please don't think i'm being cruel, Alicia, but you're really hanging it out there, aren't you? No SP2, no active AV; are you at least using window's firewall? [i cannot tell..].... bug writers are looking for you right now. When this is over, go get AVG Free antivirus 7.5 [it is free..], and ZoneAlarm firewall [free too]. Both are good, but there are others too.At the least turn on windows firewall. Further, Isearch is loaded in by ActiveX control, so i suspect that your internet security setting could be low? It should be Medium, at least, imo.
Now for a start, please move HT off your desktop - i suggest placing it in a new folder alongside your program files. There are valid reasons for doing this... so if you still have the HT zip delete the desktop copy and unzip a fresh one, otherwise download a new one.

I am looking for a file named toolbar.dll :- could you go rclick Start > explore > tools tab > folder options > view, and select Show hidden files and folders, and then do a search for that file? Post here where you find it. And may i ask how you have tried to remove isearch previously? Make sure that it has been removed from Control panel > Add/Remove programs list.

=Meanwhile would you download CCleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com/ - and put it in a new folder. You should aim to keep this one for general use. I set it from the install checkboxes to only open from the recycle bin. It's neater that way.

=Get Adaware SE Personal from http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/
- install it. Update it. Explore what settings you can change in it [via the cogwheel icon up top, if you are comfortable with that... you won't hurt anything, but for the moment leave it with the default settings]. Put an icon on your desktop for regular use.

=Download this temp file cleaner from http://www.atribune.org/ccount/click.php?id=1 -click in the download window to run it, then when ATF Cleaner opens go Select all, and then Empty Selected.
Next click Firefox at the top, Select All again, and Empty Selected again. Close ATF.

Restart you computer in Safe Mode [press F8 several times while POST is running and before IDE detection completes - you will, after login and safe mode selection, get a black screen with some of your icons... Run Adaware, doing a full system scan and finally remove all that it finds [rclick in the scan results window and select all, go next..].

Continue to normal mode, start Hijackthis and then close ALL other open windows and apps, and then select Scan Only. Check against the two entries below if they exist, and fix them.

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {6685509E-B47B-4f47-8E16-9A5F3A62F683} - file://C:\Program Files\Ebates_MoeMoneyMaker\Sy350\Tp350\scri350a.htm (file missing) (HKCU)

Well, did it work? Let me know...., plus whether you found toolbar.dll.

Appreciate you looking it over, and I don't really take offense to the reprimands. It is fairly silly to not run virus protection, I'm just lazy, haha.

Didn't find toolbar.dll.

Ran CCleaner, adaware, AVG, the temp file cleaner you said to use, and Spybot for good measure.

They found and repaired a whole heckuvalot of things, which doesn't surprise me since I basically stole this harddrive from my teenage sister when my last computer fried itself.

Spybot finds 2 Huntbar reg keys and can't get rid of them, even if I let it run as soon as the pc boots like it asks when deletion fails.

Still have the same problem with Firefox refusing to save any changes I make to the layout or preferences and the ISearch toolbar is still there.

Here's my new HiJackThis log:


Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 7:55:20 AM, on 1/6/2007
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Dell\EUSW\Support.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell\Support\Alert\bin\NotifyAlert.exe
C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\CLI.EXE
C:\Program Files\Logitech\MouseWare\system\em_exec.exe
C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
C:\Program Files\BHODemon 2\BHODemon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cisvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\snmp.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\cli.exe
C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\cli.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wuauclt.exe
C:\Program Files\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\NOTEPAD.EXE

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer,(Default) = www.google.com
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dellnet.com/
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = about:blank
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll (disabled by BHODemon)
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DwlClient] C:\Program Files\Common Files\Dell\EUSW\Support.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Logitech Utility] Logi_MwX.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ATICCC] "C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\CLIStart.exe"
O4 - Startup: BHODemon 2.0.lnk = C:\Program Files\BHODemon 2\BHODemon.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: Allow pop-ups from this site - C:\Program Files\EarthLink TotalAccess\Accelerator\\pac-addwl.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Refresh Pa&ge with Full Quality - C:\Program Files\EarthLink TotalAccess\Accelerator\\pac-page.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Refresh Pi&cture with Full Quality - C:\Program Files\EarthLink TotalAccess\Accelerator\\pac-image.html
O9 - Extra button: AIM - {AC9E2541-2814-11d5-BC6D-00B0D0A1DE45} - C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe
O9 - Extra button: Real.com - {CD67F990-D8E9-11d2-98FE-00C0F0318AFE} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\Shdocvw.dll
O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - ATI Technologies Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\System32\Ati2evxx.exe
O23 - Service: ATI Smart - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ati2sgag.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Anti-Spyware Guard - Anti-Malware Development a.s. - C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPodService - Apple Computer, Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: Intel(R) NMS (NMSSvc) - Intel Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\System32\NMSSvc.exe

mmm... HT log shows clean as.... hmmm.. adaware, updated and run in safe mode should have removed huntbar... Okay. let's try fixing firefox, there may be an entry there that is pulling huntbar and isearch back in....
Close Firefox. You could also run ATF Cleaner as before.
Go Start > run, paste in this line:
%AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ ...and press <enter> [or OK button..]
..in the explorer window that opens check to see if in that [highlighted] folder there is a file named user.js - if there is then open a fresh notepad and drag user.js into it [lclick on name and drag it] and it should open in plain text. Now check for any entry which has Huntbar or Isearch, or any other web search page that you do not use and delete those lines. Save the file.
Restart FF, and see if you have control?