Installing Spybot ( other programs without internet access? )

[Kryptonite]

i'm up to this point:

Clear your System Restore of infected Restore points.

Before i do this i want to know if this will in anyway effect my bypassing the previous owners passwords and set myself as the administrator?

Then there is the matter of all the game programs that they have on here that i do not want. Should i delete them before i defrag? And you did not mention scan disk and disk clean. Are they worth doing?

[evilfantasy]

Thanks for the kind words, it makes it all worth while!

I have only been a member here for a short amount of time and I think Matt from CA, has been around for quite a while. The owner is Nathan (screen name Computer Hope Admin ) http://www.computerhope.com/navhelp.htm#1

[Kryptonite]

It is all worth it; i speak from any and all of those times that i can help others whether it's with computer stuff
( yes, there are many things that even i know that others do not, so i do what i can ) or other things from car stuff to art stuff, to building stuff. Money is GREAT but there are things in life that are difficult to put a price on.

Anyway, you might have missed my question since i didn't put it in quotes.

IN your last post instructing me what to do i got to this point:

"Clear your System Restore of infected Restore points."

At that point i stopped because i wondered if those restore points might somehow be related to the original owners of the HP and if there was a chance that i would somehow lose my administrative set point?

Then i asked you about removing the games that these people have on it. i looked for an "uninstall" on some of the games and there is not.

Then there is that question about deleting folders from the root directory when using windows explorer. Somewhere in my memory that goes back to windows 3.1 and Win 95 ( i still have one of my first computers running windows 95 that has never crashed since my Dad gave it to me.

Can those games be deleted directly from that root directory?

[evilfantasy]

Clearing the Restore Points will be fine. The oldest ones eventually are deleted when newer ones are created.

If a game has no uninstaller to be found then deleting the program folder will work. Then run CCleaners Registry cleaner to get rid of what Registry keys are left over.

[Kryptonite]

Thanks. Will complete the rest of the process you laid out a couple of days ago and see how things are then.

In the meantime this laptop has become so slow that i literally put it on and go into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and wash a few dishes only to find that Zone Alarm is still loading.

Since i do not think that this computer has a virus where should i post the results of a hyjack this? Is that the first report you want me to post?

[evilfantasy]

Uninstall Zone Alarm and see if it speeds up.

[Kryptonite]

----------

Use the Secunia Software Inspector to check for out of date software.

• Click Start Now
  
• Check the box next to Enable thorough system inspection.
  
• Click Start
  
• Allow the scan to finish and scroll down to see if any updates are needed.
• Update anything listed.

.
----------

Secunia reports 4 of the same updates for macromedia flash player vs: 6.0.80.0

The only thing different about all of these notifications is the folder where the program resides. The there is a single version for vs: 7.0.19.0 that also resides in one of the same folders that calls for a 6 update.
In the main list of programs that Secunia recommends 3  installations of vs 9 in:
Installed on Your System in:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash\Flash9c.ocx
and
Installed on Your System in:
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugins\NPSWF32.dll
and
Installed on Your System in:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash\NPSWF32.dll

Is this one place where duplication is not needed and in fact presents a conflict of sorts that may manifest in the screen blinking?

So far i am not updating anything until i hear back from you...haven't installed any of the MS updates that they claim to be a security fix. Thought i would wait until there is nothing left to do except update.

BTW one of the folders that i want to delete is one the previous owners had for "Canada" dealings....don't want nor need anything in that(those) folders.

[evilfantasy]

The MS updates are important and should be done ASAP.

Do this to remove all unstable older versions of Flash.

Download the Flash Player Uninstaller and save it to your desktop.

Run the uninstaller program and then reboot your computer to complete the uninstall.

Download and install the latest version of Flash Player

[Kryptonite]

i'm on the laptop now and about ready to post in a new thread the hijack this there...guess it should be here in the malware thread.

Will uninstall the flash in the AM

On that HP that we've been working on i looked for driver updates for the ATI Radeon xpress 200 series on the ATI page and can't seem to find one. However if i do a google search there seems to be any number of pages with programs that will analyze what drivers i need. Is this another ploy to use a program that i really don't want on my now clean computer?

And then there is this ditty that i just found out: the computer was so dusty and dirty that i took it apart to clean it including taking out the fans ( 3 ) and cleaning them with caned air mostly and a fine sable hair brush. One of the fans came off of the processor. It wasn't difficult but i noticed this grey stuff on the fan and on the processor. Been told that i should use a heat conductor to help carry the heat away from the processor. The room is cool and the computer hasn't been on that long at a time. What should i use to bind the fan to the processor and where do i find it?

[stevejohnson1958]

Far be it from me to throw a wrench into the works here guys...

But can someone please explain to me why the manufacturer wasn't contacted in a situation...such as this...in order to obtain recovery software...(at a reasonable price I might add)...and then use the recovery software to recover this PC?

While the work performed by EF and Kryptonite is noteworthy...one has to realize that enough may be enough...and instead of trying to clean this PC up...one would be better off with a clean install.

Granted...I admire EF's "sticktoitiveness"...however, look at the time spent...and then look at the cost of recovery software and a clean install...

Is it just me...or could this have been racked up as an instance of "buyer beware"?

Not that I'm a party pooper here, but if you got this used...your best bet would have been a clean install...with less to do...than trying to remove all the malware.

Then again...maybe it's just me...

EF...you have the patience of a saint!  Kryptonite...and so do you.

All my best and I hope you get this thing working the way you want it...

[Kryptonite]

Hey Savior,

To be honest with you i didn't think that i could get ANYTHING from HP after the warranty expired and now that it is in a second owners hands.

Perhaps it is patience that EF and i are exercising doing this long process of "recovery" and in another post way back in the thread somewhere i mentioned to him that his willingness to stick this out with me rubs off in making me want to help others wherever i can. If i have anything worthwhile to say to someone in need here i would jump in in a heartbeat. That said, most of the real serious computer people on this board are so much more advanced than i am that i hesitate each time i think i may know the answer to someones problem. But may i add that with this thread and with many of the ones that i read here i know that i'm learning things i didn't know before or in some cases forgot.
One more thing about contacting HP; talk about patience!!! i'd rather live with many of the things that go wrong with an HP/Compaq computer than to call them and have to put up with all the crap that comes from outsourcing tech support. In the last several years the only other company that i've dealt with is Dell. That experience was a pleasant surprise with an Indian man calling me back every so often giving me enough time to perform whatever task or operation he told me to do. When he was done i asked to speak with his supervisor and gave the man kudos for a job well done. How rare is that??
But here on computerhope we have EF who i see helps many people and always takes the time to explain every move. That's a quality we all can use more of and practice a little more as well.

Thanks for the thought and comments. Maybe now that this beast is working well i could write to HP and ask for the recovery CD or DVD.
Isn't my "D" drive in essence a recovery ( ? not sure what to call it; a disc? ) And if it is, couldn't i make a copy of it to CD or DVD just incase the hard drive dies? Is making an image of it ie Ghost or Acronus also called " a copy ".

[stevejohnson1958]

Kryptonite...

I applaud anyone's efforts to help a fellow computer user in need.  I just would've went about it in a different way.  However...now that the computer is running the way it should...there's no need.

Making a ghost image of the drive is your best bet...however, you may also want to look into the cost of the recovery software...just in case there's something askew on the drive or within the recovery partition.

BTW...jump in whenever you want to add your 2 cents worth...I do.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

BTW...jump in whenever you want to add your 2 cents worth...I do.

And you do it well, my friend. 

[evilfantasy]

On that HP that we've been working on i looked for driver updates for the ATI Radeon xpress 200 series on the ATI page and can't seem to find one.

If you can't find it from the manufacturers page then it probably isn't needed.

Been told that i should use a heat conductor to help carry the heat away from the processor. The room is cool and the computer hasn't been on that long at a time. What should i use to bind the fan to the processor and where do i find it?

Ask this in the Hardware forum. I'm not the one

[Kryptonite]

Posted about the video card over in hardware and CD suggested that i wait until we were done with the maleware stuff. i told him i thought that we were done and that i've been downloading the MS updates...haven't done SP3 yet however.