slow bootup and missing system tray icons after malware removal

Hello,
I was referred here by a specialist at the Safer-Networking forum, who helped me to remove Antivirus XP 2010 from my laptop. I have an HP Pavillion running Windows XP. For the last several months it has taken a long time to boot up, and it seems to be taking longer since this malware infection. Also, the icons that were in the system tray (I think that's what it's called–bottom left of the window) such as the icon for my Norton 360, are missing. The link to my malware removal thread, with the steps we followed, is here :
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=55587
Thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to handle this.

Hello flagmom!

Welcome to WTT!

I had a chance to take a look at your thread over at the SpyBot forums. From the looks of your logs, I see that you have quite a few programs that are set to run at the start-up of your system. You may want to consider disabling some of these from running at start-up to see if that helps with the speed of your boot-up.

You may wish to try StartupLite. Simply download this tool to your desktop and run it. It will explain any optional auto-start programs on your system, and offer the option to stop these programs from starting at startup. This will result in fewer programs running when you boot your system, and should improve performance.

I need you to clarify something for me. You said the following: " Also, the icons that were in the system tray (I think that's what it's called–bottom left of the window) such as the icon for my Norton 360, are missing."

The system tray is usually located on the bottom right of your computer screen. The clock is next to the system tray.

Did you mean to say that icons are missing in the bottom right of your screen or did you really mean bottom left of your screen?

Best Regards,
SweetTech.

Thank you for your advice. I totally meant to say bottom RIGHT of my screen, next to the clock. Thanks!!

This may be a silly question, but I'll still ask it anyways. Is there a arrow that is pointing to the left in your System Tray? If there is one you can click on it and it should show any icons that are hidden from view.

No, there used to be an arrow with several hidden icons, but they're all gone now except for an icon for the network router.

Try the following to see if this solves your issue:

• Right-click the Taskbar
• Select Properties
• Make sure that the Hide inactive icons is checked.
• Click on Customize
• Look through the list and search for Norton 360.
• Once you've located it make sure that you click the drop down arrow and choose Always Show.
• Click OK.
• Back on the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window click on Apply then OK.

Edit: Edited post to add clarification.

Wow, that looks simple, and is probably the problem. I'm at work now, but will try that, and the Startup Lite download, when I get home tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks so much for your advice!!

I edited my last post to you to add a bit more clarification to it. I originally added images to it, but decided to remove them. Let me know how it goes! Best Regards, SweetTech

Following your instructions, I was able to get the Norton 360 icon to show up, but not volume or any of the others. Regarding StartupLite, I tried to download and run it but got an error message that says it's not a valid Win32 application.

Good Evening flagmom,

In the Customize Notifications window try the Restore Default option to see if that settings gives you access to the Volume Control + others in your System Tray.

EDIT: I'll get back to you on the Startup Lite error message you received later on tonight or tomorrow sometime.

Thanks for your quick reply. I was able to get all of my notification icons back….thanks! I'll look for more info from you about StartupLite tomorrow.

Hello flagmom,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I'm not really too sure about that error message you are receiving. I'd like for you delete the current copy of StartupLite that you have on your computer and download a fresh copy from here. Try and run it again. If your still receiving that error message please let me know and we'll look at different alternatives.

Best Regards,
SweetTech.

Well, I'm not sure what happened, but I lost most of the icons in the notification area again…..none of the suggested steps has worked to get them back, including the volume icon. I was able to download and run StartupLite. It indicated 5 or 6 items items that could be disabled. I did so; however, the computer does not boot up any faster. So, that's my progress report….not too good.

In the Customize Notifications window what does it say underneath the Volume Control icon? Does it say Always Hide?

It says "always show." I logged out and logged back in again and the icons are back. That's weird. When I first booted up the computer, they weren't there.