PC is so slow. How to fix it? Software or hardware problem?

RisingSun

RisingSun

Member
Four years ago, my desktop PC was quick. When Windows started up, it took about 5 seconds for the Firefox browser to open; but now it's about 1 minute. Also, when I play a video in VLC Media Player the playback can freeze, although the audio continues. I can hear the computer grinding at these times, although it used to be quiet.

Dell Dimension 5100
Pentium 4, 2.79 GHz
Windows XP Pro, SP3
1 GB RAM
Radeon X300 SE video card

I have run virus scans using CCleaner, McAfee, Ad-Aware, Spybot, and Malwarebytes. I have the latest updates for Windows. I have typed in msconfig in "Run..." and unchecked a few things. Computer is still slow.

Do I have a software or hardware problem? If it is a hardware problem, I could replace the specific part if I knew which part was old, such as hard drive, or CPU.
 
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That's definitely not good. I have a 768MHz P2/384MB RAM laptop, and Firefox loads in about 3 seconds. The computer always runs smoothly.

Hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete to bring up Windows Task Manager, click the Mem Usage button twice, and make note of what processes are at the top, and how many K the process is using.

Have you checked your System Info to make sure all of your RAM is being recognized? Start-->All Programs-->Accessories-->System Tools-->System Information

Have you made sure that all of the anti-malware programs you ran are updated? Did you run them in safe mode? Please do so. After you've scanned with updated Malwarebyte's in safemode, please download and run Trend Micro HijackThis! and post your log here.

Download and install SpeedFan, run the program and make note of your temperatures.

Then open up the computer case and use a vacuum hose or canned air to remove all the dust from the case - especially in between the fan and the heat sink. Pull out all of the PCI/PCIe/AGP cards and RAM and vacuum/clean the slots. Then reinsert them.

Then run SpeedFan again and make note of any changes.

You said you've run msconfig and disabled a few processes. I would disable all of the processes that you do not need.

Then, go to Start-->Run-->type in 'msconfig' and hit <enter>

In the Startup tab, uncheck everything that you do not need running in the background at startup and click "Apply." Then, in the Services tab, check Hide All Microsoft Services, uncheck everything that you do not need running in the background at startup and click "Apply." Restart the computer.

Be forewarned that you may need certain programs to run at startup, especially display drivers, etc. If you do not feel comfortable removing startup entries on your own, please do the following:

Run HijackThis! and press the button labeled "Open the Misc Tools Section". Then check both the check boxes next to the "Generate StartupList Log" button and click the button. Click the button to generate the list, save it and upload it as an attachment to your next post, and I or some other forum member will advise you on what to disable.

Also, adding another 2 GB of RAM would definitely help. That model is upgradeable to 4GB, but I don't think your processor could utilize that much.

Please post back with the results of any of these suggestions that you try. I guarantee you that we can get Firefox to boot up in about one second if we work at it. :D

[edit]
Also, you may want to pull the graphics card and plug into the onboard graphics to see how that affects performance - could be an issue with the card
[/edit]
 
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you can also try a program called DKHardDrive-Light to see how much hard drive activity there is. This should help pinpoint what computer activity is dragging the system down. If you havent done a drive format in the 4 years since you bought the system then I would say back up all your important files and then format the drive and reinstall Windows. Then after you update Windows and your drivers and programs with the latest updates you'll be spankin'. Before you do the format and reinstall I would open the computer up and clean it out as much as possible and reapply some thermal paste to the cpu. A vacuum with a reverse flow on it works great for getting the insides cleaned out.

If you use your computer for basic stuff like web browsing and email then fine but anything more intense and you should benefit from another GB of ram, but the system is kinda too old to be considering simply upgrading what you have verses do a complete system upgrade.
 
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RisingSun said:
Four years ago, my desktop PC was quick. When Windows started up, it took about 5 seconds for the Firefox browser to open; but now it's about 1 minute. Also, when I play a video in VLC Media Player the playback can freeze, although the audio continues. I can hear the computer grinding at these times, although it used to be quiet.

Do I have a software or hardware problem? If it is a hardware problem, I could replace the specific part if I knew which part was old, such as hard drive, or CPU.
Click to expand...

There are 100 ways to go about it, in the end you'll have to use some creativity. im also assuming your still using the same OS (windows xp ?)

Its a 4 year old dell. Its going to be slow. If you want to get that machine up to its full potential...you will want to back up your stuff and reformat. Make sure you run a chkdsk on your drive before you format and after you back up stuff. Reformat your hard drive and reinstall windows xp fresh. Add more ram for multi tasking. If your hard drive is slow (5400RPM) or doesn't pass diagnostic tests, consider buying a cheap new, faster hard drive with a larger cache. (7200 RPM 16MB cache)

Your processor still has enough power to do most web-related stuff handle multiple tasks. Its likely a combination of a clogged operating system, an old hard drive that may have file system errors, and lack of memory.

Keep in mind that windows xp has been upgraded a lot in the last 4 years. It uses more resources now than it first did, as do most of the programs you probably have installed. Firefox is a memory hog as well. if you enjoy surfing multiple tabs you'll want to get more memory.

Shoot me your motherboard specs and i'll tell u how to find out if it makes sense to upgrade your RAM.
 
Fastest way to tell if its hardware or software.

Back up files and reformat. If its still like that its the hardware. Check the fans to see if they are touching something for the grinding noise or just try to listen carefully and see which part is grinding.

Considering you can still hear audio but no video leads me to guess a video card problem... Try spinning the fan slowly yourself and see if it touches the edges and that could be your grinding noise. Even still if you have a second computer i would attempt to switch a part out one by one until you see which one doesnt work.

And if you do find out which part and get it fixed more RAM Will speed things up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178101

for $65 is good.

With windows XP the performance almost doubles from 512 mb to 1 gb then about 40% improvement from 1 gb to 2gb and then another 25-30% improvement with 2-3 gb and maybe 10% from 3-4 gb.
 
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I would download and run all of these prograns weekly or more:

CCleaner
MalwareBytes
Auslogics Disk Defrag
Auslogics Registry Cleaner

All of them are free andupdated pretty frequently. With the defragger, i would suggest optimising the disk too, to improve general access times.. this will improve boot times as well.

I would also suggest stopping startup programs from running:

Start > Run and type "msconfig"

Go to services, select "hide all microsoft services" and then uncheck the remaining entries. Then go to the startup tab and unselect everything except your antivirus (in my case this is AVG) Make sure you click apply. when you reboot these changes will take effect.

If this doesn't help (it should help quite a bit) then i would suggest a new computer...
 
Okay, this is what I have done since my original post:

I ran Auslogics Disk Defrag and Auslogics Registry Cleaner. I ran SpeedFan. It showed "HD0" at 29C-36C depending on how long the computer had been running. I then opened the case and pulled out the RAM boards. I wasn't able to pull out the video card or other pieces (I'm not tech savvy, sorry) and vacummed everything. The inside wasn't dirty at all. New reading was 31C-36C.

I'm not familiar with items in msconfig from "Run..." so I'm afraid to uncheck more items.

I forgot to mention last time that my HDD is 145 GB (112 GB being used). I don't know any other specs.

I ran Hijack This:

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 12:01:15 PM, on 4/6/2010
Platform: Windows XP SP3 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.18702)
Boot mode: Normal

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\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware\AAWService.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ACService.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jqs.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\SiteAdvisor\McSACore.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcmscsvc.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\mcafee\mna\mcnasvc.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\mcafee\mcproxy\mcproxy.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcshield.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7DEBUG\MDM.EXE
C:\Program Files\McAfee\MPF\MPFSrv.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\MSK\MskSrver.exe
c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Shared\sqlwriter.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\MsPMSPSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\fxssvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe
C:\Program Files\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\agent\mcagent.exe
C:\Program Files\Intel\Modem Event Monitor\IntelMEM.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\UpdateService\issch.exe
C:\WINDOWS\FixCamera.exe
C:\WINDOWS\tsnpstd3.exe
C:\WINDOWS\vsnpstd3.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ACDaemon.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ArcCon.ac
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcsysmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware\AAWTray.exe
C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe
C:\Program Files\SpeedFan\speedfan.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/myway
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://bfc.myway.com/search/de_srchlft.html
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.dell4me.com/myway
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: McAfee Phishing Filter - {27B4851A-3207-45A2-B947-BE8AFE6163AB} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\msk\mskapbho.dll
O2 - BHO: Spybot-S&D IE Protection - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: DriveLetterAccess - {5CA3D70E-1895-11CF-8E15-001234567890} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswshx.dll
O2 - BHO: PhotoPos Toolbar - {5D0EC45B-D2E4-4DD0-A5B2-69DDEFE852A8} - C:\Program Files\PhotoposComTbr\PhotoposComTbrLib.dll
O2 - BHO: scriptproxy - {7DB2D5A0-7241-4E79-B68D-6309F01C5231} - C:\Program Files\McAfee\VirusScan\scriptsn.dll
O2 - BHO: FlashCatchBHO Class - {88618A96-6D8A-42E7-B932-9073D5B2080F} - C:\Program Files\FlashCatch\flashcatch.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - C:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\5.4.4525.1752\swg.dll
O2 - BHO: McAfee SiteAdvisor BHO - {B164E929-A1B6-4A06-B104-2CD0E90A88FF} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: JQSIEStartDetectorImpl - {E7E6F031-17CE-4C07-BC86-EABFE594F69C} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\lib\deploy\jqs\ie\jqs_plugin.dll
O3 - Toolbar: McAfee SiteAdvisor Toolbar - {0EBBBE48-BAD4-4B4C-8E5A-516ABECAE064} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Veoh Web Player Video Finder - {0FBB9689-D3D7-4f7a-A2E2-585B10099BFC} - C:\Program Files\Veoh Networks\VeohWebPlayer\VeohIEToolbar.dll (file missing)
O3 - Toolbar: FlashCatch - {10CECF4F-A96E-4803-8AC2-F565FB29FF47} - C:\Program Files\FlashCatch\flashcatch.dll
O3 - Toolbar: PhotoPos Toolbar - {5D0EC45B-D2E4-4DD0-A5B2-69DDEFE852A8} - C:\Program Files\PhotoposComTbr\PhotoposComTbrLib.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IntelMeM] C:\Program Files\Intel\Modem Event Monitor\IntelMEM.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [dla] C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ISUSPM Startup] C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\UPDATE~1\ISUSPM.exe -startup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ISUSScheduler] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\UpdateService\issch.exe" -start
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [FixCamera] C:\WINDOWS\FixCamera.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [tsnpstd3] C:\WINDOWS\tsnpstd3.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [snpstd3] C:\WINDOWS\vsnpstd3.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [mcagent_exe] "C:\Program Files\McAfee.com\Agent\mcagent.exe" /runkey
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [McENUI] C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MHN\McENUI.exe /hide
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ArcSoft Connection Service] C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ACDaemon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {CD67F990-D8E9-11d2-98FE-00C0F0318AFE} - (no file)
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Spybot - Search & Destroy Configuration - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @xpsp3res.dll,-20001 - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.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: {0349EF81-B9C1-4B97-86F7-7B931D0E2532} (NowStarter2 Control) - http://sticube.clubbox.co.kr/sticubeupdate/cab/NowStarter2.cab
O16 - DPF: {17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700} (Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=39204
O16 - DPF: {238F6F83-B8B4-11CF-8771-00A024541EE3} (Citrix ICA Client) - http://a516.g.akamai.net/f/516/25175/7d/runaware.download.akamai.com/25175/citrix/wficat-no-eula.cab
O16 - DPF: {48DD0448-9209-4F81-9F6D-D83562940134} (MySpace Uploader Control) - http://lads.myspace.com/upload/MySpaceUploader1006.cab
O18 - Protocol: dssrequest - {5513F07E-936B-4E52-9B00-067394E91CC5} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O18 - Protocol: sacore - {5513F07E-936B-4E52-9B00-067394E91CC5} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O18 - Protocol: skype4com - {FFC8B962-9B40-4DFF-9458-1830C7DD7F5D} - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\Skype\SKYPE4~1.DLL
O23 - Service: ArcSoft Connect Daemon (ACDaemon) - ArcSoft Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ACService.exe
O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - ATI Technologies Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
O23 - Service: dlbu_device - Dell - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dlbucoms.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: Java Quick Starter (JavaQuickStarterService) - Sun Microsystems, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jqs.exe
O23 - Service: Lavasoft Ad-Aware Service - Lavasoft - C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware\AAWService.exe
O23 - Service: MBackMonitor - McAfee - C:\Program Files\McAfee\MBK\MBackMonitor.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee SiteAdvisor Service - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee\SiteAdvisor\McSACore.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Services (mcmscsvc) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcmscsvc.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Network Agent (McNASvc) - McAfee, Inc. - c:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\mcafee\mna\mcnasvc.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Scanner (McODS) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcods.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Proxy Service (McProxy) - McAfee, Inc. - c:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\mcafee\mcproxy\mcproxy.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Real-time Scanner (McShield) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcshield.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee SystemGuards (McSysmon) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcsysmon.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Personal Firewall Service (MpfService) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee\MPF\MPFSrv.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Anti-Spam Service (MSK80Service) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee\MSK\MskSrver.exe
Click to expand...
Also, the "grinding" noise I mentioned last time isn't the fan hitting the surrounding area. I don't hear it all the time. Maybe it is electricity running through some circuit boards or hard drive searching. I hear it especially when the video stops playing.
 
Hey RisingSun!

Good lord. :P

These processes look malicious or potentially malicious:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\MsPMSPSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\fxssvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
C:\WINDOWS\FixCamera.exe
C:\WINDOWS\tsnpstd3.exe
C:\WINDOWS\vsnpstd3.exe

C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE (never seen the ".EXE" capitalized like that before... )
Click to expand...

and these entries look malicious or potentially malicious:
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://bfc.myway.com/search/de_srchlft.html
O2 - BHO: DriveLetterAccess - {5CA3D70E-1895-11CF-8E15-001234567890} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswshx.dll
O2 - BHO: PhotoPos Toolbar - {5D0EC45B-D2E4-4DD0-A5B2-69DDEFE852A8} - C:\Program Files\PhotoposComTbr\PhotoposComTbrLib.dll
O2 - BHO: FlashCatchBHO Class - {88618A96-6D8A-42E7-B932-9073D5B2080F} - C:\Program Files\FlashCatch\flashcatch.dll
O3 - Toolbar: FlashCatch - {10CECF4F-A96E-4803-8AC2-F565FB29FF47} - C:\Program Files\FlashCatch\flashcatch.dll
O3 - Toolbar: PhotoPos Toolbar - {5D0EC45B-D2E4-4DD0-A5B2-69DDEFE852A8} - C:\Program Files\PhotoposComTbr\PhotoposComTbrLib.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [dla] C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ISUSPM Startup] C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\UPDATE~1\ISUSPM.exe -startup
O16 - DPF: {0349EF81-B9C1-4B97-86F7-7B931D0E2532} (NowStarter2 Control) - http://sticube.clubbox.co.kr/sticube...owStarter2.cab
O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
O23 - Service: dlbu_device - Dell - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dlbucoms.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
Click to expand...


Also, please uninstall all of those toolbars as well as Spybot S&D and everything McAffee-related - it's cleary doing you no good, and McAffee can be a bit of a resource hog. Then boot into safe mode with networking. Download and run rkill.exe and then download and run Malwarebytes Antimalware and remove anything it finds.

After that, reboot and do the following in safe mode with networking - this is copied from johnb35's post and is what he and others here commonly recommend. Follow these steps and we'll see what can be done to fix your computer.

johnb35 said:
Download and Run ComboFix
If you already have Combofix, please delete this copy and download it again as it's being updated regularly.

* Download this file here :

http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe

* Then double click combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
* When finished, it shall produce a log for you. Post that log in your next reply

Note: Do not mouseclick combofix's window whilst it's running. That may cause it to stall

Combofix should never take more that 20 minutes including the reboot if malware is detected.
If it does, open Task Manager then Processes tab (press ctrl, alt and del at the same time) and end any processes of findstr, find, sed or swreg, then combofix should continue.
If that happened we want to know, and also what process you had to end.

In your next reply please post:

* The ComboFix log
* A fresh HiJackThis log
* An update on how your computer is running
Click to expand...
 
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I'm thinking about re-installing Windows XP on my machine. I found the product key on a sticker on my computer, but I can't find the the XP discs. How do I re-install Windows without the discs?
 
Oh, I just found a document from Dell shaped like a CD that reads "Your new computer does not require an operating system CD or driver CDs. Instead if you ever need to reinstall your software, use one of the following methods: Microsoft Windows System Restore or Dell PC Restore" I'll try one of these next.
 
RisingSun said:
Oh, I just found a document from Dell shaped like a CD that reads "Your new computer does not require an operating system CD or driver CDs. Instead if you ever need to reinstall your software, use one of the following methods: Microsoft Windows System Restore or Dell PC Restore" I'll try one of these next.
Click to expand...

yeah i saw you had a dell. with my dell, it has a disc for the OS but it didnt require the key. let us know if it is any better once you have done this
 
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