I appear to have a couple of corrupted files in my startup routine

Factual Questions
1

…and it may or may not have something to do with my computer dropping its connection.

Well, probably not. let me see if I can get this startup thing dealt with and then tackle the lost connection issue.

For about a week now, every time I boot my computer, I get two little message boxes, in quick succession.

The first one says:

Error loading C:\DOCUME~1\COMPUTER\Locals~1\Temp\SRASSE~1.DLL
The specified module could not be found
Then the second one says:

Error loading C:\DOCUME~1\COMPUTER\Locals~1\Temp\INSTAL~1.DLL
The specified module could not be found

Both message boxes have an “OK” button, which, when I click on it, makes the box go away. It does not appear to be adversely affecting performance, although, as I mentioned above I’ve also started having my internet connection dropping out (especially if I’ve got multiple firefox browser windows, with multiple tabs open).

Running WinXP Home edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3 on a Pentium® D

Any idea what’s going on, and do I have to reinstall my operating system to fix this (please say no)?
Thanks for any help.

2

It’s not normal for an installed program to have DLL modules in your temporary-files directory (C:\DOCUME~1\COMPUTER\Locals~1\Temp). Normal, legitimate software keeps its DLLs in the standard program directories. So this is probably some sort of malware. It’s a GOOD thing that it’s unable to start.

The sticky “How to protect and clean your computer from malware” thread, in Step 6, can help you get rid of the messages themselves by cleaning up the startup programs.

3

yep, malware. Try “Windows Defender Offline” to see if it can clean it up.

4

If you’re feeling adventurous you can try this:
[ul]
[li]Click on Start, Run, and enter msconfig[/li][li]Click on the ‘Startup’ tab[/li][li]Scroll down the list until you find the programs listed in the error boxes (C:\DOCUME~1\COMPUTER\Locals~1\Temp\SRASSE~1.DLL and C:\DOCUME~1\COMPUTER\Locals~1\Temp\INSTAL~1.DLL)[/li][li]Disable them both by unchecking their check box[/li][li]Click Ok, then immediately reboot[/li][/ul]
You definitely have some kind of malware, so this may or may not work (sophisticated malware can ‘re-install’ itself on a reboot) so either way once you reboot immediately install an anti-malware program like Windows Defender or Malwarebyte’s Antimalware, update them both, then do a full scan. Might take over an hour but it should get rid of it completely.

5

Thanks for that, Hail Ants. Funny thing, though. Neither of those shows up in the startup tab.

I’m running Anti-Malwarebytes as I type this. I already came up empty with Spybot S&D.

6

Download Combofix. Free. Works like a charm.