Problem with Dell 8250

My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
a crawl.
Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.

The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
back. It finally did.

Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
the XP disks are the same age.

Service Pack 2 is cumulative, so it includes Service Pack 1. You'l need to re-install SP 2 and all security updates issued since then (lots of them).

As for advice...It's not my place to say how you should keep your daughter's behavior in check. Certainly you know there are ways to prevent her from installing software on the computer.

Here's some computer advice: You should acquaint yourself with disc imaging software. This product makes an exact copy - an "image" - of a hard disc, which you can store on a second hard disk, optical media or a network location. It takes minutes to create the image and minutes to restore it. By imaging the disc in a known good state, i.e., virus/spyware free and with all the latest updates, you can restore the computer to a known good state without having to format and reinstall everything.

Arguably the two best-known disc imaging programs are Symantec's Norton Ghost 9.0 and Acronis' True Image 8.0.

Ted Zieglar


<> wrote in message news:...
> My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
> becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
> Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
> a crawl.
> Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
> that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
> Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>
> The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
> before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
> hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
> back. It finally did.
>
> Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
> over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
> all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
> the XP disks are the same age.
>
>

there is no single answer and solution to your problem. but in summary:
you first need to stop all the spyware type programs from currently
running. do this from taskmgr or other utiltiies.
then you need to remove all the spyware type programs from your startup.
this is done again in numerous ways, like msconfig, hijack, spybot and
adaware are good places to start. you must also remove evil folders and
files from your hard drive because the spyware will creep back.

if you dont understand any of this, or dont know what is good and bad,
you should look them up in google, or seek professional computer help in
your area. be careful not to delete things that you shouldnt or you
will cripple your system and would have to reinstall anyway.

i offer a spyware removal service in my area (New York) and usually
solve any spyware problem in 1 to 2 hours, for $100 or so.
you can also rebuild your hard drive, but if you do, to get everything
out properly, you should reformat the entire hard drive, full format,
and then reinstall XP and all patches back up to sp2. then reinstall
all apps, and documents. of course you would have needed to save all of
your work before that. and dont forget to backup the drivers that you
will need, or you would have to scrable for those after reinstallation.

running antivirus alone is not enough and only works for viruses, not
spyware!
do not install any of the latest from norton antivirus or mcaffee, they
are filled with bloat and will not necessarily fix the problem.
Good luck
Jay

wrote:
> My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
> becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
> Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
> a crawl.
> Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
> that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
> Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>
> The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
> before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
> hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
> back. It finally did.
>
> Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
> over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
> all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
> the XP disks are the same age.
>
>

Depending upon you level of experience, you may be better off by just
doing a reinstall. Save any known data to disk and reformat the drive.

You may even want to erase the drive with a eraser instead to clear out
unforseen viruses and/or spyware.

You can order the Service Pack 2 disk from MS at a small charge for
shipping or no cost (I have not had to order the disk myself) and then
download
any updates since SP2.

Many individuals in this group use a disk image product and wipe their
drives about
every year or so just to give the system a good clensing.

moncho
<> wrote in message
news:...
> My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
> becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
> Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
> a crawl.
> Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
> that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
> Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>
> The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
> before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
> hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
> back. It finally did.
>
> Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
> over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
> all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
> the XP disks are the same age.
>
>

You are most likely at the point where trying to recover becomes a massive,
if even possible, effort. I would suggest that you do the following:

1) Format and re-install WP. Do this by booting from the CD. Be sure to
delete and re-create the partition before installing, otherwise you will
just be updating the OS and probably preserving the problems.
2) Install AV software ASAP and update the signatures
3) Install a software firewall like Zone Alarm or Sygate. There are free
ones out there.
4) Install SpyBot Search & Destroy as well as AdAware (both have free
version)
5) I also recommend installing a proactive spyware program like SpySweeper.
This will stop spyware *before* it gets into the system. This will cost $.
6) Buy Symantec Ghost or Acronis True Image and create an image after the
system is set up and customized.

For items 2, 3 and 5, You might want to consider getting a security suite
like Norton Internet Security 2005 AntiSpyware Edition or ZoneAlarm Security
Suite. These include all 4 components I described.

Also, consider setting up an admin userid with a password she doesn't know
and then creating a userid for her that only has "User" rights.

--
Regards,
Hank Arnold

<> wrote in message
news:...
> My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
> becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
> Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
> a crawl.
> Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
> that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
> Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>
> The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
> before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
> hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
> back. It finally did.
>
> Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
> over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
> all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
> the XP disks are the same age.
>
>

<> wrote in message
news:...
> My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
> becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
> Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
> a crawl.
> Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
> that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
> Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>
> The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
> before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
> hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
> back. It finally did.
>
> Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
> over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
> all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
> the XP disks are the same age.
>
>

1. its not the computer.
2. its 10 bananas as my elders say.
3. Its careless on your part with no anti spyware software which is FREE.
4. Get yourself disc cloning software ie Acronis TrueImage 8 (now
9)...........and do regular backups

I do run Spybot and Adaware as well as Norton. It doesn't find them
all.
I also use Hijack but that is dangerous

On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:15:15 +0000 (UTC), "Jeffro Toll"
<> wrote:

>
><> wrote in message
>news:.. .
>> My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
>> becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
>> Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
>> a crawl.
>> Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
>> that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
>> Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>>
>> The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
>> before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
>> hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
>> back. It finally did.
>>
>> Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
>> over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
>> all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
>> the XP disks are the same age.
>>
>>
>
>1. its not the computer.
>2. its 10 bananas as my elders say.
>3. Its careless on your part with no anti spyware software which is FREE.
>4. Get yourself disc cloning software ie Acronis TrueImage 8 (now
>9)...........and do regular backups
>
>
>

spybot and norton are not enough!
you need hijack and programs like it to remove programs from the startup
that are bad for you!

wrote:
> I do run Spybot and Adaware as well as Norton. It doesn't find them
> all.
> I also use Hijack but that is dangerous
>
> On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:15:15 +0000 (UTC), "Jeffro Toll"
> <> wrote:
>
>
>><> wrote in message
>>news:. ..
>>
>>>My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
>>>becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
>>>Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
>>>a crawl.
>>>Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
>>>that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
>>>Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>>>
>>>The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
>>>before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
>>>hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
>>>back. It finally did.
>>>
>>>Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
>>>over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
>>>all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
>>>the XP disks are the same age.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>1. its not the computer.
>>2. its 10 bananas as my elders say.
>>3. Its careless on your part with no anti spyware software which is FREE.
>>4. Get yourself disc cloning software ie Acronis TrueImage 8 (now
>>9)...........and do regular backups
>>
>>
>>
>
>

Speaking of Startup; I do notice something odd about this machine.
When I start up it opens the "my documenst folder" It started do
that after I installed on of the Windows Updates. Isthis a clue about
whats wrong?



On Sat, 24 Sep 2005 12:13:56 -0400, Jay B <> wrote:

>spybot and norton are not enough!
>you need hijack and programs like it to remove programs from the startup
>that are bad for you!
>
> wrote:
>> I do run Spybot and Adaware as well as Norton. It doesn't find them
>> all.
>> I also use Hijack but that is dangerous
>>
>> On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:15:15 +0000 (UTC), "Jeffro Toll"
>> <> wrote:
>>
>>
>>><> wrote in message
>>>news: ...
>>>
>>>>My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
>>>>becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
>>>>Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
>>>>a crawl.
>>>>Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
>>>>that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
>>>>Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>>>>
>>>>The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
>>>>before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
>>>>hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
>>>>back. It finally did.
>>>>
>>>>Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
>>>>over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
>>>>all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
>>>>the XP disks are the same age.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>1. its not the computer.
>>>2. its 10 bananas as my elders say.
>>>3. Its careless on your part with no anti spyware software which is FREE.
>>>4. Get yourself disc cloning software ie Acronis TrueImage 8 (now
>>>9)...........and do regular backups
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>

windows updat wouldnt cause that.
i've seen spyware do that.
when you run hijack, there is an entry there that points to that.
it might have the word explorer in it, so remove it. it cant do any harm
to remove.
if you want, post you hijack log here and i'll tell you what to remove.


wrote:

> Speaking of Startup; I do notice something odd about this machine.
> When I start up it opens the "my documenst folder" It started do
> that after I installed on of the Windows Updates. Isthis a clue about
> whats wrong?
>
>
>
> On Sat, 24 Sep 2005 12:13:56 -0400, Jay B <> wrote:
>
>
>>spybot and norton are not enough!
>>you need hijack and programs like it to remove programs from the startup
>>that are bad for you!
>>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>I do run Spybot and Adaware as well as Norton. It doesn't find them
>>>all.
>>>I also use Hijack but that is dangerous
>>>
>>>On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:15:15 +0000 (UTC), "Jeffro Toll"
>>><> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>><> wrote in message
>>>>news: m...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>My 15 year old daughter has a Dell 8250 Dektop. This machine is
>>>>>becoming a piece of junk and it is due to installation of spyware.
>>>>>Every week I spend time getting rid of crap that slows this machine to
>>>>>a crawl.
>>>>>Recently I found Limewire and got rid of it. I told her not to install
>>>>>that stuff and she claims that it comes by way of Trojans. We run
>>>>>Nortons ona regular basis but it does no good.
>>>>>
>>>>>The other night I rebooted the machine and it tookabout 15 minutes
>>>>>before I got the XP user login screen. I stared at the cursor (w/o
>>>>>hour glass) for the duration and was doubtful that it would even come
>>>>>back. It finally did.
>>>>>
>>>>>Anyone have any advice before I chuck the hard drive and start all
>>>>>over again. If I do that and reinstall XP, I assume I will have to get
>>>>>all of the service packs etc because the machine is 3 years old and
>>>>>the XP disks are the same age.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>1. its not the computer.
>>>>2. its 10 bananas as my elders say.
>>>>3. Its careless on your part with no anti spyware software which is FREE.
>>>>4. Get yourself disc cloning software ie Acronis TrueImage 8 (now
>>>>9)...........and do regular backups
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>