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Tora_Frogg · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 2:38 am Post subject: Computer Help :!:

I need a way to temporarily store all of my files so I can reset my computer.

I'm also trying to find a site. I think it's black viper, but I want someone to show me who knows for certain. It's a site that helps you remove things from your computer that are unnecessary when you get them factory, it was in PC Magazine but I can't for the life of me find it again.

Also if anyone knows which services in the background can be turned off without any negative affect to the computer, please let me know.

I think something is on my comp that AVG isn't getting.

Cookie · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 3:58 am Post subject:

Get an external hard drive.

Syrius · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:00 am Post subject:

Can you describe the symptoms a little more? Maybe you can clean it without having to wipe and restore.

I wouldn't recommend online storage. It's slow, and sometimes unreliable if it encounters a file that it doesn't recognize the extension of. Get a CD or DVD burner if possible. It's faster and you have more control over what gets backed up.

anthony · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:00 am Post subject:

Reboot and start your computer in safe mode before running a virus scan.

Also, download Hijack This!
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/hijackthis

And run it while in safe mode.

Post the output as an attachment here and we may be able to spot something.

Shadu · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:20 am Post subject:

as silly as the name sounds SuperAntiSpyware was able to clean my pc of a virus no one else was capable of cleaning so i allay recommend it.

hikaru · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:05 pm Post subject:

BitDefender, Spybot Search & Destroy, Microsoft's SysInternals autorunsc.exe, and hijack this are what I use to clean up 99.9% of machine issues.

For network backup, Amazon.com has a file store system available.

Cheers

WhiteStorm · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:55 pm Post subject:

That doesn't sound worth "resetting" for.

Make sure you don't have two antivirus programs, as they conflict sometimes. Go to run > msconfig and look in the list of programs that run on startup, if you look at the file names you should be able to work out a few that you don't need, uncheck them and apply. Download and run ccleaner and defraggler (both piriform stuff, I find they work quite well).

You may actually have a virus or a heap of random malware but I find the results of these things left unfixed can often be mistaken for one. Alternatively... your computer may just be dying. They tend to experience weird sh*t when something's about to keel over.

For the record, I only ever use AVG Free for viruses and... well... I haven't had a problem with viruses in the many years since replacing Norton with it.

WhiteStorm · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:02 pm Post subject:

By the way, defraggler seems to be a lot more thorough than the regular windows one (you ever notice how even after defrag the little image still looks half farked?) so be prepared for it to take the rest of your natural life to complete. Run it overnight or something. ccleaner will take all of a few seconds though (and run the registry fix part too).

Tora_Frogg · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject:

Asalis · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:31 pm Post subject:

Sounds like you have several registry errors happening all at once. One glitch that Microsoft seems to be rather notorious for. However they do have free registry cleaners out there. The hard part is finding the right one.

One I might suggest is the one at http://www.AMLsoft.com. It's not perfect but it gets the job done.

Tora_Frogg · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:39 pm Post subject:

Asalis · Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:51 pm Post subject:

Looks to be an all in one program, I've not used it before so I don't have any opinion on it. All I can say is that it might be worth a shot.

Tora_Frogg · Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:14 am Post subject:

On another note, while I'm doing all this, how do I check what version of DirectX I have and how do I update it? I can't seem to find it.

WhiteStorm · Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:27 am Post subject:

CCleaner does registry fixes. I've never compared it to others but I've never had any reason to.

Run > dxdiag will tell you the directx version you have. I've never tried to update it, since I only need it for games and they all come with the latest version at the time of their release.

Shadu · Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 5:32 am Post subject:

there should be a dxsetup file somewhere that should give you your directx information. to update it, try installing a relatively new game, for example Farcry2, they come with the latest directx, or you can look for the latest version online. I really prefer the game option though.