# Another I need help with my PC thread! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069 "2004-05-20T00:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/1 "2004-05-20T00:11:02Z")
My daughter’s PC stopped all access to the internet today. I do not know why; I have come here for help. Here’s the skinny: PowerSpec 8360 P4 1.7 GHz Win XP Home Version 5.1.2600 (totally updated, according to Microsoft) IE6 ( again totally updated) ZoneAlarm Firewall Norton SystemWorks 2003 AdAware 6.0.1 (not as updated as it should be, but no net access to do so) I ran all of the XP tutorials/ troubleshooters to try and fix it to no avail. I can ping, (meaning I can run ipconfig, see my IP address, and ping me, if that’s what “pinging” means.) Four packets sent, all of them received. This is what makes me think the network card is okay. Overall our net connection is fast, and I even brought her PC down to my office and hooked it up - no success- just checking that it wasn’t a router problem. I have backed everthing important up, in case I need to do a full system restore (I have no restore disk, so how do I do this???) All of my system restore points have disappeared! When the PC starts, it states to press TAB to go to POST screen, or DEL to enter setup. I tried to press TAB, it did not work. My daughter said Kazaa stopped working last night, so she downloaded another copy, and all hell broke loose. I have since uninstalled Kazaa and all associated spyware. Please help! I am willing to wipe out everthing on the PC if necessary ( I just do not know how!) Thank you in advance! FWIW, here’s my HijackThis! log: Logfile of HijackThis v1.97.3 Scan saved at 7:51:13 PM, on 5/19/2004 Platform: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600) MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000) 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:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\gearsec.exe C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus avapsvc.exe C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Utilities\NPROTECT.EXE C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\SPEEDD~1 opdb.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe C:\WINDOWS\wt\updater\wcmdmgr.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update\_OB\realsched.exe C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe A:\HijackThis.exe R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = [http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hkcu](http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hkcu) R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = [http://default-homepage-network.com/start.cgi?hklm](http://default-homepage-network.com/start.cgi?hklm) R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = [http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hklm](http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hklm) R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{0428FFC7-1931-45b7-95CB-3CBB919777E1} - (no file) R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497} - (no file) R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{00D6A7E7-4A97-456f-848A-3B75BF7554D7} - (no file) O2 - BHO: IE Agent - {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000221} - C:\Program Files\ClearSearch\CSIE.DLL (file missing) O2 - BHO: (no name) - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll O2 - BHO: (no name) - {83DE62E0-5805-11D8-9B25-00E04C60FAF2} - C:\WINDOWS\2\_0\_1browserhelper2.dll O2 - BHO: (no name) - {9C691A33-7DDA-4C2F-BE4C-C176083F35CF} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\bridge.dll O2 - BHO: (no name) - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar.dll O2 - BHO: NAV Helper - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll O3 - Toolbar: Norton AntiVirus - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar.dll O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx 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: [QuickTime Task] “C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe” -atboottime O4 - HKLM…\Run: [iTunesHelper] C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe O4 - HKLM…\Run: [wcmdmgr] C:\WINDOWS\wt\updater\wcmdmgrl.exe -launch O4 - HKLM…\Run: [Belt] C:\WINDOWS\Belt.exe O4 - HKLM…\Run: [RunDLL] rundll32.exe “C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\bridge.dll”,Load O4 - HKLM…\Run: [TkBellExe] “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update\_OB\realsched.exe” -osboot O4 - HKCU…\Run: [MSMSGS] “C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe” /background O4 - HKCU…\Run: [AIM] C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe -cnetwait.odl O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE O8 - Extra context menu item: &Google Search - res://C:\Program Files\Google\googletoolbar.dll/cmsearch.html O8 - Extra context menu item: Backward &Links - res://C:\Program Files\Google\googletoolbar.dll/cmbacklinks.html O8 - Extra context menu item: Cac&hed Snapshot of Page - res://C:\Program Files\Google\googletoolbar.dll/cmcache.html O8 - Extra context menu item: Si&milar Pages - res://C:\Program Files\Google\googletoolbar.dll/cmsimilar.html O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate into English - res://C:\Program Files\Google\googletoolbar.dll/cmtrans.html O9 - Extra button: AIM (HKLM) O16 - DPF: {0E5F0222-96B9-11D3-8997-00104BD12D94} (PCPitstop Utility) - [http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/PCPitStop.CAB](http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/PCPitStop.CAB) O16 - DPF: {56336BCB-3D8A-11D6-A00B-0050DA18DE71} (RdxIE Class) - [http://software-dl.real.com/14186d497d79874fe821/netzip/RdxIE601.cab](http://software-dl.real.com/14186d497d79874fe821/netzip/RdxIE601.cab) O16 - DPF: {9C691A33-7DDA-4C2F-BE4C-C176083F35CF} (brdg Class) - [http://www2.flingstone.com/cab/2000XP/CDTInc/bridge.cab](http://www2.flingstone.com/cab/2000XP/CDTInc/bridge.cab) O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - [http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab](http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab) ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/2 "2004-05-20T00:50:14Z")
You can get rid of these: R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = [http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hkcu](http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hkcu) R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = [http://default-homepage-network.com/start.cgi?hklm](http://default-homepage-network.com/start.cgi?hklm) R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = [http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hklm](http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hklm) R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{0428FFC7-1931-45b7-95CB-3CBB919777E1} - (no file) R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497} - (no file) R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{00D6A7E7-4A97-456f-848A-3B75BF7554D7} - (no file) O2 - BHO: IE Agent - {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000221} - C:\Program Files\ClearSearch\CSIE.DLL (file missing) O2 - BHO: (no name) - {83DE62E0-5805-11D8-9B25-00E04C60FAF2} - C:\WINDOWS\2\_0\_1browserhelper2.dll O2 - BHO: (no name) - {9C691A33-7DDA-4C2F-BE4C-C176083F35CF} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\bridge.dll O4 - HKLM…\Run: [QuickTime Task] “C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe” -atboottime O4 - HKLM…\Run: [Belt] C:\WINDOWS\Belt.exe O4 - HKLM…\Run: [TkBellExe] “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update\_OB\realsched.exe” -osboot O16 - DPF: {9C691A33-7DDA-4C2F-BE4C-C176083F35CF} (brdg Class) - [http://www2.flingstone.com/cab/2000XP/CDTInc/bridge.cab](http://www2.flingstone.com/cab/2000XP/CDTInc/bridge.cab) Have you updated and run Spybot and Ad-aware? Can you ping 216.109.127.28? You can try [this](http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html) as well. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/3 "2004-05-20T00:55:48Z")
Kazaa contains spyware that frequently damages the Winsock module of windows networking. Download **LSPfix** form the following link: [http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm](http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm) It should restore your internet connection. ---
**Author:** ![RoyGBiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea5d25/32.png) [@RoyGBiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoyGBiv)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/4 "2004-05-20T01:44:49Z")
My daughter’s computer slowed to a crawl after she had toyed with Imesh and Kazaa, luckily we never lost our Internet connection, and were able to recover using ad-aware and other free downloadable software tools. A lot of the files in the p2p universe seem to be Trojan horses pregnant with viruses or browser hijackers, all tend to wreak havoc on a systeam, making it sicker over time. The Ad-aware can probably clean out most of the evil malware crap that has infected your computer, but you can’t download the cure if you can’t get on line, catch 22. A fresh install of your windows OS will set things right, (a straight forward process, albeit a tedious one) although it may seem to be admitting defeat to the cyber-vandals or demented marketers, IMHO with out the proper software tools these kinds of attacks tend to be very stubborn and difficult to wring-out of a corrupted system. So a fresh start may be the simplest cure. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/5 "2004-05-20T01:57:26Z")
I’ve recently used McAfee to clean such a computer, and I highly recommend it - it does a good job at picking out suspect spyware as well as true viruese Obviously, yes, if the XP install disks are handy, then that’s the option - but people are sold an XP system in the way they’re sold a Hi-Fi - “this is all you’ll ever need”…I have full sympathy for people who didn’t understand about updating ---
**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/6 "2004-05-20T02:08:47Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > You can get rid of these: > R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = [http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hkcu](http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hkcu) > R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = [http://default-homepage-network.com/start.cgi?hklm](http://default-homepage-network.com/start.cgi?hklm) > R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = [http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hklm](http://server224.smartbotpro.net/7search/?hklm) > R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{0428FFC7-1931-45b7-95CB-3CBB919777E1} - (no file) > R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497} - (no file) > R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - \_{00D6A7E7-4A97-456f-848A-3B75BF7554D7} - (no file) > O2 - BHO: IE Agent - {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000221} - C:\Program Files\ClearSearch\CSIE.DLL (file missing) > O2 - BHO: (no name) - {83DE62E0-5805-11D8-9B25-00E04C60FAF2} - C:\WINDOWS\2\_0\_1browserhelper2.dll > O2 - BHO: (no name) - {9C691A33-7DDA-4C2F-BE4C-C176083F35CF} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\bridge.dll > O4 - HKLM…\Run: [QuickTime Task] “C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe” -atboottime > O4 - HKLM…\Run: [Belt] C:\WINDOWS\Belt.exe > O4 - HKLM…\Run: [TkBellExe] “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update\_OB\realsched.exe” -osboot > O16 - DPF: {9C691A33-7DDA-4C2F-BE4C-C176083F35CF} (brdg Class) - [http://www2.flingstone.com/cab/2000XP/CDTInc/bridge.cab](http://www2.flingstone.com/cab/2000XP/CDTInc/bridge.cab) > > Have you updated and run Spybot and Ad-aware? > > Can you ping 216.109.127.28? > > You can try [this](http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html) as well. I deleted those HJT entries, I downloaded updated versions of AdAware and Spybot, I also tried both Winsock fixes listed above. NOPE. Also, I cannot ping 216.109.127.28. Does this mean the network card is bad? ---
**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/7 "2004-05-20T02:12:05Z")
How would I go about doing a complete system restore; i.e. restoring the PC to the “factory condition”. Nothing of importance (that hasn’t been backed up) is really on the drives. ---
**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/8 "2004-05-20T04:04:48Z")
Hi **caymus28** I’d try the LSP fix one more time…and reboot before I did a repair to XP. Or even consider trying one of your restore points? But if you insist: In short… Put your CD in it’s drive…and boot up. Wait for the instructions to “Press any key to boot from CD” . Do so. You’ll get a screen that says: To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER. (This is the one you want…so press enter.) To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R. To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3. Press ENTER to set up Windows XP. Then a screen will come on asking you to agree to the licencing, press F8 to agree to the license agreement. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP. Follow the instructions on the remaining screens to reinstall. After you repair Windows XP, you may be required to reactivate your copy of Windows XP. [Perhaps better said.](http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm) Make sure you have a firewall enabled before going online after the repair. You risk getting hit by the Blaster worm. ---
**Author:** ![Toddly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/9 "2004-05-20T05:44:27Z")
When you say you can “me” does that mean another computer on your network? Can you ping the router? If you can ping the router then your card should be fine. I would not think that the card is bad.I would try a couple of things before re-install. What does Device Manager say about the running condition of the network card? I would delete the network card from Control Panel and have XP reinstall the drivers on a restart and see if that helps. Check that the IP address is correct for the machine. I would use System Restore and see if that helps. It helped me once or twice. If you happen to find viruses then make sure to turn off Sytem Restore before running any scans. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/10 "2004-05-20T14:19:14Z")
If you open a command prompt and run ipconfig /all, what does it say? ---
**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/11 "2004-05-24T00:21:52Z")
If I do not have the XP disk, will this help? I tried the lsp fix again. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/12 "2004-05-24T15:18:27Z")
> [@caymus28](#): > > If I do not have the XP disk, will this help? I tried the lsp fix again. Thanks in advance. Nope. That’s only needed if you can’t make your cd boot from the cdrom. ---
**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/13 "2004-05-25T00:02:58Z")
So, I got the restore disk from my wife’s ex (another story all together). I did a full system restore, resetting everything to “factory condition”. Still no internet connection. The actual connection is good, as I am sending this plea from the same cable used to test my daughter’s PC. When I unplug the CAT 5 cable from the PC, the “network cable unplugged” notifcation pops up, leading me to beleieve that the network card is functional, but I am no expert on the functionality of hardware. Any ideas now? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/14 "2004-05-25T02:01:56Z")
On attempting log in to a broadband cable provider Sunday PM my log on name and password were not accepted. I had logged on earlier in the day without difficults. A call to the ISP was of no help as they were overwhelmed with troulbe calls. Called about 6:00 AM EST this morning, got some live help, the correct ISP #, reset the values in “Control Panel” , “Networking” and after a couple of additionl corrections, all is now well. ---
**Author:** ![Toddly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-i-need-help-with-my-pc-thread/246069/15 "2004-05-25T06:36:30Z")
caymus, you must be in the same Workgroup as the other computer. How have you got the network connections set up? Are the computers using the same IP addressing scheme?