Computer Software Problem. Any Wizards?

[Craig Weis]

My Dell Desktop is upcuffing again.

SYSTEM:
MicroSoftWindows XP, Professional. Version 2002. Service Pak 3

COMPUTER:
Intel [R], Pentium [R] 4CPU 3.20 GHz, 3.20GHz, 1.00 GB of Ram, Physical Address Extention

She'll run 20 to 40 minutes after START then a message box shows up on the monitor giving a 60 second count down to shut off.
You have to in a panic save whatever your working on or loose it. Explains some of my screwy posts on a non-editing site.

It will shut off-restart-run in about 3 minutes and 15 seconds by it's self for 20 to 40 minutes and repeat. Showing the message count down again...Here is the message I photographed off the monitor.

Any Ideas Thanks Skip.

[Red Planet]

Skip,

Sounds like malware to me. I did a quick Google search and found recommendations for Hitman Pro, downloadable free. Check it out here: http://download.cnet.com/Hitman-Pro-3/3000-2239_4-10895604.html

Major CAVEAT!! I work on both Mac and WinTel POS platforms, but am mostly a Mac guy. So I'm not recommending Hitman to you. Just passing along what I got from the Google.

Larry

[Potcake boy]

Skip - if you have another machine at your disposal try Microsoft Knowledge Base and search for the DCOM Server Process Launcher.  I left the business at the time of Windows 2000 so I can't say I recognize the reference, but I would agree that it was likely some malware, or it may be your virus scan software.  Have you recently installed new virus scan software or any other software even simple downloads from the web?  You can go to the tray at the bottom right of your screen - find the virus scan (if you have one installed - shame on you if you don't) - right click it and you should be able to stop the service.  Reboot and double check that the service is still disabled and see what happens.  You know, old computers make excellent anchors!!!

Ron

[kchunk]

From the Windows User Group Network:
http://help.wugnet.com/windows/DCOM-server-process-launcher-terminated-unexpectedly-ftopict633603.html

There seem to be several ways to deal with this; here are 3:

Start -> Run -> type "services.msc" without quotations
Select "DCOM Server Process Launcher"
Right Click -> Properties
Change Startup type to Disabled
Click on Recovery Tab
Change all failures to Take No Action

OR:
When you see the timer, go to Start/Run, and type in "shutdown -a"
(without quotes) and hit enter. This should disable the timer.
Step 3 - Download HJT from http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip
and post a log file as a reply in this forum, and an expert will look
over the log file for any malware and post instructions for how to
remove it.

OR:

Disable automatic restart on system failure (on SP2): Press F8 on
restart, and see the menu item to disable auto restart. Restart,
and when the STOP message appears, record information needed for
further troubleshooting.

AFTER YOU STOP THE DCOM FROM SHUTTING DOWN/RESTARTING, RUN A COMPLETE
(NOT the QUICK option) SCAN OF YOUR COMPUTER, AND ANY EXTERNAL HARD
DRIVES ATTACHED, USING MALWARBYTES. Make sure you also have something
like Norton Symantec or McAfee, or comparable, running to block any more
intrusions. Malwarbytes is a free anti-malware software; you'll have to
download.
Hope this helps.

Get a Mac

[Salty19]

Skip-

5 tips...I've been in IT for 20 years. Been there, done that.


1.) Install "ccleaner".  Google it.  It's free.  Run it every day.  This cleans up your computer quite a bit. 
2.) Install "spybot seach and destroy".  Again google it..again it's free.  Run the scan (takes a long time) and then it will run in the background to protect again spyware inteh future.
3.) Boot up and don't open anything yet.  Go to the C:\windows folder in Windows Explorer.  Then find the prefetch folder.  Erase all files in this folder (highlight then press delete key). Reboot.  It may take a little longer on the first boot but should run better overall.
4.) Install AVG antivirus (the base version is free).  Tell it to scan every week after the first scan.  It will take a long time. And it will find things! Google AvG antivirus.
5.) Open msconfig.exe.  (click "start", then "run"..type "msconfig.exe" then press enter.  Click on the startup tab.  See all the programs? They will start when you boot up the PC.  Look for DCOM here.  Uncheck the box.  Click OK and OK to the warning. Then go to control panel, add remove programs and remove anything that says DCOM there (and anything that you don't remember installing).  If you're brave, you can uncheck other items in the list.  Write them down!  If something stops working (like your printer, a sound card or another program), Go back in and "check" what you "unchecked".  Do one at a time each day  or better yet each week when you boot up.   Say OK to the changes after boot up.  Some programs will run all the time and they don't have to (just slows your PC down).  You will find that you'll only need 2-4 items on there for everything to work well.  And you find that others do need to be there for certain things to work right (like sound, your printer,the right display format).  Just write down what you unchecked and when and recheck if something breaks. 

By the way, this is a "malware" program.  It got installed from either opening an email with the program in it, by opening a website you shouldn't have (tough to know what is good vs. bad), dumb luck or it was attached to a free program you may have installed. 
Between #1, 2 and 4 above you won't get them anymore. 

Warning about the antivirus program...they all make your PC run slower on all but the most modern systems.  If it runs slow now, I would just backup everything you want to save on another hard drive (or USB flash drive) and reformat the c drive and reinstall everything from scratch.  If you don't know how to do this, read up online before you do.  It's easy the second time, perhaps a little tricky the first.  I've had to do this more times than I care to recall...

[kchunk]

It got installed from either opening an email with the program in it, by opening a website you shouldn't have (tough to know what is good vs. bad), dumb luck or it was attached to a free program you may have installed.

Come on...we all know how it Really got installed 

[Bob23]

"Ask me no questions; I'll tell you no lies."

[Craig Weis]

My neighbor pumped more life into this computer. Had to remove one of the two hard drives out of it.
I'll have to reload my favorites and pictures saved on this 'puter machine...that will take some doing. But at least she's up and running again.
And tonight is Oscar night.

skip.

[curtisv]

Its not for everyone but installing Linux or a BSD varient such as FreeBSD is one way to make good use of some of the oldest hardware on the planet, or some of the newest.

See www.freebsd.org.  You can configure a computer as "dual boot" and try it out.  If you are using your computer for just email and web, install firefox from the ports collection and a mail client such as thunderbird or evolution.  I use nmh but most people would prefer a GUI.

FreeBSD is definitely more for people with programming experience, but with patience and a look at the handbook (online off the web page) it is not inpenatrable.  Plan to spend considerable time and its best to have someone that knows how to do this walk you through the install.

One of my computers running a recent version of FreeBSD (6.2) is 12 years old.  Another computer running FreeBSD is 15 years old, quite usable, and completely free of viruses.

Linux tends to be easier for non-programmers to install than FreeBSD.  Again, dual boot is possible so you could always go back if you miss your windows viruses.

Curtis

ps - We now return to our usual topic of sailing.

[Bob23]

Thanks, Curtis.
   I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about but it sure sounds impressive. I always enjoy listening to people who know more than I do about a certain subject and I have no problem finding such company.
   Ask me anything about air-cooled VW's or dual carb sychronization on older British cars and I might be able to help out but, as they say, when it comes to computers, I know just enough to get myself into trouble. Too bad, I'm sure it's just another branch of mechanics that I could figure out if I had the right teacher.
Bob23
(ps: I'm also an amateur expert on time travel!)

[curtisv]

OK.  Never mind.

[Potcake boy]

CurtisV
I have never been a Mac guy so I couldn't say this as a fact but I understand the new Mac OS is derived from Linux.  I'd say that would be a smart move by Apple.

Ron

[Joseph]

Great advice in many of the postings... I am also a "Mac guy" but I do use an old IBM computer for interfacing with the radio (need serial ports which in turn need PCMCIA cards, etc...). For over a decade (!!) I used a Toshiba Tecra 8000 but after many XP updates, a few months ago  it simply ran down to a crawl and I just "upgraded" to a used ThinkPad T60 (built like a tank!). Interestingly, For years I have been running the same "suite" of free software recommended by Salt19 (Ccleaner, SpyBot and the Free AVG) without ever having a glitch... So, all this to say that I heartily endorse his recommendations:

1.) Install "ccleaner".  Google it.  It's free.  Run it every day.  This cleans up your computer quite a bit. 
2.) Install "spybot seach and destroy".  Again google it..again it's free.  Run the scan (takes a long time) and then it will run in the background to protect again spyware inteh future.
3.) Boot up and don't open anything yet.  Go to the C:\windows folder in Windows Explorer.  Then find the prefetch folder.  Erase all files in this folder (highlight then press delete key). Reboot.  It may take a little longer on the first boot but should run better overall.
4.) Install AVG antivirus (the base version is free).  Tell it to scan every week after the first scan.  It will take a long time. And it will find things! Google AvG antivirus.

Great stuff!

J.

[Salty19]

Hi Joe-

No question if you are on the internet without these 3 forms of security, you're at risk.   

Recently built a new PC and it's a monster!  3.14gz Duo Core CPU overclocked to 3.7gz, 8 GB of fast ram, Gigabyte EP-GA45-UD3P motherboard (an overclocking dream of a board), HT Omega audio, Sapphire HD4890 graphics, two 1 TB server class drives running RAID 5, Antec P182 case (with 5 fans +graphics and CPU fans), ACER 23" monitor and Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.    Been building 'em since about 1998.

Nothing slows it down!  In flight simulator ten it runs 58 frames per second with all settings on max. Smooth as butta!

I've been tempted by MAC's.  Very few security concerns but I like the "access" to the file system for backups and tweakingl and I guess I've always been a windows guy except a brief stint using a Mac II years ago.

[Joseph]

Salty19...

Wooohoooo! That is some mean machine...

Since you build them I guess you won't be tempted by a Mac, However, liking Windows should not be a deterrent... I am running Windows XP in a MacBook Pro using "Parallels". Both the Mac OS and Windows run concurrently in the same machine with the Windows Desktop showing up as - as the name suggests - a "Window"... Really neat!  And so far, all my WIndows applications seem to run without a glitch. I could have disposed of the Toshiba... except for the two serial ports (which in the Toshiba and ThinkPad I get using a StarTech PCMCIA card).

J.