Thank you, Robear, for the prompt reply. My AV is up to date, and
still
updates itself automatically. My machine was fully patched at
Windows
Update until this problem occurred. The only update I refused was
IE8.
I'm sorry about the delay in replying, but running MSRT and Onecare
protection was a struggle. Each took 3 to 4 hours to run, and both
failed 3
times with BSODs. The error messages varied. from IRQ_NOT_LESS_THAN
to
PFN_LIST_CORRUPTED to one PAGE fault. I finally got both to run
through
over successive nights from Safe Mode with Networking, but my DSL
modem
turned off after the software started. MSRT found no problems. In
one of
the failed protection scans, Onecare told me drive C: was clear, but
Drive
D: had 3 infected items and one other problem whose message I have
forgotten. When Onecare did finish last night, it said it had fixed
some
problems, but did not say what they were.
I still can't download updates from MS Updates because the BITS
module
cannot be found. I can download anti-spyware updates other than
Windows
Defender, and Avast AV still updates automatically.
The registry key mentioned in TaurArian's reference does exist.
I guess later today I will see if I understand the help enough to
run
Hijackthis software.
Thanks again.
There is a very good chance that you are seeing the effects of a
hijackware infection (i.e., infections that cannot be detected by
your AV
app, MBAM, and/or anti-spware applications, which, in fact, may be
totally
disabled due to the infections)!
NB: If you had no anti-virus application installed or the
subscription had
expired *when the machine first got infected* and/or your
subscription has
since expired and/or the machine's not been kept fully-patched at
Windows
Update, don't waste your time with any of the below: Format &
reinstall
Windows. A Repair Install will NOT help!
1. See if you can download/run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx
NB: Run the FULL scan, not the QUICK scan! You may need to
download the
MSRT on a non-infected machine, then transfer MRT.EXE to the
infected
machine and rename it to SCAN.EXE before running it.
2. [WinXP ONLY!! =>] Run the Windows Live Safety Center's
'Protection'
scan (only!) in Safe Mode with Networking, if need be:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm
3. Run a /thorough/ check for hijackware, including posting the
requested
logs in an appropriate forum, not here.
Checking for/Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=4075
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
**Chances are you will need to seek expert assistance in
http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?board=10.0,
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5,
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cleanup,
http://www.bluetack.co.uk/forums/index.php,
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30 or other appropriate forums as
well.**
If these procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in
admitting
this isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable
and
independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA) computer repair shop.
=====================
Start a free Windows Update support incident request:
https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=6527
Support for Windows Update:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/wusupport
For home users, no-charge support is available by calling
1-866-PCSAFETY
in the United States and in Canada or by contacting your local
Microsoft
subsidiary. There is no-charge for support calls that are
associated with
security updates.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
Donald Eagle wrote:
I posted the message below from Motzarella yesterday. Apparently
it did
not
appear, so I am trying again from a different server. I hope this
works
and
I haven't double posted.
I run XP Home, SP3, with Avast anti-virus, Zone Alarm free,
Windows
Defender
, MalwareBytes, Spyware Blaster and other anti-malware software.
A few
days
ago, I noticed that I was being notified about Windows updates,
but they
did
not seem to be downloading and installing. I cannot download
updates
either
automatically or manually from the Windows Update website. The
error
code I
get is 0x80246008 . A Google search leads me to a MS document
that tells
me
that I need to run services.msc and verify that BITS is correctly
configured. When I try to do that, I cannot start BITS. I get
error
126,
module cannot be found. MS does not give me any correcting
procedure for
that errror. Can anyone here help? Everything worked fine up
until
Tuesday
of this week.