A computer that's running VERY slowly!

TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
edited April 2005 in Spyware & Virus Removal
I'm working on a computer for someone else. It's a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion a220n. 512 MB, Athlon 2600 (2.08 Ghz), and a 120 GB hard drive with a CD burner and DVD player. Windows XP Home.

When I start up the computer, and it gets to the desktop screen (with all the icons), I can open task manager and see that it has 21-25 processes running.

And consistently, explorer.exe is taking 95%+ of the system resources! The computer is not connected to the internet, nor has the Internet Explorer icon been clicked on. And if I use Task Manager to end the explorer.exe process, the icons on the desktop won't appear. I have to shut it down and restart it.

A quick run through with an unupdated version of AdAware 6 found 312 things which were removed. But the computer is still extremely slow. And sometimes the task bar at the bottom of the screen, showing the START button and clock doesn't appear either.

I'll go through it some more with newer AdAware versions and other antivirus / antispyware programs also, but can anyone tell me anything about the current problems?

Like why explorer.exe is taking all the system resources?

1 hour later - the Start button / taskbar / clock won't even show up on the screen. Makes it hard to go to My Computer when you can't get to the icon! :mad:

Comments

  • Buckeye_SamBuckeye_Sam Columbus, Ohio
    edited April 2005
    Sounds like Bube.D, but hard to tell without seeing a hijackthis log.

    http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topict11662.html


    If it is Bube.D and you've already lost the explorer.exe file, you'll probably want to consider a format and reinstall of the OS.
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    I'll look at that. I am planning a full reformat / reinstall, but I was waiting on the computer-clueless owner to tell me if she had her Wordperfect 10 CD at home. A replacement costs $90. I don't know if a Dell supplied Microsoft Word 2000 (Microsoft Works) program will install on a HP computer. I think it'll be blocked once it sees the HP BIOS.

    She was supposed to call me tonight to let me know if she found the CD and she didn't. So tomorrow I'll proceed with the reformat / reinstall.

    I made the 6 cd recovery set of CDs from the computer today, I'll try those first. Don't know how well they'll work.
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