Member Avatar for #tbone

So I turn on my laptop and within 5 minutes the fans turn on high and the thing is smoking hot.

When I tried to use alt + cntrl + del to see if anything was running and using up the processor and ram to make it do that, the task manager won't come up.

I have tried to scanning with Ad-aware, norton, another virus scan, and just about all i can think about.

I have searched everywhere to see if I could fix it, or download the task manager, or install it off the windows cd, but nothing will work.

Does anyone have any idea what has happened and how I can fix it?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jaishankar

Dani AI

Generated

Good catch, — that behavior (high CPU, a process named to look like updates, Task Manager not responding) is exactly how many infections try to hide. and were pointing in the right directions: this looks like a resident process that persisted at startup and left system files in odd places. Below is a compact, practical cleanup + recovery plan that fills gaps in the thread.

Immediate cleanup (do these before anything else)

  • Boot to Safe Mode (or Safe Mode with Networking) so the malware is less likely to run.
  • Use a tool that can stop rogue processes (Process Explorer or an emergency stopper such as RKill), then inspect the running process to get its full file path. Removing the process while it’s running makes deletion easier.
  • Run a full scan with a modern anti‑malware scanner (example: Malwarebytes) and a second on‑demand scanner. Repeat scans after reboots.
  • Use Autoruns (Sysinternals) to find and permanently remove duplicate or hidden startup items — it shows every autorun location so you can delete the actual entry, not just uncheck it.
  • Check the user and All Users Startup folders and the Scheduled Tasks folder for stray shortcuts/tasks that relaunch the malware; delete any referenced files after stopping the process.

Repair and recovery

  • The folders you found (ServicePackFiles, $NtServicePackUninstall$) are backup copies left by service‑pack installs. If core system files seem missing or moved, run sfc /scannow from a recovery or elevated command prompt to restore protected files (have your XP/2000 media available).
  • Back up personal data first. If corruption is deep or infections return, a repair install or clean reinstall may be safest.

Cautions and followups

  • Export the registry before editing and create a restore point. If you get stuck, post a HijackThis or Autoruns snapshot so experienced helpers (as suggested) can analyse it. After cleaning, update AV, change important passwords, and watch for reappearance — persistent returns often mean a rootkit or missed scheduled task.

Recommended Answers

All 10 Replies

Member Avatar for petercoti

You may want to call windows for this one.

commented: -mike555 +1
Member Avatar for nanosani

It could be some type of virus or spyware infection I'm afraid... you should post a hijackthis log in our viruses, spyware and nasties forum.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Sounds more like a hardware issue than a software one!

Member Avatar for MartyMcFly

1. Try this;

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kbase/WindowsTips/WindowsXP/UserTips/Customization/EnableDisableTaskManagerinWindowsXPHomePro.html

try the gpedit first, and only then look at the registry if you are happy to do some, but as ever, tweaking registry can seriously mess up your PC.

2. go to

c:\windows\system32 or c:\winnt\system32

look for taskmgr. Is it there?

If it is, can you run that command, or from right-clicking the task bar, and selecting task manager.

If the file does not exist, then get you XP CD, search the CD for taskmgr, and add it to your system32 directory.

Let me know if this is helpful or not.

Member Avatar for #tbone

well i think i got it figured out. i found the task manager and ran it and saw that some stupid program called winupdates/winupdates.exe/auto was using 50% of my processor. turned this gay thing off and my comp calmed down instanly and alt + cntl + del worked again. when i go and look in program files where it says this winupdates thing is, it aint there. ran a search and it ain no where. ran msconfig and saw that the supid thing was starting up everytime windows was.

how can i clear out my startup files in msconfig? i mean not just uncheck them, but remove them. i have like 30 in there and some a repeated 2 or 3 times.

so task manager works now, but now i need to delete this winupdates thing. ever heard of it?

also i have no system 32 folder, i thought i had one at one time, and i pretty sure i should have one, any ideas? i have a windows/system folder.

also when i searched for taskmgr it found the .exe in 2 spots. c:/windows/$NtServicePackUnistall$ and c:/Windows/ServicePackFiles/i386 both of them start the task manager. i think all the stuff that should be in system 32 are in the servicepackfiles folder for some reason (b/c there is like 2400 files in there: mostly .dll and .sys files).

Member Avatar for #tbone

winupdates is a virus and am working on removing it.

Member Avatar for MartyMcFly

Good luck with the virus removal, place a post in the virus forum here if you get major problems some one will be able to help.

System can be system32, depends on your OS. I would do the following;

Run from the start menu run command

C:\windows\system32

and see if anything appears. Maybe it is a hidden folder.

Member Avatar for nanosani

General Windows startup entries are stored in the registry key:
HKLM/softwares/microsoft/windows/Run

You should enable all the items from msconfig and then remove the unwanted from the registry... or if you feel uncomfortable with registry editing .. you can use advanced tweek se or any other tweeking software that can edit startup entries.

Member Avatar for #tbone

thanks alot man that helps alot.

Member Avatar for jaishankar

hey man boot ur pc to safe mode and run stinger, and use xoftspy to remove the registries entries, use reg editor or startup cpl softwares to clean up the starup options

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