XP unstable, what to do?

Question

My Dell is only two years old, yet it acts as if it's possessed!! I have to defrag every other day. I'm so tired of crashes and freeze ups. I cannot system restore, because I don't have a restore point back far enough to when the computer was running well. Other than a new computer, what choices do I have? surely something can be done to get this thing working smoothly again. I have AVG anti-virus, and Regcure. There seems to be a spyware I simply cannot get rid of. Regcure keeps telling me it can't delete it. AAAUUGHHHHHH HELP PLEASE !!! No money for a new puter here.

Answer 1

Try a online antivirus scanner and a online anti-adware/malware/spyware scanner in safe mode with network to clean up your computer BEFORE you download anything.
To format you computer and reinstall is the last option.

Turn off system restore before you boot up in safe mode with network to clean your system restore points for viruses, spyware, adware etc.

To get in safe mode tap F8 when booting you computer.
Choose "Safe mode with network".
Go to Start – Run - type iexplore http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html Enter(ok).
Do a full system scan. If something is found, delete it, reboot and do the same again in safe mode with network.
When that scan does not find anything you reboot again in safe mode with network.
Go to Start – Run – type iexplore http://www.ewido.net/en/ Enter(ok).
Do a full system scan. If something is found, delete it, reboot and do the same again in safe mode with network.

**NOTE: Do NOT do anything else with your computer when scanning. This because you can start virus/adware/spyware/malware manually.

When no one of these scanners are showing anything you can reboot back to normal mode.
Turn on system restore.
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You need to get one antivirus program, one firewall and some spyware/adware/malware removers if you don't have it.
I use Norton Internet Security (antivirus, spyware, firewall, add blocker, mail spamfilter, pop up blocker etc) Ad Aware, Spybot and more on my desktop running XP Home SP2 with Firefox and Yahoo Toolbar with pop up blocker.
On my laptop i have Ubuntu 7.04. No security needed in Linux, but i use antivirus and firewall.
I have no virus, spyware, adware, pop up etc on my computers.

Here are some free programs.
BitDefender Anti-Virus Free.
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html
Avast Anti-Virus Free.
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
AVG Anti-Virus Free.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5
Avast Virus Cleaner - free virus removal tool.
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Firewall Protection.
ZoneAlarm Firewall Free.
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=34std&ctry=&lang=nb&lid=trial_zaFamily
Easy-to-use firewall blocks hackers and other unknown threats.
* Systematically identifies hackers and blocks access attempts.
Automatically makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.
Use ZoneAlarm if you normally use Windows Firewall.
Disable Windows Firewall after downloading ZoneAlarm if it's not done automatically.

Ad-Aware 2007 Free.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
Ad-Aware 2007 Free remains the most popular anti-spyware product for computer users around the world, with nearly one million downloads every week. Our free anti-spyware version provides you with advanced protection against spyware that secretly attaches and takes control of your computer, resulting in aggressive advertising pop-ups, sluggish computer activity, even identity theft through stolen bank details, passwords, and credit card account numbers. If you want real-time scanning capabilities, consider upgrading to Ad-Aware 2007 Plus for real-time protection against spyware, all the time.

SUPERAntiSpyware Free.
http://www.superantispyware.com/

AVG Anti-spyware Free.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5

Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html

AVG Anti-Rootkit Free.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/39798/lng/us/tpl/v5
AVG Anti-Rootkit is a powerful tool with state-of-the-art technology for detection and removal of rootkits. rootkits are used to hide the presence of a malicious object like Trojans or keyloggers on your computer. If a threat uses rootkit technology to hide itself it is very hard to find the malware on your PC. AVG Anti-Rootkit gives you the power to find and delete the rootkit and to uncover the threat the rootkit is hiding.

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast and contains NO spyware or adware.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

ClearAllHistory - clears browser history, cache, cookies, clipboard and remove other computer activity tracks.
http://www.clearallhistory.com/delete-passwords.html

**NOTE: Only have one antivirus program and one firewall installed on your computer.
Anti-adware/malware/spyware are ok to have more of.

Also scan with online scanners sometimes.
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/home.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym&plfid=00&pkj=VOONYHGBYNCJEIMXQKC&bhcp=1
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html
http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml

Also run Windows Updata http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
and defragmet you harddisk(s).
How To Analyze and Defragment a Disk in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305781

Hope this was helpful.
Good luck.
JTB.

Answer 2

Don't run programs that you don't need, they tend to mess things up.

How much can you remove from the add and remove menu?

I only run two programs with all my windows computers.

1. AGV Free Edition
2. Spybot Search and Destroy ( then new version has been improved a great deal.
3. The standard Windows Firewall.

It sound like you need to reload the operating system and begin with a fresh system. If you do, don't forget to save the drivers for the computer.

Answer 3

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