[zeus00]

I've been having some really strange and random problems...

I had my computer turned off for about 3 weeks while I was away. When I returned I noticed that boot up was really slow and I had spyware (180search Assistant) installed on my computer. No one had access to PC while I was away. I tried uninstalling the spyware it to no avail. I decided to format and installed a fresh copy of WindowsXP Pro. After new installation I restarted my computer and was greeted with an error saying that computer could not find missing hal.dll file. I tried repairing my new XP installation using the Repair option but that didn't work. So, I tried another format/installation of XP which worked and did not ask me about the hal.dll file.

Now when I try to restart my computer it doesn't work. It tells me Windows is shutting down and then sits at that screen for as much as 15 minutes. So, I have to hit the power button and do a colf boot. Once turned on it takes a very long time to get to login screen. After the windows logo spalsh screen is displayed for about 2 minutes the screen goes blank and about 5 minutes later I am prompted for login.

Here are some other random occurences that I have run into:
1. When opening "My Computer" it shows the little flashlight indicating that it is looking. It "looks" for about 3 minutes then finally shows the contents.

2. It sounds like the hard drive sporadically powers on/off. It makes those two click sounds that hard drives makes when they shut down. Computer remains on and am still able to use mouse, keyboard, etc.. although it appears to freeze for a second when that click sound is made.

I've ran Norton AV, AdAware, ScanDisk and they all show up as clean. I've ensured that all the latest drivers, chipset, and bios are installed.

I know this is vague, but since I don't get any error messages it's been driving me nuts because I don't know what the problem is. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any software that can check MB and HDD's to determine if they are functioning properly?

Specs:
HP a250n
Motherboard: Asus P4SD-LA
2.6 Ghz P4HT
512 MB RAM
Master HD: 40GB
Slave HD: 120 GB
Windows XP Professional SP 1a

Thanks!

 

[jd_957]

from what you posted. it looks like you have not gotten the SP2 update yet. that is your first line of defense.

download AdAware. let it look for updates. then run it.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

download spybot s&d. let it look for updates. then run it
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

download HJT. follow directions so you can copy and paste a copy here. this is so an expert can give you a hand.
http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/

download an antivirus program and use it. either one is ok. but not both at once.
AVG - http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/
AVAST - http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

 

[zeus00]

I installed Windows XP SP2. This seemes to help the startup/shutdown times. But hard drive still makes click noise. It sounds like the hard drive sporadically powers on/off. It makes those two click sounds that hard drives makes when they shut down. Computer remains on and am still able to use mouse, keyboard, etc.. although it appears to freeze for a second when that click sound is made.

I ran AdAware. It found a few files (nothing out of ordinary) and deleted them.
I ran Spybot. It found a few registry items which it cleaned.
I ran an AntiVirus software which came up clean.

Here is my HJT log:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.0
Scan saved at 10:33:07 AM, on 1/15/2005
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)

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\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\AdvTools\NPROTECT.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Security Center\SymWSC.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\ALCXMNTR.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\ZONELA~1\ZONEAL~1\zlclient.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SM1BG.EXE
C:\Program Files\DIGStream\digstream.exe
C:\Program Files\ScanSoft\OmniPagePro12.0\Opware12.exe
C:\Program Files\Google\Gmail Notifier\G001-1.0.24.0\gnotify.exe
C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_06\bin\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\Program Files\Viewpoint\Viewpoint Manager\ViewMgr.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\XEMICO~1\ACTIVE~1\ADC.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Distillr\acrotray.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\zstatus.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Tom Mathew\Desktop\hijackthis\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.gmail.com/
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O2 - BHO: AcroIEToolbarHelper Class - {AE7CD045-E861-484f-8273-0445EE161910} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O2 - BHO: NAV Helper - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Norton AntiVirus - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Adobe PDF - {47833539-D0C5-4125-9FA8-0819E2EAAC93} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nwiz] nwiz.exe /installquiet /keeploaded /nodetect
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [hp 1000 firmware] C:\Program Files\hp LaserJet 1000\fwdl.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AlcxMonitor] ALCXMNTR.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Zone Labs Client] C:\PROGRA~1\ZONELA~1\ZONEAL~1\zlclient.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccApp] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccRegVfy] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccRegVfy.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Advanced Tools Check] C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\AdvTools\ADVCHK.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SM1BG] C:\WINDOWS\SM1BG.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DIGStream] C:\Program Files\DIGStream\digstream.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Opware12] "C:\Program Files\ScanSoft\OmniPagePro12.0\Opware12.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [{0228e555-4f9c-4e35-a3ec-b109a192b4c2}] C:\Program Files\Google\Gmail Notifier\G001-1.0.24.0\gnotify.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_06\bin\jusched.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TkBellExe] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ViewMgr] C:\Program Files\Viewpoint\Viewpoint Manager\ViewMgr.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Active Desktop Calendar] C:\PROGRA~1\XEMICO~1\ACTIVE~1\ADC.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Gaim] C:\Program Files\Gaim\gaim.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Acrobat Assistant.lnk = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Distillr\acrotray.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Google Search - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmsearch.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Backward Links - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmbacklinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Cached Snapshot of Page - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmcache.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O8 - Extra context menu item: Similar Pages - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmsimilar.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate into English - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmtrans.html
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_06\bin\npjpi142_06.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_06\bin\npjpi142_06.dll
O9 - Extra button: AIM - {AC9E2541-2814-11d5-BC6D-00B0D0A1DE45} - C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O16 - DPF: {56336BCB-3D8A-11D6-A00B-0050DA18DE71} (RdxIE Class) - http://software-dl.real.com/0843473d138e7c4e3516/netzip/RdxIE601.cab
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) - http://v5.windowsupdate.microsoft.c...ls/en/x86/client/wuweb_site.cab?1105131864328
O16 - DPF: {BAC01377-73DD-4796-854D-2A8997E3D68A} (Yahoo! Photos Easy Upload Tool Class) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yahoo.com/dl/installs/ydropper/ydropper1_4us.cab
O23 - Service: Symantec Event Manager - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Password Validation Service - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccPwdSvc.exe
O23 - Service: Norton AntiVirus Auto Protect Service - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Norton Unerase Protection - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\AdvTools\NPROTECT.EXE
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
O23 - Service: ScriptBlocking Service - Symantec Corporation - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\SYMANT~1\SCRIPT~1\SBServ.exe
O23 - Service: SymWMI Service - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Security Center\SymWSC.exe
O23 - Service: TrueVector Internet Monitor - Zone Labs Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe

Any suggestions?