Safe mode problems

[Zampa]

Daughter downloaded a zmas screen saver earlier.....next time we put the comp on it opened in screen saver and ive not been able to shift it....tried virus checker repair disc etc....any ideas before i spend some of my hard earned ina repair shop?

 

[Igorian]

Daughter downloaded a zmas screen saver earlier.....next time we put the comp on it opened in screen saver and ive not been able to shift it....tried virus checker repair disc etc....any ideas before i spend some of my hard earned ina repair shop?

Did you mean opened in safe mode?

 

[Zampa]

Yep sorry....safe mode

 

[Igorian]

What version of windows (and any other info you can think of)

 

[Zampa]

WIN ME 512ram 1300 duron processer 40 gigHD

Thanks

 

[Igorian]

Have you tried doing a system restore to a point just before the screen saver was loaded?

 

[Zampa]

Yep, first thing i tried....I didnt expect much it never seems to work.

I dont think its a virus because I can still use the net...having said that I scanned the system with my virus checker..(antivir) and it seems to stops me deleting dodgy files. ( 5 trojans)

Could it be a driver problem?...maybe if I reload my motherboard software?

 

[kendor]

Yep, first thing i tried....I didnt expect much it never seems to work.

I dont think its a virus because I can still use the net...having said that I scanned the system with my virus checker..(antivir) and it seems to stops me deleting dodgy files. ( 5 trojans)

Could it be a driver problem?...maybe if I reload my motherboard software?

Does the virus checker mention where these trojan files are stored? if so where?

it may be that they are dormant and not a threat, as you are using ME they may be ones that don't do harm (apart from slowing up the system) to ME based systems but use them as a carrier and do the damage to XP and the like systems.

If you find that the files are in the system restore archive (possibility as the virus checker doesn't delete them) then it's easy enough to get rid of them albeit at the cost of losing previous system restore points ( not a problem in your case if as you say it doesn't seem to work properly).

you will need to go into the system dialog in control panel and uncheck the system restore box do a reboot and then restore the checkbox( if you want system restore working on your system) this will erase the archive and the trojans and possible you will find system restore works better next time? as a bonus.

i'm not on my ME PC at the moment as i'm at work so i can't be specific in my instructions to you but it's easy enough to find the tabs to click on, perhaps Ig could give you more detailed instructions in the meantime? otherwise i'll be able to let you know by tomorrow.

 

[Igorian]

The real problem is that Windows ME is flaky and gets upset with the slightest thing. In the long term, I would consider replacing it with XP, which will be more stable. You can check this link for disabling system restore.

If you have not loaded any new drivers, and your system was working ok before, then it's unlikely to be a driver issue. You could use "MSCONFIG" to systematically disable drivers to see if the machine will start normally. This will be trial and error and takes time. Try doing a thorough scandisk (will take some time) and set it to auto fix errors. It might be worth visiting the hard drive manufacturer site for the appropriate diagnostic software.

 

[BazzaS]

I would think the first action should be to remove the 5 trojans/virus' noted by your anti-virus program. As they've been mentioned, I presume that you existing program won't/can't remove them.
If so:-
Make a note of their names & directory paths
Boot into DOS
Delete them (DEL command)

It would be better trying to sort the screen saver once your PC is "clean".

Regards

 

[empip]

I reckon first thing is to google around and ensure you really have some nasties and not 'false positives' ..
What is really being flagged .. cookies perhaps? Be careful !

 

[Zampa]

Hello again....thanks for all of your replies.....I mentioned befre that the comp was starting in safe mode......actually im wrong....its actually starting in the bare mininmum disply setting 16 colours

The problem seemed to go once i had reloaded my motherboard software...but now its back and reloading the softeware didnt work......obviously just a coincedence then.

I have disabled the system restore.....

I have also tried reloading the graphics software (ati 128) but kept getting an error box (kernel32) box up

This seems to have been appearing quite a lot...

As does 'rstriuc......or something similar

If I try to change my display settings (it gives me the choice up to 16 bit)..and telling the comp to change them without restarting.....but it always asks if I want to re start.

Shall I try reloading ME on top?

Many thanks

 

[Igorian]

ME can get to a state where is becomes (almost) impossible to repair. You could try completely uninstalling the video drivers (from add/remove programs if applicable) and then reverting to the standard VGA driver. Once you are at this stage, try reloading the correct ME video drivers.

As you have already had problems with trojens and the like, I really would suggest backing up everything that you consider important and irreplaceable and then reloading the O/S from scratch, after reformatting the drive. You might want to consider dumping ME completely and going for XP. (Have we been here before? )

 

[Zampa]

Thanks for all the info igorian....I have now come to the conclusion that I will have to upgrade to XP.....

I somehow, managed to get this going again last night by running the motherboard disc and reloading....again maybe a coincedence.....I also reloaded the ati 128 drivers...(couldnt remove from add/rem progs....it wasnt there).....

I nt process I have lost me sound.....looked in sounds and multimedia and the box giving the option to show the volume control in the task bar was not highlighted.....unabling me to make changes...tried reloading the ac97 prog from the motherboard drriver disc....but no luck (motherboard has onboard sound)

Any ideas?

Another quick q....do I have to buy the full version of XP?....how much is it roughly....can I use it only once......and whats all this OEM version stuff?

Thanks....Zampa

 

[Igorian]

It really sounds like your o/s is in a mess. You shouldn't have to keep reloading the driver software. Like I have said before (and IMHO), ME is a crap o/s, full of nastiness and guaranteed to give you headaches when it does decide to go wrong.

As to XP, well don't go for an upgrade because you really want to start from scratch. If you already have some trojens, there is a chance that you will have others that don't affect ME, but will do damage to XP, given the chance. You also may want to reload it at some point in the future without having to load ME first. So backup any essential data and FDISK and format the drive. There are 2 flavours of XP Home, the full retail version, which gives you support from M$ themselves plus you can transfer it from one machine to another (although it must only be installed on one machine at a time, per license). Then you have the OEM version. Support is only provided by the people you buy it from (ie. You will probably get no support) and it is only valid for the machine that you first install it on. Now this isn't as bad as it seems, considering that you get several (3 I think) goes at activating the software without any intervention. After that, you will receive a message asking you to contact M$ for a new product key. I have had to do this numerous times for customer machines and have never had a problem getting a new key. In fact, 4 out of five times it is generated by their automated system without you having to speak to anyone.

There used to be a big difference in price between retail and OEM, but if you do a bit of googling, I think you'll find the retail for about £80 and the OEM at around £60.