The rundll32 entry should be in the list of entries that appears in the right-hand pane of the Editor when you click on the the main HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run folder in the left-hand pane. Ignore the "optional components" folders.
Before running the utilities, clear your Temporary Internet files (including "offline content"), delete your Cookies, and empty your Recycle BIn. Let the utilities fix whatever they find and then post a new HJTlog.
Have a read through many of the threads in our Security forum- various virus and spyware nasties can indeed do what you describe, including "breaking" your anti-virus programs. It may not quite be time to take the beast to the hospital; by following much of the advice given in the Security forum you might be able to solve the problem yourself and save some $$ in doing so.
Set your Explorer up using the info in this link so that hidden and System files are visible Also Uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" box
Yes. If the file is hidden, that should allow you to find (and delete) it.
Yeah, I ran a search on the .exe and came up with squiddly as well. Just as I was doing the search I remembered the Nuts & Bolts product; haven't seen/used it in ages, but I am pretty sure that's what it is.
Reboot, and delete the C:\WINDOWS\system32\fservice.exe file.
Check your C:\Windows\system.ini file. If the Shell=Explorer.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\fservice.exe entry exists, edit the entry to read only: Shell=Explorer.exe and save the file.
It's been a couple of years since I used Eudora, so I don't remember what its spam filtering mechanism was. They've probably changed it since then anyway. (The full Eudora package is not free).
Many of these malicious programs attempt to either corrupt or shut down your anti-virus programs. Once you've clean the crap out of your system you might find that you'll have to actually reinstall your AV proggies.
I have to log off now so I can't follow up on your HJT log. Hopefully one of our HJT experts will pick up on this. In the mean time, definitely uninstall that PartyPoker gunk if possible; it's part of your problem.
Also- you need to read this article; you aren't runing HJT from a proper folder, and it doesn't look like you've closed your browser either- you need to do both.
Well, since you've indicated that you know you've got malware on your system, let's get that cleared up first- those nasties can cause such slowdowns.
I'm moving this to our Security forum now. Could you please download and run HijackThis and post your log for us to review. Read some of the threads in Security to find out how to properly configure and run HJT.
Also on my original hard drive I sometimes get this error message on a blue screen:
KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR
Technical Information *** Stop: 0x00000077 (0xC0000185, 0xC0000185, 0x00000000, 0x12D2000)
Does anyone know what this means and how I can prevent this from happening again.
Most likely bad or misconfigured hardware. Microsoft has this to say about Stop code 77 errrors with the 0xC0000185 I/O status code:
"0xC0000185, or STATUS_IO_DEVICE_ERROR, indicates improper termination, defective storage controller hardware, defective disk cabling, or two devices attempting to use the same system resources."
Ok let me try to explain this better. I am building a new computer, but I am keeping this one I am using now. I want to copy programs, games, and microsoft office over to my new harddrive but I am intalling XP Pro on it and the computer I am using now had XP Home.
1. Once you've installed XP Pro on the new computer, you will have to network the 2 comps together and set up filesharing in order to transfer data to the new computer. The fact that one is running XP Home and the other is running Pro doesn't make a difference- they'll be able to "talk" to each other. Another option would be to put the old hard drive into the new system as a slave drive (once you've installed Pro, obviously) and copy the files from the old drive to the new one.
2. You will not be able to simply copy most pre-installed applications on the old computer over to the new one. They need to be reinstalled on the new comp in order to (among other things) have their proper entries written into the new system's Registry.
But the harddrive comes unformatted so how do I even put XP Pro on the new one...
The formatting is part of the installation process; you just install the hard drive and then boot from the install CD.
Yeah, I found the same info (possibly on the same site), but hey- giving a BIOS reset at least a try is a heck of a lot cheaper than jumping right to a mobo replacement. From the info I found though, it does sound like the lappy needs a trip to the local IBM service center...
As Alex mentioned, most versions of UNIX cost big bucks, while most versions of Linux can be downloaded for no cost or disks can be purchased for very little cost.
You are free to copy and share your Linux disks with as many people as you wish, and/or install Linux on as many computers as you wish.
Because it is quickly becoming a poplular "desktop" operating system, Linux has a much broader range of support for the numerous hardware devices (of the sort that the average user might want to have on their system) than does UNIX.
Bugs, security holes, etc. tend to get fixed much faster than do those in commercial operating systems, including UNIX.
There are slight variations in command syntax, filesystem structures, and other "under the hood" elements of the two operating systems, but the differences aren't generally large enough really call them differences.
Doesn't look good- I found this bit of info in the documentation for the RecordNow burner software package:
"Windows 98/ME does not read multi-session DVDs properly. Windows 98/ME systems can only read the first session recorded to an appendable DVD disc. If you open an appendable DVD on a Windows 98/ME system and some files appear to be missing, try opening the disc on a computer running a different operating system."
Aside from the possibilities mentioned above, a bad stick of RAM could be the cause as well. Download and run memtest86; it will do a pretty thorough test of your RAM and will indicate whether or not the RAM is good.
That doesn't sound very good- you might need to have it serviced. Did anything happen to the machine lately which might have damaged it?
Although not indicated as a fix for that particular error, a hard reset of the BIOS might do the trick. You'll have to Google for directions on how to do that on that particular machine; I don't have the answer at the moment.
Is there any utility software on your system for the vid card and/or monitor? Some of those utilities offer enhanced control of your contrast, brightness, color balance, etc.
I couldn't verify if those files are legit or not. It certainly is possible that they shouldn't be on your system- you might want to do a full virus scan and also check for spyware. Read many of the threads in our Security forum for more info on detecting and removing spyware and the like.
Agreed. If you haven't already, get the recommended removal and prevention utilities such as Ad Aware, SbyBot, SpywareBlaster, SpywareGuard, ie-spyad, etc.
Also make sure to download and install all of the latest Microsoft critical fixes using the Windows Update utility.
- Samba users must first have a general system account on the Samba server in addition to a Samba account. In Red Hat you can (as root) use the User Manager utility to do this. The utility should be available under your Programs menu; it can also be started with the following command:
redhat-config-users
- To add a Samba account, log in as root and run the "smbpasswd" command. Using your example username of "win98", the command would be:
smbpasswd -a win98
The -a indicates that you are adding a user. Once you issue the above command you'll be promted to type the user's password (and asked to verify it). The new user account should then be sucessfully created.
You can use the "valid users=" directive in your smb.conf file as one way of granting certain users access to certain Samba shares. Read some of the online Samba documentation for more on that and other options in the smb.conf file.
We ask that members who have a question start their own thread and post their question in that thread. In that light, I've split your post here into its own thread in the main Linux forum; you can find it here:
Your HJT log does look clean (but by the way: HJT logs should only be posted in our Security forum).
Your Internet slowdown could be due to a number of reasons, some of them beyond your control.
How are you connected to the Net (cable, DSL, dial-up, etc.)? Who is your Internet Service Provider??
It isn't uncommon to see your Net browsing speed in general bog down at certain hours; remember- most people in your particular time zone might be fast asleep, but thousands or millions of people a few hours ahead of or behind you might be logging in at the time when you experience the slowdown. If you're using one of the larger ISPs, this can put quite a load on their infrastructure.
In terms of the "returned" administrative emails: DO NOT open them! Just delete them if you know they aren't in response to anything you've sent. Those are bogus/forged messages used to transport viruses and other nasties.
Both of the above suggestions are probably hitting the nail on the head- if any program or process (even those running in the background) make changes to the contents/structure of your disk while defrag is running, defrag will quite often detect the changes and restart its operation from the beginning. (Things like anti-virus software often interfere with the defrag process.)
You might at some point discover that some enhancements to those keys won't be available without kbd.exe, but if they basically work for you without kbd.exe, that's great- just leave it disabled.
Maybe now I can switch to offering help on the forums
LOL. Go for it- We can use all the help we can get! :mrgreen:
kbd.exe is usually an optional program which is related to the functionality of keyboards with enhanced "multimedia" keys. HP and Logitech are two companies I know of which use a kbd.exe file in the software associated with some of their keyboards. While optional, the multimedia keys probably won't work without it.
Programs (and the operating system itself) will automatically create temp files when they start up, and many of these temp files are needed in order for the program/OS to run. These necessary files can usually not be deleted until the process which spawned them has quit. Most of the time the process will delete the temp files as part of its shutdown routine, but sometimes that doesn't always work, leaving you with "orphaned" temp files (which you should be able to delete).
With that in mind, why do want to delete the files?
...was hoping it was going to be easy ...thought wrong
Unfortunately, hardware issues are one of the sticky ares for Linux. Because many hardware manufacturers assume that it's a "Windows world" out there, they do not provide Linux drivers and the like for their products. That leaves it up to open-source programmers (many working on a volunteer basis) to try to reverse engineer the stuff.
Winmodems, often called "softmodems", are particularly problematic in this area. Unlike full "hardware" modems, Winmodems rely on the operating system to do much of their work. This makes them cheaper to build, but guess what operating systems they're built to work with? Yup, you guessed it- MS operating systems.
Since you say it doesn't do this in safe mode, I'd definitely disable all the start up items, i.e. Direct CD & Logitech Mouseware and possibly uninstall your video card drivers and just see what happens.
Disabling those items one at a time might let you pinpoint the exact problem.
The Plug-N-Play behaviour could be due to a conflict between PNP and some other application or process. In other words, PNP itself might not be the problem; by disabling it you are eliminating the conflict, but you're doing it by disbling the wrong half of the conflict.
You're really going to want to get the most recent version of Red Hat...It will be more updated than Red Hat 8, which is important for the sake of hardware compatibility.
Yes- newer versions will have better/broader support for hardware devices; you'll stand a better chance of having Linux properly detect and configure all of your devices if you go with a more current version.
Before trying to install any given Linux flavor, go to the distributor's support site and look at the Hardware Compatibility List for the particular version you want to install. If the HCL doesn't list one of your devices as certified/tested, you might have to install third-party drivers to get the device to work, or it may not even work at all.
To members who are requesting a copy of the jpeg from vlg466 :
That particular member is rarely active on this site (only 3 posts total), and has not visited us since March. Considering that he/she hasn't posted in this thread in over 9 months, it would probably be a better idea to send vlg466 your request via a Private Message or email.
If rundll32.exe is truly corrupt or missing, it can be reinstalled from the .cab files either on the hard drive or on the Windows installation CD. The restore process (and the location of the "fresh" copy of the file) may vary depending on your exact version of Windows; try some of the suggestions in this Google search:
Any idea what might have contributed to the problem? That is, can you think of anything abnormal that happened just prior to the kb and mouse dying?
Does the keyboard work long enough to let you get into safe mode during the boot process? If so, you'd at least be able to access your data.
In the worst case, you could pull the hard drive and install it as a slave drive in some other system. At least that you'd be able to burn your data to CD/DVD or copy it to the Master hard drive temporarily.
