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New Member - Win98 System Probs

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Post #1
hello pc tecchies..

im a win98 luddite..and i recently upgraded my graphix card from a hercules 9000xt prophet to a ATI radeon 9250..

At first all was well but in the last week or so,my system has been crashing very frequently..

Internet explorer is the biggest culprit..although ive been experiencing msn messenger /pc crash probs for a couple of months..

also playing some games seems to cause various applications to fail with a variety of .dlls..and ddhelp comes up a few times..i gather this is direct draw and i upgraded directX..my graph drivers are the latest too..

im trying to give a description of all problems here..I cannot defrag my hard drive..the prog just hangs..

Grisoft AVG crashes the pc as it is scanning Shell..three times now..and in roughly the same place in its scan ..sometimes it simply reboots my pc..sometimes its a bluScreen of death-usually reporting vxd errors..

search and destroy only picks up the dso exploit..i have recently tried the sygate fire wall.. but that started crashing too..i just noticed in the hyjackthis log that its listed..but theres no icon for it any where..so thats not kicking in,

Im approaching the point where I would say "oh to heck with it " and reformat..
but i want to kno what the heck is happening…ive spent the best part of the weekend so far filling my head with info and possible solutions on O/S probs and Im stumped..I am a humble games player and im out of my depth!

Ive installed the firefox browser in the last hour just to see if that makes any difference in the browser crashing results..errm…

thats it..

AMD 850 duron
k7s5a motherboard
512 meg ram
win98
ati radeon 9250 256 meg ram
bios recently updated..
drivers current to my knowdlege

many thanks in advance for any knowledge offered

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.0
Scan saved at 22:09:09, on 15/01/05
Platform: Windows 98 Gold (Win9x 4.10.1998)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mmtask.tsk
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSTASK.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ATI2EVXX.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAY.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\AHEAD\INCD\INCD.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT HARDWARE\GAME CONTROLLERS\COMMON\SWTRAYV4.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TASKMON.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\GRISOFT\AVG FREE\AVGCC.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\GRISOFT\AVG FREE\AVGEMC.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\GRISOFT\AVG FREE\AVGAMSVR.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ATI TECHNOLOGIES\ATI CONTROL PANEL\ATIPTAXX.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\SYGATE\SPF\SMC.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDHELP.EXE
C:\HTJ\HIJACKTHIS.EXE

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://www.freeserve.com/iesearch/default.htm
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Window Title = Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by Freeserve
O1 - Hosts: **note**LONG LIST OF "01 - Hosts" ENTRIES :A LIST OF MY BOOKMARKED WEBSITES

O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHELPER.DLL
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSDXM.OCX
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ScanRegistry] C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [InCD] C:\Program Files\Ahead\InCD\InCD.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SideWinderTrayV4] C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~1\GAMECO~1\COMMON\SWTRAYV4.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TaskMonitor] C:\WINDOWS\taskmon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [OWCCardbusTray] ocbtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\QTTASK.EXE" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] C:\PROGRA~1\GRISOFT\AVGFRE~1\AVGCC.EXE /STARTUP
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_EMC] C:\PROGRA~1\GRISOFT\AVGFRE~1\AVGEMC.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_AMSVR] C:\PROGRA~1\GRISOFT\AVGFRE~1\AVGAMSVR.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ATIPTA] C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SmcService] C:\PROGRA~1\SYGATE\SPF\SMC.EXE -startgui
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [SchedulingAgent] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mstask.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [ATIPOLL] ati2evxx.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [ATISmart] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ati2s9ag.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [SmcService] C:\PROGRAM FILES\SYGATE\SPF\SMC.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [NBJ] "C:\PROGRAM FILES\AHEAD\NERO BACKITUP\NBJ.EXE"
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Yahoo! Search - file:///C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Common/ycsrch.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Yahoo! &Dictionary - file:///C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Common/ycdict.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Yahoo! &Maps - file:///C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Common/ycdict.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Google Search - res://C:\PROGRAM FILES\GOOGLE\GOOGLETOOLBAR2.DLL/cmsearch.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Cached Snapshot of Page - res://C:\PROGRAM FILES\GOOGLE\GOOGLETOOLBAR2.DLL/cmcache.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Similar Pages - res://C:\PROGRAM FILES\GOOGLE\GOOGLETOOLBAR2.DLL/cmsimilar.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Backward Links - res://C:\PROGRAM FILES\GOOGLE\GOOGLETOOLBAR2.DLL/cmbacklinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate into English - res://C:\PROGRAM FILES\GOOGLE\GOOGLETOOLBAR2.DLL/cmtrans.html
O9 - Extra button: Related - {c95fe080-8f5d-11d2-a20b-00aa003c157a} - C:\WINDOWS\web\related.htm
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Show &Related Links - {c95fe080-8f5d-11d2-a20b-00aa003c157a} - C:\WINDOWS\web\related.htm
O16 - DPF: {B9191F79-5613-4C76-AA2A-398534BB8999} (YAddBook Class) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yahoo.com/…utocomplete.cab
O16 - DPF: {0E5F0222-96B9-11D3-8997-00104BD12D94} (PCPitstop Utility) - http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/PCPitStop.CAB
O16 - DPF: {F04A8AE2-A59D-11D2-8792-00C04F8EF29D} (Hotmail Attachments Control) - http://by13fd.bay13.hotmail.msn.com/activex/HMAtchmt.ocx
O16 - DPF: {BAC01377-73DD-4796-854D-2A8997E3D68A} (Yahoo! Photos Easy Upload Tool Class) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yahoo.com/…ropper1_3us.cab
O16 - DPF: {917623D1-D8E5-11D2-BE8B-00104B06BDE3} (CamImage Class) - http://floridakeysmedia.tv/axiscam/Codebas…sCamControl.ocx
O16 - DPF: {B8BE5E93-A60C-4D26-A2DC-220313175592} (ZoneIntro Class) - http://zone.msn.com/binFramework/v10/ZIntro.cab32846.cab
O16 - DPF: {74D05D43-3236-11D4-BDCD-00C04F9A3B61} (HouseCall Control) - http://a840.g.akamai.net/7/840/537/2004061…all/xscan53.cab
O16 - DPF: {62475759-9E84-458E-A1AB-5D2C442ADFDE} - http://a1540.g.akamai.net/7/1540/52/200411…meInstaller.exe
O16 - DPF: {B38870E4-7ECB-40DA-8C6A-595F0A5519FF} (MsnMessengerSetupDownloadControl Class) - http://messenger.msn.com/download/MsnMesse…pDownloader.cab
O16 - DPF: {4F1E5B1A-2A80-42CA-8532-2D05CB959537} (MSN Photo Upload Tool) - http://by102fd.bay102.hotmail.msn.com/resources/MsnPUpld.cab
O16 - DPF: {8E0D4DE5-3180-4024-A327-4DFAD1796A8D} (MessengerStatsClient Class) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/binary/Messe…nt.cab31267.cab
O16 - DPF: {DF780F87-FF2B-4DF8-92D0-73DB16A1543A} (PopCapLoader Object) - http://zone.msn.com/bingame/isan/default/popcaploader_v6.cab
O16 - DPF: {64D01C7F-810D-446E-A07E-16C764235644} (AtlAtomadersCtlAttrib Class) - http://zone.msn.com/bingame/amad/default/atomaders.cab
O16 - DPF: {05317530-B882-449D-9421-18D94FA3ED34} (OSInfo Control) - http://www.sis.com/support/ocis/OSInfo.cab
O16 - DPF: {BA549C46-AD38-11D7-A476-00D0590EC9DE} (SiS_OCX98 Control) - http://www.sis.com/support/ocis/SiSAutodetect98.cab
O16 - DPF: {D54160C3-DB7B-4534-9B65-190EE4A9C7F7} (SproutLauncherCtrl Class) - http://zone.msn.com/bingame/feed/default/SproutLauncher.cab
O16 - DPF: {E5D419D6-A846-4514-9FAD-97E826C84822} (HeartbeatCtl Class) - http://fdl.msn.com/zone/datafiles/heartbeat.cab


..on a final note..the problems seem to have got worse since a player in a flight sim i play changed the scenery mid flight..to scenery i didnt have..somehow he got my pc to accept his files..which for the game is off by default..in that incident i got a blu screen but it recovered back to the game..exept i was flying above this fellas custom scenery..im not saying that is the cause of my problems..but i had not seen a bluscreen for months until then..

I was updating and running avg every day but i dont trust it now it crashes on the scan..
spybot is run atleast once a day

please tell me this is down to a really simple basic cock up on my part..cos im trembling at the thought of fiddling with the registry..
Post #2
hello Micro$loth, nothing in your log really shows any "malware" problems. you are running w98. have you ever reformatted or reinstalled windows before? over time windows can get "gunked up" a reinstall/reformatt could improve things very much. a rule for drivers i use is- if its working ok, dont update drivers.
Post #3
hmm… well ive been browsing the web using firefox for the past few hours..no crashes like IE.. but a game i play has crashed twice.. I have reformatted and reinstalled windows before..but its usually as a last resort..Im thinking that a reformat is the chickens way out!!!..I was hoping to track down the problem..cos i still dont kno what is the trouble…what if its the same after a reboot.. P.Cs man…lovem and hatem..
Post #5
ok..thanks for your time and help shelfy..could you recommend a simila r forum where i cud cut n paste my post?..since i last visited, my joystick has stopped responding correctly now..and it wont go through the force feedback tests.. maan..im not getting anywhere with pcs…im hitting problems and it seems the only solution is to reformat…im getting totally sick of doing it…I feel i cant really keep anything permanent on this machine because of niggling problems like this..whats the point if im having to reformat every couple of months..
Post #6
you shouldnt have to reformatt every couple months. your log looks clean. i would be looking for hardware/software/driver issues with all the crashing, bluescreens,vxd errors. you can post hjt logs in any of these: # CastleCops # Wilders Security Forum # TomCoyote Forums # Bleeping Computer Forums # PC PitStop # Tech Support Guy # Iam Not a Geek # Net-Integration Forums # SWI Forums
Post #7
thanks again shelf life..Ive upgraded to xp..and i think my problems were down to a stick of ram that might be faulty..(according to a techie friend)..offending ram was removed which allowed the hard drive to be formatted by xp installation..(when ram was installed..i was getting fault reports) So perhaps this thread can be moved to your "solved"section..not exactly solved..but now irrelevant..
Post #8
glad to see you got it under control. i got a dead stick of ram once, computer wouldnt even recognize it. when it arrives only in bubble wrap–not a good sign.

for your reference:

Please follow a few tips to remain malware free:

1) Make sure you keep your Windows OS current by visiting Windows update occasionaly to download and install any critical updates and service packs. With out these you are leaving the backdoor open.
http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

Also download, install and keep updated- Antivirus Software (and use only one):
Free for home users:
http://www.avast.com/eng/free_virus_protectio.html
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ AVG free version v6.0 updates end 12/31/04>>>get new (still free) version 7.0
http://www.free-av.com/

2) Watch what you download, and where you download it from. Many programs come bundled with "extra" crapware you may not want. Make sure you know what it is you will be downloading and installing. Visit the makers website, learn more about the program, Does the program you want come bundled with other "3rd party" programs? What do the 3rd party programs do? Will they deliver ads? Track your surfing habits?.You may be installing more than you think, Read the EULA agreement, you know that paragraph of stuff you "agree to" before the software installs? Stay away from warez and crack sites. Becarful what you download from file sharing networks.If you are not sure, scan it with your Antivirus app. A small file (in KB) is probably not what you think it is. Some p2p clients also install 3rd party stuff you probably dont want.

3)Adjust your browser settings: Change your(active x) settings in IE. With IE open go to tools, internet options, security tab. Click on the internet globe, then custom level. Set the first option "download signed active x controls" to prompt, the next two to disable. Read more: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/btw/ie/ie-opts.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/using/…y/settings.mspx
Many exploits are directed at Internet Explorer, you dont have to use it. Try a different browser: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

4)Install a firewall. A firewall will control what comes in from the internet and what leaves your computer to the internet. A firewall will also alert you when a application trys to connect to the internet from your computer, this is a good way to catch crapware or trojans, trying to connect out bound from your computer- whats that and why does it need a internet connection? You can deny it access it until more investigation is done. Zone Alarm is a free and easy to use firewall, that will provide in and outbound protection. Microsoft XP firewall only provides inbound protection. SP2 adds in and out bound protection which is better than nothing, but is not as robust as third party firewalls, Be sure to run only >one< firewall.If you use another, be sure to disable XP's built in firewall.A inexpensive NAT hardware router with SPI (firewall)would be even better,along with a software firewall.
Zone Alarm: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp
Kerio Personal Firewall: http://www.kerio.com/us/kpf_home.html
Outpost Firewall: http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/

5)Download, install and update before using:(if these are constantly finding malware, then you need to make some changes)
Ad-Aware SE Personal edition: http://www.lavasoft.de/
Spybot Search and destroy: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Becarful with spyware "removers and scanners"– there are many "rogue/suspect" programs that "claim to remove" spyware.


6)Other programs to consider:
SpywareBlaster: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/ind…showtutorial=49
IE-SPYAD: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm#IESPYAD
AntiTrojan software to fill in the gap:
a2 free: http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/
Ewido Security Suite: http://www.ewido.net/en/
Trojan Hunter (30 day trial version) http://www.misec.net/

7) Learn More:
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/8463#Tighten%20IE
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/
http://www.wilders.org/index.htm

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Post #9
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To help keep you clean follow the recommendations in Tony's article here:
So how did I get infected in the first place?

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