MS DOS Flashing up at 5 minute Intervals

[abluewhale07]

A DOS window is flashing up at 5 minute intervals and disappears before I can read it. This started just today and whilst it doesn't seem hazardou s to my computer it's incredibly annoying.

Yesterday my wireless adapter stopped working and I couldn't find/see any networks where I knew there were (my housemates could connect to the wireless). I had to go to some lengths to fix it and I'm assuming this has something to do with my new problem.

I did several things which I read from this discussion thread -

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/itprovistanetworking/thread/6d4a8783-04f7-435d-9648-f7668cd67158

I followed the advice given and hacked into the registry via:

"YOU DON'T have to reinstall the OS !!!

The solution:

1. regedit
2. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE]\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\ndisuio
3. Change Start to "0x000000002 (2)"
4. Restart

That's it!"

however this didn't work, so I flipped it back and tried the next suggested thing:

"i looked up the services module (startbutton, then type services) to see what services i had running and what not, and i found one that looked relevant called:  'WLAN AutoConfig' i opened this up and went to the tab called dependencies, there you have a list of other services (gearshaped icons) that you need to have running in order for thos one to run, so i went thru them one by one and changed them to automatic then started them up, som of them in turn needed others to be started so i did that also and finally i could turn WLAN AutoConfig on and after that i was smooth sailing."

changing dependencies such as Extensible Authentication Protocol, CNG Key Isolation, Remote Procedure Call & WireLAN AutoConfig and changed them all to automatic in the services directory.

This still didn't help so I tried the next thing. Opening up a DOS window and typing in 'sfc /scannow'
this, or the vista updates I downloaded, fixed my wireless problem. Only now I have a DOS screen flashing up and disappearing before I can read it. I'm not sure what to do, I've looked at the automations I turned on in services yesterday and none of them are turned to restarting every five minutes. In fact most of them cease to restart after a second attempt.

So... anyone know the solution?

[BillRichardson]

System Restore to a day before problem:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe
or
start,All Programs,Accessories,System Tools and click System Restore

C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore>dir
 Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is F4A3-D6B3

 Directory of C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore

01/19/2010  12:04 PM    <DIR>          .
01/19/2010  12:04 PM    <DIR>          ..
01/19/2010  12:04 PM                78 MachineGuid.txt
01/19/2010  08:42 AM           446,808 rstrlog.dat
04/14/2008  06:00 AM           380,416 rstrui.exe
04/14/2008  06:00 AM            47,104 srdiag.exe
04/14/2008  06:00 AM               984 srframe.mmf
               5 File(s)        875,390 bytes
               2 Dir(s)  303,390,216,192 bytes free

C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore>rstrui.exe

C:\>C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe

[abluewhale07]

I ran a system restore to the checkpoint made yesterday by the vista updates.

Unfortunately this failed and so I re-ran it. This also failed.

[BillRichardson]

sfc=System File Checker
( Might be asked to insert  Install  OS CD? Most files already on the HDD )

C:\>sfc /?

Microsoft(R) Windows XP Windows File Checker Version 5.1

"Scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions."

SFC [/SCANNOW]


/SCANNOW        Scans all protected system files immediately.
C:\>sfc /scannow

[abluewhale07]

have done as you said and run the 'sfc /scannow' command to completion, but this hasn't worked either...

[BillRichardson]

have done as you said and run the 'sfc /scannow' command to completion, but this hasn't worked either...

You might have malware.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware  mbam.exe is the most effective free clean up of malware on the internet.

Download from the following site:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

[abluewhale07]

hmm i have norton internet security on and uptodate so i'm unsure if it's malware. I will download and run the program you suggested tho, just in case

[BillRichardson]

You might have invalid entries in your registry.

Microsoft  has a site that cleans the registry automatically. No need to manually edit the registry.


MicroSoft  registry cleanup  at following site:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/cleanup.htm

( I have used the above site for years with good results. )

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-my/default.htm?mkt=en-my

[abluewhale07]

haha i had 294 invalid registry keys after running that scan. 15 weren't fixable though and the problem persists. When it popped up again though the DOS window didn't disappear straight away and I was able read the following

the window itself was empty but in the bar on top it read

'C:\PROGRA~1\PDFCOM~1\pdfupd.exe'

not sure, but could be useful

[BillRichardson]

'C:\PROGRA~1\PDFCOM~1\pdfupd.exe'

pdfupd.exe is a Trojan.

google [ pdfupd.exe ]

If none of the scans I suggested helped,  Computer Hope has a board that
uses a special "Hijackthis"  scan and log to remove Trojans.

You should list your problem with the other Board.

Good Luck.

[abluewhale07]

Thankyou very very much

I'll run all scans again just to double check they're not working

Thankyou again!