Posts by DMR

Good work; glad you got it sorted out!

OK- there's a bit of clean-up to do, but nothing terribly evil.
Please do the following:

You will need to close/quit all web browser programs and disconnect from the Internet for much of the following, so you should print out these instructions or save them into a text file with Notepad.

* Download and install the following utilities:

Windows Defender - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en
CCleaner - www.ccleaner.com
ewido Anti-malware - http://www.ewido.net/en/download/
* When installing ewido, under "Additional Options" uncheck..

1. • Install background guard
   • Install scan via context menu
2. Launch ewido, there should be an icon on your desktop, double-click it.
3. The program will now open to the main screen.
4. When you run ewido for the first time, you may get a warning "Database could not be found!". Click OK. We will fix this in a moment.
5. You will need to update ewido to the latest definition files.
   • On the left hand side of the main screen click update.
   • Then click on Start Update.
6. The update will start and a progress bar will show the updates being installed.
   (the status bar at the bottom will display ("Update successful" )

If you are having problems with the updater, you can use this link to manually update ewido.
ewido manual updates
Don't run a scan with ewido yet; just close the program once the updates are installed.

* Open your antivirus program and check …

... and if you don't have the manual, a general overview of where and how to connect filters can be found here.

To start with:

* Check the connectors on the ends of the keyboard and mouse cables; make sure none of the pins are bent or broken.
* Boot the computer with only the keyboard and monitor attached. What happens?
* Boot the computer with only the mouse and monitor attached. What happens?

my computer won't even recognize the second hard drive unless I partition it and reformat it.

How do you know that if Windows doesn't even see the drive and you haven't tried a reformat?

* Does the BIOS still recognize the drive?
* Does the physical drive appear in Device Manager? If so, is it reported to be working correctly?
* Does the drive appear in the Disk Management utility? If so, what information does the utility report for the drive?

This needs to be in the python forum.

Moving thread now...

Hi slo_byrne1, welcome to DaniWeb :)

That motherboard's SATA controller supports RAID (the floppies you have are the RAID software/driver disks). Assuming that you are not intending to use RAID, the first thing to do would be to turn off the RAID option(s) in your BIOS before trying to install Windows.

Hi brettaus, welcome to DaniWeb :)

Just FYI: The PXE-E61 error message is coming from the "network boot" feature of the computer. The fact that the machine is even trying to attempt a network boot means that it has failed to boot via all other normal methods (from a hard drive, CD-ROM, floppy, etc.).

* Did the hard drive exhibit any abnormal behaviour prior to the problem occuring?
* If you insert the Windows installation CD (assuming that the computer came with one), can you boot from that?

-

Hi kannan1978, welcome to DaniWeb :)

At 100 meters, you're definitely stretching the limit of any normal 802.11b/g access device. However, there are certainly ways to increase your range/coverage, but the solution which best suites your needs probably depends on your particular network and its environment.

Can you describe those needs and that environment a bit for us, please? If you can give us some details, I'm sure we can offer a few alternatives.

If this is a DSL connection, you need to install filter units on your phone lines to keep the regular telephone voice signal from interfering with the DSL signal. The filter(s) should have been provided by the ISP as part of the setup kit; if they weren't, call the ISP and ask them to send you some.
If you did install the filter(s), you may have a faulty one, in which case it will need to be replaced.

Hi Neracher,

Welcome, and thank you for reposting your question in the appropriate tech forum. :)

I hope I will get help with my endless PC glitches

We'll do our best, mabhiza! :mrgreen:

Welcome to DaniWeb :)

I'm moving this post into our Viruses, Spyware and other Nasties forum so that you can some "expert eyeballs" on your problem.
In the mean time though, I notice that you are running an outdated version (1.99.0) of HijackThis.
Please download the latest version of HijackThis (1.99.1), run a scan with it, and post the new log.
When you download the new version, please be sure to do the following:

Create a new, separate folder for HJT outside of any Temp/Temporary folders and move the HijackThis.exe file to that folder before running the program. A folder such such as C:\HijackThis or C:\Spyware Tools\HijackThis will do.
Run HijackThis, but do not have HJT fix anything yet; only have it scan your system! Once the scan is complete, the "Scan" button will turn into an option to "Save log...".
Save the log in the folder you created for HijackThis; the saved file will be named "hijackthis.log". Open the log file with Windows Notepad, and cut-n-paste the entire contents of the Notepad file here.

That's a weird one, and although I've never heard of a virus or "joke" program which does that, it certainly sounds suspicious.
Can you do the following please?:

Open the Windows ClipBook Viewer utility:
* Click on the "Run..." option in your Start menu.
* Type clipbrd in the resulting "Open:" box and click OK.

Does the phrase "Don't think so" appear in the Clipboard window?
(The clipboard window might open as a minimized window within the ClipBook Viewer; look for it at the very bottom of the ClipBook window).

If you do see the "mystery phrase" in the Viewer:
* Click on the delete icon (the icon with the "X" graphic on it) in the top menu bar.
* Choose "Yes" at the deletion confirmation prompt. (You should then see the contents of the clipboard window disappear).
* Close the ClipBook Viewer.
* Open a text document or some other test file and try to paste into that file.
Does "Don't think so" still get pasted? If not, what does happen?

-

This appears to be a shameless plug as its hit two threads.. :mrgreen:

5 threads in total, actually. Care for a Spam sandwich? :cheesy:

Could my IDE controller not be working JUST at the hard drive connector?

The only way I could see that happening would be if you had a cold solder joint right at the HDD IDE connector. Pretty unlikely, but it is possible.

The BIOS doesn't allow for much manipulation of the CMOS. But, it shows there is 'none' under Primary IDE.

If the setting for the Primary device is adjustable, set it to "Auto" instead of "None", save the new configuration, and reboot.

...trying to load Windows Office (Word, Excel, P/point etc) instead of Windows XP.

[IMG]http://www.stevewolfonline.com/Downloads/DMR/Visuals/jesterlaugh.gif[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.stevewolfonline.com/Downloads/DMR/Visuals/jesterlaugh.gif[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.stevewolfonline.com/Downloads/DMR/Visuals/jesterlaugh.gif[/IMG]

I was being a complete muppet

[IMG]http://www.stevewolfonline.com/Downloads/DMR/Visuals/CookieMonster.jpg[/IMG]

You're welcome.

Er.. cos the GUI wants to execute %sytemroot%\system32\netsh...
...What's more worrying is that it died too quietly.

Exactly. It isn't as though the netsh command has exclusive rights to the use of the %systemroot% variable, after all; I'd think that a lot of programs/commands would be affected.

I wouldn't be surprised if the TCP/IP properties dialogs are just a GUI on top of the netsh command tool.

Bingo- they are.
The Big Questions still remain, though: In what location(s) do the settings made with the TCP/IP properties GUI and/or the Network Shell actually get stored, and how do environment variables tie in to all of that?

Unfortunately, "5.1.2600.2180" is the verison number associated with Windows XP itself, as well as many of the software components built for that OS. In other words, seeing that number listed as the AppVer in errors really doesn't tell us anything specific.

Can you give us more detail and background on the errors, please? How often they occur, whether or not they seem to be related to running a certain program or performing a certain task, and any other such clues would be helpful.

Also- have you scanned your system for malicious infections lately? Some virus/spyware infections can cause such errors.

Sorry for the delayed response; let's get to work...

You will need to close/quit all web browser programs and disconnect from the Internet for much of the following, so you should print out these instructions or save them into a text file with Notepad.

* Download and install the following utilities:

CCleaner - www.ccleaner.com
ewido Anti-malware - http://www.ewido.net/en/download/
* When installing ewido, under "Additional Options" uncheck..

1. • Install background guard
   • Install scan via context menu
2. Launch ewido, there should be an icon on your desktop, double-click it.
3. The program will now open to the main screen.
4. When you run ewido for the first time, you may get a warning "Database could not be found!". Click OK. We will fix this in a moment.
5. You will need to update ewido to the latest definition files.
   • On the left hand side of the main screen click update.
   • Then click on Start Update.
6. The update will start and a progress bar will show the updates being installed.
   (the status bar at the bottom will display ("Update successful" )

If you are having problems with the updater, you can use this link to manually update ewido.
ewido manual updates
Don't run a scan with ewido yet; just close the program once the updates are installed.

* Open your antivirus program and check for/install the most current updates. Don't run a scan with it; just close the …

Hi zaldar, welcome to DaniWeb :)

The name of the particular installer (.msi) file used by Dell/My Way may have changed, but if you start by doing the following we can help you remove the program manually:

Download the (free) HijackThis utility:

Once downloaded, follow these instructions to install and run the program:

Create a folder for HJT outside of any Temp/Temporary folders and move/extract HijackThis to that folder now. A folder such such as C:\HijackThis or C:\Spyware Tools\HijackThis will do.

Run HijackThis, but do not have HJT fix anything yet; only have it scan your system! Once the scan is complete, the "Scan" button will turn into an option to "Save log...".

Save the log in the folder you created for HijackThis; the saved file will be named "hijackthis.log". Open the log file with Windows Notepad, and cut-n-paste the entire contents of the Notepad file here.

-

I don't see the usual signs of the Blaster worm, but the following entry is indicative of a certain type of keylogger trojan:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemKey] C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\SystemKey\SystemKey.dll rdl

Please do the following:

You will need to close/quit all web browser programs and disconnect from the Internet for much of the following, so you should print out these instructions or save them into a text file with Notepad.

* Visit at least two of the following sites for an online virus scan:

BitDefender Free Online Virus Scan
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php
Make sure you tick AutoClean under Scan Options.

Panda ActiveScan
http://www.pandasoftware.com/active...n_principal.htm
Make sure you tick Disinfect automatically under Scan Options.

Housecall at TrendMicro
http://housecall60.trendmicro.com/e...orp.asp?id=scan
Make sure you tick Auto Clean.

eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx

Also run this online trojan scanner: TrojanScan
* Visit at least two of the following sites for an online virus scan:

BitDefender Free Online Virus Scan
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php
Make sure you tick AutoClean under Scan Options.

Panda ActiveScan
http://www.pandasoftware.com/active...n_principal.htm
Make sure you tick Disinfect automatically under Scan Options.

Housecall at TrendMicro
http://housecall60.trendmicro.com/e...orp.asp?id=scan
Make sure you tick Auto Clean.

eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx

Also run this online trojan scanner: TrojanScan

* Download and install the following utilities:

Windows Defender -

I don't see any signs of infections in your log, although the symptoms you describe certainly sound malicious. Let's look a little deeper:

You will need to close/quit all web browser programs and disconnect from the Internet for much of the following, so you should print out these instructions or save them into a text file with Notepad.

* Download and install the following utilities:

CCleaner - www.ccleaner.com
ewido Anti-malware - http://www.ewido.net/en/download/
* When installing ewido, under "Additional Options" uncheck..

1. • Install background guard
   • Install scan via context menu
2. Launch ewido, there should be an icon on your desktop, double-click it.
3. The program will now open to the main screen.
4. When you run ewido for the first time, you may get a warning "Database could not be found!". Click OK. We will fix this in a moment.
5. You will need to update ewido to the latest definition files.
   • On the left hand side of the main screen click update.
   • Then click on Start Update.
6. The update will start and a progress bar will show the updates being installed.
   (the status bar at the bottom will display ("Update successful" )

If you are having problems with the updater, you can use this link to manually update ewido.
ewido manual updates
Don't run a scan with ewido yet; just close the program once the updates are installed.

* Open your antivirus program and check …

I don't see anything amiss in your log. From the looks of it, you're actually running a pretty lean system in terms of start-up items and other processes.

Enjoy the weekend! I know I will... it's my birthday on Saturday, and I can tell you that one thing I won't be doing is sitting front of this computer! :mrgreen:

It really sounds like you've either knocked something loose or plugged something in incorrectly. Open the case again and very carefully reseat all connectors, memory modules, and peripheral cards.

Open the Event Viewer utility in your Administrative Tools control panel and look through your System and Application logs for entries flagged with "Error" or "Warning", especially those whose time-stamps coincide with the occurence of the problem(s). Double-clicking on such an entry will open a properties window with more detailed information on the error; post the details from a representative sample of some of the different error messages (please don't post duplicates of a given entry, or flood us with the entire contents of the logs).

To post the details:
In the Properties window of a given entry, click on the button with the graphic of two pieces of paper on it; the button is at the right of the window just below the up arrow/down arrow buttons. You won't see anything happen when you click the button, but it will copy all of the details to the Windows clipboard. You can then paste the details into your next post here.

Right-click on My Computer. Go to Properties->Advanced->Performance->Settings->Advanced->Virtual Memory->Change

its malware that doing it...

Quite possible; the inabilty to run Task Manager is one of the known symptoms of certain malicious infections.

* What exact error do you get when you try to write to the share from the Windows boxen?

* Open a DOS window, run each the following commands, and post the exact results returned by each command:
net view
net view name_of_the_Linux_computer
net use * \\name_of_the_Linux_computer\myshare
(Note the asterisk in the last command; it is part of the command)

Considering that the last thing to happen to the machine before it failed is that it was disassembled, logic would dictate that you crawl back inside the beast and double-check all components and their connections. :(

Whoa- how very trippy! Good friggin' find!

I have no idea what the variables have to do with IP settings specifically, but the fact that the %systemroot% varialbe is used all over the Registry might be relevant. Actually, given that, I'm surprised you weren't having a slew of other problems as well...

Also Some of the programs you use in windows you can run in linux with Wine...

Right. VMWare is another program under which you can run Win software, although unlike WINE, it isn't free.

Hi Bruno21,

Please work through the suggestions in this thread, and then get back to us with your results.

Please try the basic suggestions given in this thread, and then post the details of your results here.

* Open the case and check/reseat all cables, connectors, and cards. While you're in the case, boot the machine and listen carefully to see if you can identify the source of the clicking.

* Disconnect all but the minimum peripheral components neccessary to boot: 1 hard drive, 1 RAM module, video card. If the computer then boots, reinstall the diconnected components one at a time until you find the one that gives you trouble.

You posted this in hte Networking forum; do you know that the problem is specifically related to networking? If so, give us the details.

You need to check your computer manufacturer's online support site; that particular model line (UJ-8xx) of drives is OEM equipment which is not directly supported by Panasonic/Matshita.

1) No. Although there are alternatives to most.

Right. Programs written specifically for Windows will not run on other operating systems such as Linux or Mac OS. Linux versions of some programs are available, and (as pty said) alternative programs also exist.

Do the Linux offer better the internet connection than window in term of stability and speed?

As mentioned, performance is more a function of the programs you use than the Oses themselves. Network performance is also pretty dependent upon the quality of your physical (hardware) components, and the operating system you use obviously doesn't have much to do with that aspect of things either.

* Depending on how they are being deleted, the tracking files (history, cookies, etc.) may be gone, at least as far as Windows is concerned. There are obviously data recovery tools which can retrieve info from a drive, but I'm not going to suggest that as an option at the moment, as those types of tools are best used by someone experienced in that sort of thing.

* The exact locations of files which can yield infomation about browsing history/habits will vary somewhat between the different versions of Windows, and the different web browsing programs themselves.
These are the folders where History, Cookie, and other files which may hold clues can be found on a Windows XP system using Internet Explorer:

In order to view all of these files and folders, you will need to do the following:
Open Windows Explorer, and in the Folder Options->View settings under the Tools menu, select "show hidden files and folders", and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files" and "Hide extentions for known file types".

* Beneath the C:\Documents and Settings\ folder there are separate subfolders for each user on the system, as well as folders for a few built-in system accounts. A couple of examples of these are:
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner
C:\Documents and Settings\Your_name
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService

Beneath each of those folders, look at the contents of these subfolders:
My Recent Documents
Cookies
Local Settings\Temp
Local Settings\History
Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

* …

* The fact that the drive is a combo DVD/CD unit makes it more likely that caperjack's suggestion regarding compatibility is true. Not all brands of media are certified to work with all makes/models of drives, and even if "certified", certain media may not actually perform reliably with a given device. Also- judging from the feedback in a lot of the CD/DVD burning tech support forums, your particular model (UJ-813s) appears to be more than a bit finicky (read: it sucks).

* "Nero" is a burning application which many people (including myself) use; you might try it (or another 3rd-party program) to eliminate WMP itself as the possible culprit. Nero can also give you some useful diagnostic/test/troubleshooting info regarding your CD/DVD drive(s)

* If you haven't already, try to locate, download, and install the latest firmware for the drive; that might help.

Due to the fact that the member who originally started this thread has not responded in over two years, this thread is considered abandoned and has been closed.

In accordance with our posting rules, other members having similar questions or problems need to start their own threads and post their questions there.
In order to help us help you most quickly, please include as much information about your problem as possible in your posts.

If the member who originally started this thread wishes to have the thread reopened, please send your request, including a link to this thread, to one of our moderators via email or Private Message.

Thank you.

Hi white777shadow,

First of all- welcome to DaniWeb :)

We ask that members not tag their questions on to a thread previously started by another member (regardless of how similar your problem might seem). Not only does it divert the focus of the thread away from the original poster's problem, but it also makes it less likely that you yourself will get the individual attention that you need.

Please start your own thread and post your question there. When you do, be sure to give us as much specific info as possible regarding the problem (exact error messages, system specs, troubleshooting steps you've already tried, etc.).

For a full description of our posting guidelines and general rules of conduct, please see this page:

http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/faq.php?faq=daniweb_policies

Thanks for understanding.

How to check whether there is any protection has been put in ?

Sorry, but we're not going to pursue that idea here; discussion of cracks and other illegal activity isn't allowed on our site.

CRC errors usually mean that the source file is corrupt. Burn the original source file to a new CD and try again.

* Is it only WMP that has trouble with the discs, or do yo have other burning apps which reject the disks as well?
* Are you absolutely sure that the CDs you have trouble with are definitely blank?
* Please give us the exact make/model of the burner drive, as well as the name and version of the driver you're using.

* Can you start by posting the contents of your smb.conf file, please.
* Provide as many details as possible regarding what you have already tried, as that info might give us some clues.
* Have you created accounts on the Samba server for all of the users who will be accessing the share(s) from the network? Read the useradd and smbpasswd man pages for more on that.
* What exact errors or actions occur when you try to write to the Samba shares?
* Post the lines from your /etc/fstab file which relate to the partitions on which the shares reside.

->Resource linkage:
Although written for an earlier version of Samba, this online O'Reilly book is a very good reference to have bookmarked.

D is currently a raw partition on my 250 gig hard drive, E is my little storage partition, and when i try F, i get a message saying i dont have permission. wtf is going on

When dealing with problems like this, you need to be very specific about your drive and partition designations. Knowing the following details would help in this case:
* Which IDE position (Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master, or Secondary slave) is each drive on.
* Which exact partition each operating system and/or filesystem is on (hda1, hda2, hdb1, C:, D:, etc).

Can linux read and write to a ntfs partition all right, or is that why i am having problems

That's the problem, yes. Linux natively fully supports reading NTFS, but, as NTFS is a proprietary and complex filesystem, full write support is more difficult to accomplish. Although write support can be added, the function is still not perfect or foolproof, so most (all?) distros do not enable the ability in their shipped product.

Your grub.conf file looks a bit mangled.
The normal stanza for booting a Windows installation which exists on the first Primary partition of a Primary Master drive ("C:\" in Windows, "hd(0,0)" in grub, "hda1" in Linux) would be as follows:

title Windows XP
> root (hd0,0)
> makeactive
> chainloader (hd0,0)+1