Ron Pritchard Computer Support

Cleanup Help

The first step to regaining lost speed or curing other problems with your computer is running a virus scan. I recommend doing more than one. Make sure the antivirus software on your computer is up to date. If you don't have antivirus protection you can download free software from AVG or AntiVir

A second scan at one of the online services is also a good idea. Here some of the more popular ones ...

Microsoft also has an online scanning service called Windows Live Safety Center (beta)

Next, download and run Adaware
Instructions

Also download and run Spybot
Instructions

After running Adaware and Spybot if you are still experiencing problems then download and run a program called Hijackthis. There are good instructions on how to run Hijackthis at the following links. I strongly suggest reading through them all before you run the program for the first time.
CAUTION!!! Do not FIX any of the entries from the Hijackthis scan unless you are sure it's ok to do so. Clicking the FIX button with checkmarks next to entries you are unfamiliar with can cause serious problems.

TomCoyote.com

Merjin.org

BleepingComputer.org

When you do run the program, choose the option to generate a log file. Depending on your situation, you can either copy and paste the log file into the analyzer page here; iamnotageek or if you are a customer of mine, save the log file and email it to me as an attachment.

The Hijackthis program comes in a zip folder and must be extracted to it's own location. If you are unfamiliar with zip files here a couple of tutorials.

Zip tutorial 1

Zip tutorial 2

Windows XP comes with a zipping utility accesable through the right click menu. If you don't have a zipping utility you can get a free one at any of the following links.

7-Zip

Winzip

FreeZip

If you need instructions on how to cut, copy and paste here are some tutorials ...

Your computer can slow down if there are too many programs running in the background. To see what programs are set to run when you start your computer click on the Start button, then Run and type in msconfig, click OK. This will open the System Configuration Utility . Click on the Startup tab. Any entries with a checkmark next to them are set to run when your computer starts. Many are not required and can be unchecked. The following page has a good tutorial on how to use msconfig. MSCONFIG explained

The Startup program list may contain entries that you are not familiar with. These links will help you understand the various entries and whether they are necessary.

Pacs-portal

Startup search

Krick's startup list

The following sites offer tips, log analysis and message boards where you can get help with various computer problems ...