Randy said:
Okay I down loaded and used Registry First Aid Agent from
pcpitstop.com after running the scan it said I had alot of things I
didnt need but that it would only fix 13 of them unless I bought
it,Well i went to close it out and it ended up fixing 13 of the wrong
paths, then my screen was way too big,the words and letters were
huge. So I went to system restore and went back to a check point,and
nothing would restore I have a window poping us saying theres a
problem with OSA.EXE I went into my recycle bin and restored all I
could but there were several items I cant restore. I have tried to
restore in safe mode and still nothing, now I can get on the web but
all the links are huge and the letters are very large,. What can I
do??????
First off, you were going to do a system restore because your screen
resolution changed?
Just change your screen resolution to something with more pixels on the
screen at once. 800x600 is the base now - try 1024x768, 1280x1024 or even
1600x1200. Right-click on the desktop (anywhere without an icon covering
the background image/color) and choose properties. Click on the "settings"
tab. Change the "Screen Resolution' in the obvious area. In layman terms..
Move the marker to the right for smaller text/icons or to the left for
larger text/icons.
As for your System Restore issue. Turn it off.. Reboot. Turn it back on.
That usually repairs the System Restore back to its normal madness:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310405
Also, I might suggest hardening/cleaning up thatr system of yours:
You may have spyware/adware infesting your machine, follow the
appropriate section for that, making sure you use at least
THREE of the tools I list to scan and clean your machine AFTER
updating them. Cleaning up spyware/adware/malware usually
solves home page hijackers as well.
Please Notice that if you use AOL, you should at least upgrade to 9.0 or
greater before doing any of the fixes. I know you can get AOL 9.0 at almost
any convenience store, gas station, super market or other retail outlet in
the world, so this should not be a problem.
Turn on that firewall...
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/home/using/howto/homenet/icf.asp
(It has been reported that it now works with AOL 9.0+)
Make sure you have all the updates (critical) installed from:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
(Scan for updates, Review and Install)
Get rid of the spy/ad/mal-ware..
(Yes - using MORE than one of these..
I recommend at least the first three. Also..
UPDATE the definitions for them before using.)
Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.net/
Lavasoft AdAware
http://www.lavasoft.de
CWSShredder
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
Hijack This!
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
I also like "The Cleaner" and "SpywareBlaster" and "SpywareGuard".
-
http://www.moosoft.com/
-
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/
The first is a PAY product, but useable for 30 days - it has found and
eliminated problems in the past the others did not. The latter two are
prevention mechanisms. I like SpywareGuard for those with enough processor
to have something running like antivirus software - and it prevents browser
hijacking quite well. SpywareBlaster is a FANTASTIC free product, I suggest
getting this after you cleanup and keeping it updated as well....
And Assortment of Others:
http://spywareinfo.com/
After you cleanup your PC somewhat of spy/ad/mal-ware, verify your antivirus
software is updated and run a full scan of your computer. If you have no
antivirus software - get one NOW! Grisoft AntiVirus:
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php
Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to about
80 to 120MB (seems to be an optimal size for the normal user)
- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section,
do the following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the
"Amount of disk space to use:" to something between 80MB
and 120MB. (Betting it is MUCH larger right now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to
"Delete all offline contents" (the checkbox) and click
OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10 minutes or
more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer
- Re-open Internet Explorer.
Uninstall any software you do not use often/ever. (If you have something
installed but never use it, uninstall it.) If you go through Control
Panel -> Add/Remove Programs and see things you seldom if ever use, it is to
your advantage to remove it.
Also, if you are tired of Web Page Pop-Ups/Unders.. You could try the
Google Toolbar.
http://toolbar.google.com/
Stop loading applications at logon.. run MSCONFIG and look under the startup
tab for things you DON'T want to startup! Search the Internet with Google
to discover what things are safe to remove and what things may even be
malware infecting your computer.
Better control your email and lessen the amount of time you spend dealing
with SPAM:
SpamBayes
http://sourceforge.net/projects/spambayes/
or
Spamihilator.
http://www.spamihilator.com