location". In the "File name:" text
box, (in ATI 10 version it's the "Folder:" text box) enter your backup drive
letter and enter a file name for the backup file, e.g., "F:\Backup 1-25".
The Acronis program will automatically append the ".tib" file extension to
the filename. Click Next.

7. "Select Backup Mode" screen opens. Select "Create a new full backup
archive" option and click Next.

8. "Choose Backup Options" screen opens with two options: a. Use default
options b. Set the options manually

If you select the b. option, you can select various options listed on the
next screen. Two of them are of interest to us:

Compression level - Four options - None, Normal (the default), High,
Maximum. There's a "Description" area that shows the estimated size of the
backup archive depending upon the option chosen, and the estimated "creation
time" for each option.

Backup priority - Three options - Low, Normal, or High Low - "backup
processed more slowly, but it will not influence other processes running on
computer."
(Default) Normal - "normal speed but backup process will influence other
processes running on computer." High - "normal speed but backup process will
strongly influence other processes running on computer."

With respect to the compression levels, we've found that when using the
Normal option the original data is compressed by about 20% - 25% and that
the High and Maximum options will result in a compressed backup file only
slightly higher than that. However, the amount of time to create the backup
files when using the High or Maximum compression level is substantially
greater than when using the Normal compression level. So unless disk space
is very tight on the destination drive, i.e., the drive where the backup
file will be saved, we recommend using the Normal compression level (at
least initially).

NOTE: You can set the Compression level and Backup priority defaults from
the Acronis Tools > Options > Default backup options menu items.

9. "Archive comments" screen opens allowing you to add comments to the
backup archive which you can review during the Recovery process. Click Next.

10. The next screen summarizes the backup operation to be performed. Review
the information for correctness and click the Proceed button.

11. The next screen will display status bars reflecting the progress of the
backup operation. After the backup operation finishes, an informational
message will appear indicting the operation was successfully completed.


Incremental Backups (Disk Images)
1. After the initial backup archive has been created you can create
incremental backups reflecting any data changes since the previous backup
operation. This incremental backup process proceeds considerably faster than
the initial backup operation. This, of course, is a major advantage of
creating disk images rather than undertaking the disk-to-disk cloning
process. Then too, since these created disk images are compressed files they
are reasonable in size. And because the incremental disk images can usually
be created very quickly (as compared with the direct disk-to-disk cloning
process), there's an incentive for the user to keep his/her system
up-to-date backup-wise by using this disk imaging process on a more frequent
basis than the disk-cloning process.

Note that you must create the incremental backup files on the same HDD where
you stored the original backup archive and any subsequent incremental backup
files.

2. Access the Acronis program as detailed above and move through the
screens. When you arrive at the "Backup Archive Location" screen, click on
the original backup archive file, or if one or more incremental backup files
were previously created, click on the last incremental backup file and
verify that the correct drive letter and file name are shown in the "File
name:" text box. After clicking Next, the program will automatically create
a file name for the incremental backup archive file, using the original file
name and appending a consecutive number - starting at 2 - at the end of the
file name. For example, say you named the original backup archive file
"Backup 1-25". The first incremental backup file will be automatically named
"Backup 1-252" and the next incremental file "Backup 1-253", etc.

NOTE THAT ALL YOUR INCREMENTAL BACKUP FILES MUST BE PRESENT FOR RECOVERY
PURPOSES. DO NOT DELETE ANY OF YOUR PREVIOUSLY-CREATED INCREMENTAL BACKUP
FILES FOLLOWING THE CREATION OF A CURRENT INCREMENTAL BACKUP FILE. YOU CAN
DELETE THE INCREMENTAL FILES ONLY AFTER CREATING A FULL BACKUP ARCHIVE AS
DESCRIBED IN THE PREVIOUS SECTION.

3. On the following "Select Backup Mode" screen, select the "Create
incremental Backup" option, click Next, and proceed through the screens as
you did in creating the initial backup archive.


Recovery Process (Disk images): We'll assume the recovery will be to either
a non-defective HDD that has become unbootable for one reason or another, or
to a new HDD. The HDD to be restored need not be partitioned/formatted since
the recovery process will take care of that function.

Note that in most cases you will be using the Acronis "bootable rescue
media" (CD) that you created when you originally installed the Acronis
program. If you didn't create that bootable CD at that time, you can create
it now from the Acronis program (assuming You can access the program at this
time) by clicking on the "Create Bootable Rescue Media" icon on the opening
Acronis screen and simply going through the screens to create the bootable
CD.

Note: If the recovery will be made to a HDD that is still bootable and
you're able to access the Acronis program on that drive, then you can
undertake the recovery process without the need for using the "bootable
rescue" CD.

1. With both the drive containing the backup disk images and the drive you
want to restore connected and with the bootable rescue CD inserted, boot up.

2. At the opening screen, click on "Acronis True Image Home (Full Version)".

3. The program will open after some moments. On the "Pick a Task" screen
that opens, click on "Recovery".

4. The "Welcome to the Restore Data Wizard!" screen opens. Click on Next.

5. The "Archive Selection" screen opens. Navigate to the drive containing
the backup archive file(s) and select the last incremental backup file or
the original full backup file if no incremental backup files were
subsequently created. Ensure that the correct drive letter and filename are
entered in the "File name:" text box. Click Next.

6. In the Acronis version 9 program, the "Archive Date Selection" screen
opens. Select (highlight) the last incremental backup file from the listing
and click Next. This screen does not appear in version 10.

7. The "Restoration Type Selection" screen opens. Select the option,
"Restore disks or partitions" and click Next.

8. The "Partition or Disk to Restore" will open. Click on "Disk 1" and click
Next.

9. After some moments the "Restored Hard Disk Drive Location" screen opens.
Select (highlight) the HDD to be restored and click Next.

10. On the next screen select the "Yes" option to delete all current
partitions on the destination HDD. Click Next.

11. On the next screen select the "No" option and click Next.

12. On the next screen you have the option to validate the backup archive
before restoration. Click Next.

13. The final screen before the restoration operation begins will open.
Confirm that the information as shown is correct. Click Proceed.

14. Click OK when following completion of the recovery operation a message
appears indicating a successful recovery operation.

15. Remove the Acronis bootable rescue CD and close the Acronis program. The
system will reboot. A Windows "Found New Hardware" message followed by the
"System Settings Change" message box may appear on the Desktop. If they do,
click Yes for a reboot.

Note: While the Acronis program is not designed to clone individual
partitions - it can clone only the entire contents of one HDD to another
HDD - you can backup & recover individual partitions through the disk
imaging process as described above.
Anna "

 

[Robert]

Yes, even when Norton runs well it is a drag on resources. Universally,
people are surprised how much faster things are without it.


If all traces of Norton and Live update are gone you shouldn't be getting
any alerts from Comodo related to Symantec programs. Unfortunately
sometimes even with uninstalling those programs and using their removal
tool, it doesn't always get all the traces of these Norton home security
products. In the worst case scenario you need to reinstall clean to remove
all traces. Hopefully that won't be needed in your case.


I use the free version of Ad-Aware. That is what I was recommending. And
they are coming out with a new version in June. A-Squared might very well
be a fine program. I just am not familiar with it.


Sorry, I can't recommend any of the preassembled external drives. I don't
use them. But I do recommend you put together an external drive yoruself.
It is much cheaper. Just buy a bare drive kit (called a white box or OEM-
it's the same drive you get in a retail drive kit but it doesn't come in the
box and it doesn't come with a CD. Any utilities you might need can be
downloaded from the drive manufacturer's web site, but then you don't really
need these to set up an external drive.) And buy an self powered external
drive enclosure. These are in the $20 range. Unscrew the lid or end plate
on the enclosure, put the drive in, secure it to the enclosure with a few
screws (included), attach the drive cable and power connector, and reattach
the lid or end plate. Attach a USB cable to the case and attach that to
your computer. Takes about 10 minutes to put together. All you need is the
proper size philips head screwdriver. Most of these enclosures come witha
USB cable, and have a power switch to turn the drive on/off.

For example from Newegg.com:

WD 320GB Caviar 7200 RPM EIDE OEM drive $79.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144392

Kingwin KH-350U Black Aluminum hard drive enclosure $22.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817146307


Thumb drives are fine for temporary storage or for moving files from one
system to another. I have a couple, but I don't use them for permanent
backup, and they certainly aren't big enough to use as storage for drive
imaging.


Acronis True Image Home version 10 seems to be a bit more user friendly than
the current version of Ghost. I can understand your reluctance to use
Symantec products, though Ghost is one of their better ones. The products
you should not uses are NAV or NIS or Norton Utilities.

Don't get ATI from their web site, shop around at the various on oline
retailers for the best price which will be better than that from Acronis
which is $49.99. Newegg.com has it for $24.99 right now, which is a great
price.


You're welcome. You are doing all the right things now to get your system
running well and protecting it properly.

I have included a copy of a post by Anna, with detailed, step by step
instructions on how to use Acronis True Image for creating images. Whatever
backup solution you employ, it is critical you test it under real conditions
to see that you can in fact restore either individual files, or the whole
system to a bare drive to you see how it works and that you have confidence
in it. When you need to restore because of a disaster is not the time tobe
figuring out how it works or if it works.

"Step-by-Step Instructions for Using the Acronis True Image Program to
Backup
& Restore One's Hard Drive...

Using the Acronis True Image program there are two different approaches one
can take to back up the entire contents of one's day-to-day working HDD,
i.e., the operating system, all programs & applications, and user-created
data - in short, *everything* that's on one's HDD...

1. Direct disk-to-disk cloning, or,
2. Creating disk images

By using either of these strategies the user can restore his or her system
should their day-to-day working HDD become inoperable because of
mechanical/electronic failure of the disk or corruption of the system
resulting in a dysfunctional operating system.

In undertaking either of these two backup & recovery processes you're
dealing with two hard drives - the so-called source & destination disks -
the source disk being the HDD you're backing up and the destination disk
being the HDD that will be the recipient of the cloned contents of the
source disk or the recipient of the disk image you will be creating.

When using either process it's usually best for most users to use an
external HDD as the destination drive, i.e., the recipient of the cloned
contents of the source disk or the recipient of the created disk image. This
can be either a USB or Firewire or SATA external HDD. While another internal
HDD can also serve as the destination disk there's an additional element of
safety in using an external HDD since that drive will be ordinarily
disconnected from the system except during the disk cloning or recovery
process.

One other suggestion. After you install the Acronis program on your computer
it's a good idea to create what Acronis calls their "Bootable Rescue Media"
(CD). In most cases the recovery process (described below) will utilize that
Acronis bootable CD to restore your system. This "rescue" CD is easily
created from the program by clicking on the "Create Bootable Rescue Media"
icon on the opening Acronis screen and simply going through the screens to
create the bootable CD. The following are step-by-step instructions for
using the Acronis True Image 9 program to clone the contents of one HDD to
an external HDD. (The steps are essentially the same using the newer ATI 10
version):

1. With both hard drives (source & destination disks) connected, boot up.
Ensure that no other storage devices, e.g., flash drives, ZIP drives, etc..,
are connected. It's also probably a good idea to shut down any programs you
may have working in the background - including any anti-virus anti-spyware
programs - before undertaking this disk-to-disk cloning operation.

2. Access the Acronis True Image 9 program and under "Pick a Task", click
on "Clone Disk". (In the ATI 10 version click on "Manage Hard Disks" in the
"Pick a Tool" area and on the next screen click on "Clone Disk").

3. On the next "Welcome to the Disk Clone Wizard!" window, click Next.

4. On the next "Clone Mode" window select the Automatic option (it should
be the default option selected) and click Next.

5. On the next "Source Hard Disk" window, ensure that the correct source
HDD (the disk you're cloning from) has been selected (click to highlight).
Click Next.

6. On the next "Destination Hard Disk" window, ensure that the correct
destination HDD (the disk you're cloning to) has been selected (again, click
to highlight). Click Next.

7. On the next window, select the option "Delete partitions on the
destination hard disk". Understand that all data presently on the disk that
will be the recipient of the clone will be deleted prior to the disk cloning
operation. Click Next.

8. The next window will reflect the source and destination disks. Again,
confirm that the correct drives have been selected. Click Next. 9. On the
next window click on the Proceed button. A message box will display
indicating that a reboot will be required to undertake the disk cloning
operation. Click Reboot.

10. The cloning operation will proceed during the reboot. With modern
components and a medium to high-powered processor, data transfer rate will
be somewhere in the range of about 450 MB/min to 800 MB/min when cloning to
a USB external HDD; considerably faster when cloning to another internal
HDD.

11. When the disk cloning operation has been completed, a message will
(usually) appear indicating the disk cloning process has been successful and
instructs you to shut down the computer by pressing any key. Do so and
disconnect your USB external HDD. If, however, the destination drive (the
recipient of the clone) has been another *internal* HDD, see the NOTE below.

12. Note that the cloned contents now residing on the USB external HDD take
on the file system of the source drive. For example, if prior to the
disk-cloning operation your USB external HDD had been FAT32-formatted and
your XP OS was NTFS-formatted, the cloned contents will be NTFS-formatted.
There is no need to format the USB external HDD prior to the disk-cloning
operation. Similarly, there is no need prior to the disk-cloning operation
to format an internal HDD should you be using an internal HDD as the
destination drive .

13. Restoration of the system can be achieved by cloning the contents of the
data residing on the external HDD to an internal HDD through the normal
disk-cloning process as described above.

NOTE: Just one other point that should be emphasized with respect to the
disk cloning operation should the ...

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Hi Rock,
Thanks for all the good advice. The system is running alot cleaner,
and faster now. The messages I have been getting to allow sites on
that I spoke aren't from Norton they are from Comodo. For example, it
asks if I should allow svchost, and MSN for example. Or if I copy/past
something it asks if I want to allow it(symantec utility removal
instructions).
I think I will go with building my own external hard drive as you
suggest. I think no matter which backup software I choose I'll use my
DellB110 to practice on and make sure it's running properly before
trying it on my Dell 8200. I'll check and see if I can download a free
version Ad-Aware Se but as you say they will be coming out with a new
veresion soon.
One last question, when your running AVG do you run it at high or low
priority? It recommends low priority which is what I did but am
thinking maybe I should change it to high priority. I had my Norton
set up to run automatically everyday but sometimes it would come on
while I was in the middle of something. Should I set up AVG and Comodo
on a schedule or run manually? how often? When I logged today Comodo
update came on without me doing a thing. I suppose I enabled that when
I set it up but I don't remember doing so.


Robert

 

[Rock]

<snip>

Hi Rock,

Thanks for all the good advice. The system is running alot cleaner,
and faster now.
Great

The messages I have been getting to allow sites on
that I spoke aren't from Norton they are from Comodo. For example, it
asks if I should allow svchost, and MSN for example. Or if I copy/past
something it asks if I want to allow it(symantec utility removal
instructions).

Ok, good, those are normal, you're not getting anything to suggest remnants
of the Norton security program you had installed.

I think I will go with building my own external hard drive as you
suggest. I think no matter which backup software I choose I'll use my
DellB110 to practice on and make sure it's running properly before
trying it on my Dell 8200.

I'll check and see if I can download a free
version Ad-Aware Se but as you say they will be coming out with a new
veresion soon.

One last question, when your running AVG do you run it at high or low
priority? It recommends low priority which is what I did but am
thinking maybe I should change it to high priority.

I see no reason to run it at high priority. I don't remember off the top of
my head about whether AVG has a scheduling module or it has to be run as a
scheduled task. Either way set it up to run at a time when you are not
likely to be using the system and leave it in low priority. Maybe set it up
to run once a week, overnight. I usually don't run AV scans every day, but
if you want that, then just set it to run overnight.

I had my Norton
set up to run automatically everyday but sometimes it would come on
while I was in the middle of something. Should I set up AVG and Comodo
on a schedule or run manually? how often? When I logged today Comodo
update came on without me doing a thing. I suppose I enabled that when
I set it up but I don't remember doing so.

Comodo runs all the time, it doesn't do scanning, but it does check for
updates when the system is started. I don't know if that is configurable in
the program options. I don't see that as a big issue to worry about. I
think that's configured automatically, not something you had to set up.

 

[Robert]

<snip>

Hi Rock,


Ok, good, those are normal, you're not getting anything to suggest remnants
of the Norton security program you had installed.


I see no reason to run it at high priority. I don't remember off the top of
my head about whether AVG has a scheduling module or it has to be run as a
scheduled task. Either way set it up to run at a time when you are not
likely to be using the system and leave it in low priority. Maybe set it up
to run once a week, overnight. I usually don't run AV scans every day, but
if you want that, then just set it to run overnight.


Comodo runs all the time, it doesn't do scanning, but it does check for
updates when the system is started. I don't know if that is configurable in
the program options. I don't see that as a big issue to worry about. I
think that's configured automatically, not something you had to set up.

Hello Rock,
I just wanted to let you know that the system is still running great.
I'm amazed at how fast it is now compared to how it was running
before. Pages load instanously! I appreciate all your help and good
advice.


Robert

 

[Rock]

in message

Hello Rock,
I just wanted to let you know that the system is still running great.
I'm amazed at how fast it is now compared to how it was running
before. Pages load instanously! I appreciate all your help and good
advice.

You're welcome Robert. You did all the work and frankly you did a great
job. The system was in a mess, and the probability of recovering from
something like that, with a Norton security product in the mix, can be low.
Sometimes you end up having to do a reinstall, so it's great you got things
running well without it. Now just get that drive imaging backup solution in
place to give you some insurance against future glitches, and you'll be all
set.

 

[Robert]

in message



You're welcome Robert. You did all the work and frankly you did a great
job. The system was in a mess, and the probability of recovering from
something like that, with a Norton security product in the mix, can be low.
Sometimes you end up having to do a reinstall, so it's great you got things
running well without it. Now just get that drive imaging backup solution in
place to give you some insurance against future glitches, and you'll be all
set.

Thanks for your nice comments Rock. I always try to do the small steps
first and take things slowly and try and think about what I'm doing at
least I try to. Sometimes things can overwhelm you though and you
don't know what's causing the problem. Had I to do over again I think
I would have chosen XP professional as it seems to have more features
that XP home version doesn't. I'm plan to address the back-up issue
when I return from vacation.


Robert