My computer is all sorts of crazy

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I have been having problems with my computer freezing, cursor jumping all over so I can't even write a decent email. Sometimes it will not boot up and it shows a black screen only. I think it's severely infected.

Sony Vaio VGN NR123E laptop
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core processor T2310 (1.46GHz)
160GB hard drive
Windows Vista home premium
1 Gig DDR2

I've had the computer almost 2 years.

I'd appreciate any help!
 

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This will take a while... somewhere between two and four hours...
Sony laptops are infamouse for weird problems after they age abit.
Is the problem recent?
I would first consider security issues. I would go to the Help section of Symantec and write down all the membership and code numbers so you can reinstall IF YOU WANT TO.
Then either follow the 8 steps listed elsewhere on the TechSport forum, or
Download and install Avira or Avast. These are both excellent Antivirus programs that have free versions.
Download and install MalwareBytes
Download and install SuperAntiSpyware.
Download HiJackThis from TrendMicro
Using Internet Explorer, go to the Microsoft site and download Windows Defender if you have not already done son.
Next, install all these programs and be sure to check for their latest updates.
Next, run scanns with each of the programs...
They will tell you if you have infestations. Remove or quarantine all infestations.
If there are a lot of infestations, immediately re-run these programs in <SAFE MODE>

Then reboot, and run HiJackThis and post the results here.
 
Thank you for your response. I've followed all 8 steps and attached the logs.

I'm having problems attaching the superspyware log, but there were no threats. I've noticed this dberr.txt log with a lot of errors on it. Does that help identify any problems with my laptop?

Thanks! I've been having problems since about December.
 
Do you know if your memory is in one module of 1 GB, or two modules of 512 MB?
How would your budget react to $34 + shipping for two 1GB modules at
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=VAIO VGN-NR120 Series

You computer looks clean enough... but your memory is limited. You need two 1 GB modules of DDR2 PC2-5300 and the address above has a kit of two identical modules.
That may not be the entire fix, but VISTA is a memory hog, and you are using all of what you have.
What I recommend is that you use the Symantec removal tool to remove your Norton software, then reboot and download Avira or Avast antivirus... free for now... and continue to use SuperAntiSpyware free version as well as MalwareBytes free version.
But you may have other problems that we cannot see from here until you have more memory...
Then run a defragmentation,
then run a new scan, one at a time with SuperAntiSpyware, MalwareBytes, then either Avira Antivir or Avast, and Windows Defender.
I think your problem is elsewhere, but we have to weed out the obvious problems first.

In your next post, later tonight or tomorrow, describe in more detail the problems you have been facing, when did they start, with as much descriptive info as possible... but it would be good if we could await your getting the maximum memory... which you can install yourself if you have a small Philips screwdriver...
After two years of use, on 1 GB or memory, it could be anything...
You might want to buy a can of Dust-Off for about $5.00 to $7.00, and clean out the air channel to the fan to get the temperature down as much as possible.
Sony's have a tendency to work great when they are working well, then when thngs slip, the seem to magnify the problems.
With a defragged drive, more memory, better cooling, we should get a better handle on this nice computer.
 
Hi Clayslady :wave:

IMHO I believe your best first step is to take the logs you created (as the output after following the 8 steps) and post them specifically in our Antivirus/Malware forum where one of the A/V - malware experts can give you specific feedback and declare you malware free.

Then can follow up with any still remaining issues
 
You HijackThis log does not look 'normal' and the dberr.txt is a report generated for a failed patch. Did you recently attempt a Windows Update that didn't not complete?

Your problem may be mechanical- I can't tell from the logs. Mbam is clean, you said SAS is clean, but HJ is not normal. I don't think the system is "severely infected" but if you only have 1 GB of RAM, you do have a severe memory problem.

You have this running in the background: Why is that?
C:\Users\owner\Downloads\RSIT.exe>> random's system information tool (RSIT

You have this running: Is the flash drive connected and being used?
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UMonit] C:\Windows\system32\UMonit.exeDescription: Alerts when USB device is plugged in.

How about giving a more accurate description of the problem you're having first. Then we can decide how to find the cause and look for the resolution.

I would ask if you have intentionally disabled any Services?. You have only 1 running and that is definitely not normal!
 
If i may expand on a couple things Bobbye highlighted

1. I believe your dberr.txt file points to some form of corruption (these errors just started 6/14). From what i can tell, it's related to crypto services and Vista's security catalog which maintains the digital signature about legit files on the computer (i.e. which files are "kosher" (so to speak) :) ) See this

2. Also, as Bobbye mentioned, you have many many disabled services (and a couple disabled drivers). This is not necessarily a problem but at least does beg the question if you (or someone) tried to customize your drivers/services on that machine? selectively turning some things off permanently? (as we might want to revisit all those settings)
 
Thank you for all your replies.

I must say my computer is running much faster since I uninstalled Norton/symantec and installed Avira. In fact, Avira detected some malware that no other program had detected. Hopefully, that was the cause.

In short, my computer has given me problems for several months. Most significantly, completely freezing in the middle of any random session. Most days, but not all, it would freeze at least 2x a day. Also, sometimes the computer will not boot up all the way. I would get a black screen with a blinking cursor or no screen at all.

Currently, it has 2 512 mb modules. I did go spring for 2 modules equaling 2gb of ram but it didn't help at all. Still froze. I opened it and cleaned the fan, defragged, and it still froze.

I've been dealing with the freezing because I don't have time or $$ to take it to a shop, but it's driving me crazy! I haven't had anybody messing with it and I haven't intentionally disabled drivers/services.
 
Avira detected some malware that no other program had detected

Can you run Avira again and save the log? Attach it to next reply.

Since you're running with a memory deficit\- Vista should have 2GB minimum- you need to stop as much as possible to conserve resources:

Please follow the steps here for using msconfig in Vista:
http://www.netsquirrel.com/msconfig/msconfig_vista.html

When you get to the following image:
vista_msconfig_startup_tab.gif


You need to UNCHECK as much as you can: only the antivirus needs to be on Startup. If you ever get a 3rd party firewall, that needs to be on startup and when using a laptop, the touchpad also>> nothing else!

So UNCHECK all processes related to the following:
Real Player
Adobe
Java
Google updater
RSIT
UMON
When you finish the unchecking> Reboot> NOTE: you will get a nag message that you can ignore and close after checking 'don't show this message again.' Stay in Selective Startup.

Go to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel> uninstall any programs you don't use.

You're going to keep freezing until you get the memory up, so you need to run as little as possible at the same time. Multitasking will cause a freeze, so do one thing at a time. Next Time you freeze, look in the Event Viewer for Error corresponding to time of the freeze:

Start> Run> type in eventvwr

Do this on each the System and the Applications logs:

  • [1]. Click to open the log>
    [2]. Look for the Error>
    [3] .Right click on the Error> Properties>
    [4]. Click on Copy button, top right, below the down arrow >
    [5]. Paste here (Ctrl V)
    [6].NOTES
    • You can ignore Warnings and Information Events.
    • If you have a recurring Error with same ID#, same Source and same Description, only one copy is needed.
    • You don't need to include the lines of code in the box below the Description, if any.
    • Please do not copy the entire Event log.

Errors are time coded. Check the computer clock on freeze.

These screen shots will walk you through:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Monitoring-Event-Logs-Windows-Vista.html

Use the Copy button to copy the Error AFTER you open and show Properties. Paste here with Ctrl V.

So rescan with Avira, attach log. And rescan with HijackThis, attach log.
 
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