Member Avatar for valerie_parker

Hi there all,

I'm having some issues with my laptop. My boyfriend had my laptop (while I was not there) and decided to try to fix my problematic MSN messenger (i could sign in and see my contacts online, but not talk with them, this happens when using a wireless connection in school, and only to me! none of friends have this problem!) He decided to uninstall Windows Messenger because he thought that it might be conflicting or something. So he went on "add/remove windows components" and tried to remove the Windows Messenger.

What he told me later on, was that somehow he got rid of everything else besides the Windows Messenger, ans had to reinstall it.

Also, he downloaded the program Limewire which he said needed the firewall disabled to work!

Well, after everything happened, the laptop was running very very very slowly. All the icons in the system tray were not coming up and everything kept freezing up.

Problem is I have no idea what exactly he did, and, sweet guy that he is, neither does he!

So I got rid of the Limewire and out of desperation, also a couple of other programs (games) that i dont use often. then I defragmented the C drive. It's working slightly faster. But still not like before. Some icons are not coming up still in the tray, and different ones are disappearing each time. Some programs are still freezing up where they would not have done so before.

How can I get my (practically new!) laptop back in proper working order?

Thanks!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by dcc

Dani AI

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— given that parts of Windows were removed and LimeWire was installed with the firewall turned off, the problem can be caused by missing system components, a misbehaving startup/service, leftover P2P processes, or a corrupted user shell/profile. 's point about malware is sensible; the troubleshooting below focuses on isolating which of those is actually happening and on lightweight repairs you can try now.

First, isolate the cause. Reboot into Safe Mode (press F8 during boot). If the laptop is responsive in Safe Mode, a third‑party startup item or service is the likely culprit. Use msconfig to temporarily disable all non‑Microsoft Startup items and in Services hide Microsoft services and disable the remainder; reboot and reintroduce items one at a time until the problem returns.

Next, check for Explorer crashes and resource hogs. Use Ctrl+Shift+Esc to view Processes and Performance; sort by CPU/Memory to find anything using lots of resources (look for javaw.exe or other P2P remnants). Open Event Viewer and review Application/System logs for Explorer or service errors at the freeze times. If the tray icons vanish when Explorer crashes, restarting Explorer will restore them temporarily.

Repair basic system integrity. From a command prompt run:

sfc /scannow
chkdsk c: /f

SFC will attempt to restore missing/corrupt system files (have the Windows CD handy if prompted). CHKDSK will find and fix on‑disk errors (it may schedule a reboot).

Finally, test whether the issue is profile‑specific by creating a new user account and logging in. Reinstall any device/network drivers from the laptop vendor if network or hardware acts odd. Re-enable the firewall, remove any remaining Java/P2P services from Startup/Services, back up personal data, and consider a repair install only if these steps don’t help.

Member Avatar for dcc

Have you scanned it with your AV, it sounds like you may have been infected.

Not knowing what you have for a firewall and AV, I can only suggest that if you don't have the following, you might want to download and use these porgrams, they are freeware, and have very good reputations, they don't eat much, and play well with others. :cheesy:

Spybot Search and Destroy

http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10122137.html


Ad-Aware

Ewido Security Suite


Before you run these, clear your cookies, otherwise they will show up as mild threats.

You could also do a system restore if your boyfriend deleted anything important, like anything from the refistry.

I hope this helps, please let us know what you find.

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