Online Browser Issues

M

mcw

New Member
Hiya, computer people! Was recommended here by a regular/computer wiz who couldn't help me with my issue, so I'm guessing it's one crazy one! Hooray!
WINDOWS XP!

So, for no apparent reason one day, Firefox started working like normal but after opening a few pages, it'd just get stuck on the spinning loading circle and forever be on the 'Page Loading' status, though the page would never load! So, closing the browser seemed like a good idea but then Firefox was no longer able to open, due to the 'Firefox is already running' message. Ctrl+Alt+Del and trying to end firefox.exe process proved useless as it wouldn't force close, for some reason.

We tried adding a new firefox profile and that helped for a while, but then it happened again. So, complete uninstall of Firefox happened and reinstalled it, but problems persisted.

After much technophobe rage at Firefox, I advice Dad (whose computer this is) to install Chrome since his Internet Explorer was having no issues but he doesn't want to use it due to more viruses. So he did, and then it started having the same issues as Firefox. Rage quitting, Dad just gave up so I thought I'd ask for any suggestions here on why this could be happening and what I could do in the morning when he starts shouting as his computer again.

He's defragged, used three virus/spyware programs (I can get the names later if needed) and recently we discovered System Restore is no longer working (Cannot restore to any of your earlier restore point on every attempt)

Also tried deleting parent.lock in case anyone thinks of that, but it doesn't exactly delete since 'Firefox is in use' all the time ;)

YEAH! LONG STORY! SUMMARY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ IT
>Internet not loading pages after a while, won't open after closed due to 'Already Open' message, cannot be force quit, reinstalling fails, Google isn't helping.

Thanks :D

PS: Please don't tell me to reinstall Windows, as I will cry. Manly tears.
 
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How old is this computer seeing as it is on XP?
Also, make sure the programmes are compatable with XP and the service pack you have which should be service pack 3, if not, run a windows update on that. Also check all platforms are up to date with windows updater as all of this depends on whether the programme will run correctly.

Reply to this and i can help you further :)
 
Would need to know what programs was used to scan for malware/viruses. I would highly suggest following these instructions and post the requested logs.

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from here or here and save it to your desktop.
  • Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
  • At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to
    • Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
    • and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  • then click Finish.
  • If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version. Please keep updating until it says you have the latest version.
  • Once the program has loaded, select Perform quick scan, then click Scan.
  • When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
  • Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
  • A log will be saved automatically which you can access by clicking on the Logs tab within Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

If for some reason Malwarebytes will not install or run please download and run Rkill.scr, Rkill.exe, or Rkill.com. If you are still having issues running rkill then try downloading these renamed versions of the same program.

EXPLORER.EXE
IEXPLORE.EXE
USERINIT.EXE
WINLOGON.EXE

But DO NOT reboot the system and then try installing or running Malwarebytes. If Rkill (which is a black box) appears and then disappears right away or you get a message saying rkill is infected, keep trying to run rkill until it over powers the infection and temporarily kills it. Once a log appears on the screen, you can try running malwarebytes or downloading other programs.



Download the HijackThis installer from here.
Run the installer and choose Install, indicating that you accept the licence agreement. The installer will place a shortcut on your desktop and launch HijackThis.

Click Do a system scan and save a logfile

Most of what HijackThis lists will be harmless or even essential, don't fix anything yet.

When the hijackthis log appears in a notepad file, click on the edit menu, click select all, then click on the edit menu again and click on copy. Come back to your reply and right click on your mouse and click on paste.

Post the logfile that HijackThis produces along with the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware log
 
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