inetinfo.exe crashes

Recently when I've started up my machine, I get this error; inetinfo.exe is not responding followed by another error I also get the same error when playing Fifa Online 2 - which can be found at easportsfifaonline2.com This error appears randomly as well. Running on Windows XP Professional SP3 2GB RAM School Laptop Acer TravelMate 6293 Any help would be great!

Well, inetinfo.exe is related to Internet Information Services. This is a service, that for the most part, is not used on personal home computers. So, the question is, why is this service running on your computer?

Can you please download and run the HiJackThis Executable. Accept the license agreement when the program first runs. Once you see the Main Menu, click the "Open the misc tools section" button. Under "System Tools" click the "Open Uninstall Manager" button. In the Add/Remove programs window, click the "Save List" button and save the file on your desktop with a recognizable name. Please upload that file as an attachment in your next reply to this thread.

This will let us take a look at what is installed on your computer and see if we can determine why IIS would be installed.

Next, lets save a capture of your event log to see what programs may be acting up and so I can get more detail on the errors you are getting. Please click start -> run -> type eventvwr.msc and press ENTER. When the Event Viewer window opens please right-click the application log and click save log file as…Save the file as application.evt on your desktop. Do the same thing for the system log, but save the file as system.evt on your desktop. When you are finished, close the Event Viewer and look on your desktop for the two files (application.evt, and system.evt). Hold the CTRL key and click each file so that they are both selected. Then, right-click one of them and select send to -> compressed zip folder. A new file will be created on your desktop with a .zip extension (either application.zip or system.zip). Please upload that file to the forum as an attachment also.

You mentioned this is a school laptop.. Are you a tech major by any chance where you would be installing tech programs on your computer?

I have done as you have asked. Here are the files. I am not a tech major. Would it be a possibility that the IT technicians installed something?

Ok.. Can you clarify what a "school computer" is to you? Are you free to do whatever you want with this laptop.. The event logs your posted are very insightful. There are a few issues there. The first thing I see is that your Sophos anti-virus system is absolutely freaking out and appears to be associated with most of your issues. Your computer is also part of a domain. Does this computer connect and interact with your schools network? I can't recommend solutions to your problems without knowing what this computer is, how it is used, and what you are allowed to do. I feel uncomfortable about recommending changes to a system if you do not own it. If the computer is school owned have you tried working with the IT department to resolve the issues?

Yes, I use my laptop to connect to the schools network everyday. It is usually slow at start up and it is obvious the network is running programs, such as the printer client, which tells me how much print credit i have left. I am free to do whatever I wish with this laptop. I own the laptop and I have not attempted to work with the school IT department.

Ok.. My first suggestion is that you download Avast Home Edition FREE. After it is downloaded, disconnect from the internet either by unplugging the ethernet cable or disabling your wireless adapter. Go into control panel -> add/remove programs. Uninstall all Sophos anti-virus items listed and reboot the computer. When your computer restarts, please open Event Viewer again and right-click the application log and click "Clear event log." When prompted to save the current log, answer no. Do the same for the system log. Close event viewer when both the application log and the system log have been cleared. Now, run the Avast installation file you downloaded previously. When the Avast installation prompts if it should scan your computer during the next restart… Please answer Yes. After the installation is finished it will request that you restart your computer. Please do so. During the restart your computer will be scanned for viruses. Please delete when prompted for anything found but make a note of it and post back here with that information. I ask that you do this because your anti-virus software may be acting up because you actually are infected with something. If Avast is finding infections then you will have to be redirected to the malware removal forum for your system to be cleaned up properly.

Following these instructions will remove your current anti-virus product that seems to be having several issues, and install a highly recommended free alternative.

Please use your computer for a while and see if you still have the errors you were talking about.

After you use your computer for a while, please get two new event logs (application and system) from event viewer, zip them up, and upload them here for me again.

I followed your instructions but I had a few mishaps. After I uninstalled Sophos and restarted, during startup a command box popped up and said "Sophos not installed". It then went on to reinstall Sophos. I don't think inetinfo.exe has anything to do with it because it still pops up. This was done at school, which means the network installed Sophos. I have not attempted to install Avast because of these errors.

Actually, your event logs do appear to show that Sophos is the one complaining about inetinfo.

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Sophos Anti-Virus
Event Category: (12)
Event ID: 1
Date: 6/4/2009
Time: 5:18:50 AM
User: NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE
Computer: 12LINNZ
Description:
The description for Event ID ( 1 ) in Source ( Sophos Anti-Virus ) cannot be found. The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and Support for details. The following information is part of the event: c:\WINDOWS\inetinfo.exe, HIPS/RegMod-002, 0, S-1-5-21-1950117699-1512979221-1427260136-25407.

As long as your computer is on the school's domain, and basically "under the control of" the technical staff there, there may be trouble getting the necessary things done to fix your computer.

I did more research on the above error though, and found that this event is actually Sophos complaining that inetinfo.exe is trying to add itself to the startup registry keys on your computer to start when the computer turns on. http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/su…sregmod002.html. I researched the inetinfo.exe file and its locations a little bit more. This has a definite possibility of being malware related. Its looking more like you are infected with a trojan or worm. At this point I'm going to have to ask you to read HERE and post a new thread HERE in order to receive assistance in cleaning any malware off your computer.

I apologize that I did not catch this sooner. I mistook the event log warning that sophos was generating to be a problem with sophos, but instead it was a warning that a file may be trying to do malicious activity. That file is inetinfo.exe.

I just did a quick scan of my computer with Sophos and it came up with inetinfo.exe and winlogon.exe infected with Mal/Packer. This is now a malware problem, so I have posted it as you have suggested. Thanks for all of your help!