Replies

Wanted to comment further on this pest of a malware. This morning the computer booted clean and thanks to http://www.malwarebytes.org/. Everything else failed to even see the problem. I follow the counsel of Fred Langa and I want to mention to him that Microsoft Security Essential did not prevent this attack even though it was current. CCleaner and Spybot let it hide also even though the UCA is fully active and enabled.

It is aggravating to me to have let this happen but it did and I ever so pleased that this group is here to HELP (save my XXX). Thanks.
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Ray/FL

Hi Ray,

Download malwarebytes from the first link I posted and execute it. Malwarebytes will remove the malware, you don’t need to buy anything.

If needed, boot your pc in safe mode with networking, go online and download malwarebytes then. As far as I could read, malwarebytes, which is free, removes System Tool.

I did in deed download the mentioned program at-http://www.malwarebytes.org/ and it removed the malware at least in the first reboot that was clean . I thank you much for this tool. This is a real pest.
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Ray/FL

Download Malwarebytes Antimalware – it has a free version that will get you rid of this: http://www.malwarebytes.org/

For manual removal, check here:

Check this link: http://deletemalware.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-remove-system-tool-uninstall.html

It has detailed instructions on System Tools removal.

This page/site describes the malware very well (and with pictures) but the process to follow to fix/clean the problem is not so clear. It seems that you are finally directed to buy their anti-virus software. I will read it again but it does not appear clear or doable to me yet. What am I missing? Thanks for trying to help.
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Ray/FL

Hello All,
Just thought that i would put my two cents in about dual booting “linux ubuntu” It would seem that ubuntu is not for “noobs”I have given this a somewhat fair try, (only about a week and many,many hours) but almost every thing that i have tried resulted in less than stunning success! Regards PlainFred

In the past I have tried Linux in different forms and have never “bonded’ with it. Recently I tried again and this time with the latest version of Ubuntu. This time I first installed Oracle VM VirtualBox and installed in that system in a system. It all went in and looks fine on the ‘outside’ but Ubuntu will not boot because it cannot find the boot files. It is set up on my laptop Win7 and I don’t have a clue what the problem is or what to do to fix it. It seems I will not learn Linux in this life.
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Ray/FL

Need to update this saga event Today I’m working on building a system that is working as it should but it hasn’t been easy. This post is about the second install while all of the thread before this point is about the first install. After my post #17 where I checked for tight and clean case content it remained crippled and very unstable. I attempted to partition the remaining part of the C: drive and it would not stay up to get it done. I attempted to check the disk and the system would crash. I attempted a major repair with the install disk and even that would stall to a stop before the drive was checked. I was ready to give up on WinXP and go back to W2K that I know but the latest issue of Window Secrets came in with a major report by Fred Langa on Win XP. After reading it for about two hours I changed my mind and decided to work more on doing Win XP and now I’m glad I did.

Briefly I deleted C: and installed an all new copy of Win XP and firstly just DLed Windowes updates. And they all went fine through Service Pack 3 and all Critical updates. (The first install would not accept even Service Pack 2) Mid way through this process I tried Disk Check and it worked but very slowly. Drivers were installed at this point. After the second install not one crash or complaint. I’m going to get a bit more memory and use it in the shop.

I owe a big thank you to this group and this WS news letter for all of the rich help offered. Again Thanks a Lot.
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Ray/FL

Hi Ray,

The symptoms may or may not be related to the OS. I would open the PC case and make sure every power and data connect point is firmly attached. Something may have come loose when you changed out the hard drive. Also check your ram sticks by removing them and reseating them in their slots. Make sure the heat sink and fan on your CPU are firmly in place and free of dust. A good can of compressed air made for the job can be found at any computer shop, Walmart, Office Depot, etc. If the CPU heatsink/fan are clogged, your PC may be shutting down to protect it from damage.

It is also possible that your power supply is on its way out.

Gerald,
Today I opened the case and went item by item down your list to consider each item and did not find a problem. I had checked the case and cleaned it throughout earlier but did it all again. After reading your comments I had to agree that all of the items mentioned should be checked. I felt you were very close to something that had to be checked.

I could not (don’t know how to) check the power supply but did find a problem with the power cord being used. That cord would make and break so I replaced it with one that is good.

I tried to start the computer again and now get to a DOS menu to start as usual or in safe mode each time. It will start up in safe mode just as it would yesterday. It appears the OS may be damaged but I don’t know Win XP. It is not going to run as it is apparently. Hope someone that knows this OS can point a way for me. Thanks to everyone and now there are several.
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Ray/FL

Hi Ray,

The symptoms may or may not be related to the OS. I would open the PC case and make sure every power and data connect point is firmly attached. Something may have come loose when you changed out the hard drive. Also check your ram sticks by removing them and reseating them in their slots. Make sure the heat sink and fan on your CPU are firmly in place and free of dust. A good can of compressed air made for the job can be found at any computer shop, Walmart, Office Depot, etc. If the CPU heatsink/fan are clogged, your PC may be shutting down to protect it from damage.

It is also possible that your power supply is on its way out.

I have tried several times to restart the computer. It goes through till the main first page is on and the loading indicator is ‘bouncing’ across the bottom However the background is all a series of vertical blue lines on a black background. The page for Window XP drops away and only the lines remain and the computer freezes. On occasion the menu page for various safe modes appear and when one is selected it will start up. Does this information still make your suggestions valid.
Will Win XP repair similar to W2K?

No sooner do I get a solution to a problem or question when another problem pops up. Recall please the OS installed is Win XP and now problems with it are acting out. During today, the second day building the completed install, the OS just drops dead as if the power plug was pulled and first it would start up but on the second and third the start-up was less simple. After several restarts it began to run fine and then it would drop dead again.

There is not an indication of why or what went wrong. The last drop dead was several minuets into a DL from Windows Up Date. Today drivers were installed and Firefox and Thunderbird was installed but there is no correlation with any one program or thing. Any suggestion of what is going on or what I can do to fix it or how to deal with it. I am so accustomed to stability in the OS and this is throwing me big time. HELP please

Since posting all above this point I have tried several times to restart. It goes through till the main first page is on and the loading indicator is ‘bouncing’ across the bottom However the background is all a series of vertical lines. The page for Window XP drops away and only the lines remain and the computer freezes. On occasion the menu page for various safe modes appear and when one is selected it will start up. I just read Gerald’s comments and will work the ones out I can.

Will Win XP repair similar to W2K?

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Ray/FL

Now a new problem with the install of Win XP on a clean HD. I had to accept (on install setup) just one partition (of 140 GB size drive). Thought I could later partition within Win XP but don’t find a way to do so. Is there a program to DL that will partition with the OS install already on the drive and also make the few additional partitions desired on the HD? Again thanks.
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Ray/FL

Based on a little research, I too think that there may be RDRAM in that system.

For a time it was discontinued and became very scarce and prices went through the roof as RetiredGeek says. Hoever I’m wondering if now that there is practically no demand at all, prices may have dropped way back down again…if its available at all.

Check out this link, http://www.rdram4less.com/dedi818240fs.html and see if it or some similar product fits your system’s requirement. Can’t vouce for the site but its a Yahoo affilitate so it looks legitimate to me.

It does use rdram and I’m checking with the company suggested. The service tag is G7VWZ01. It appears they offer for less. Thanks for the tip.

Setting up (in work shop) an older Dell 8200 (Service Tag G7VWZ01) with a new HD and have Win2K Pro and Win XP HE. Have a lot of experience with W2K pro and none with Win XP. The Dell has only 512MB of memory now.

The question is which OS may serve best. I have no experience with Win XP and have heard some bad ‘mouth about it. Comments please and thanks a lot.
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Ray/FL

I installed Win XP today and want to add some additional memory but find it difficult to shop for. Can anyone point the way to a good source to deal with and for a fair price. Thanks for the help gentlemen.
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Ray/FL

Today I follow your suggestions and installed Win XP. By the time I read the responses I had begun the install for W2K but stopped it, cleaned up the partial install and started over clean and fresh. My first experience with Win XP and I like it very much. I have Win 7 as my main machine and love it much. Thanks for the brief and rich help.
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Ray/FL

For that you need the paid version of Macrium Reflect. The paid restore disk has an option called “disk restore” that will do the whole thing and present you with an exact mirror of your old drive. In very simple setups Free is probably all you need. If you have more complex configurations with multiple partitions the paid version may have more of the options you are looking for.

If you have your Operating System, programs and any personal data (such as My documents) that are addressed in the registry on one partition, and all other data that is not needed during the startup of the machine on other partitions, you should be able to restore the Operating system partition, boot the system and restore the other partitions from within the running system.

(If you have found that Macrium does what you need, I would recommend purchasing it.)

Thank you very much for thoughtful help. I understand your comments and will purchase this program.
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Ray/FL

I think it is ESC on that model.

You may have to shut it clear down and start up from cold to get it though. Generally you have a very short time to get the key press in. (usually from the time you see the first light on the screen until the windows logo comes up.) I usually hit the power key and then start pressing and releasing the key rapidly until I see the boot menu. You will then have the option to boot from harddrive, optical (or cd/dvd) or usb on most machines. Select the cd/dvd option, make sure your disk is in the drive and it should boot into the recovery environment.

let us know if this gets you what you need…..

When you do it right it works. That is exactly correct. Had to fiddle a bit due to never being there (in the recovery process) before but it worked fine. Please allow more questions regarding the process.

I have six partitions on the hard drive but made images of four partitions only since the other partitions are empty. In the Rescue process it appeared only one partition would be restored at one time. Not understanding the full process yet I wonder if I should have imaged the entire drive.

Also how is the restore process done if only one partition is restored at a time? Continued thanks for this great help in understanding the unknown.

Imaging with Macrium Reflect Free 4.2

1> From the starting screen select the Create a Backup Image Icon..

2> In the wizard, click next, and then select the disk or partition you wish to image. In my example we will only image our C: partition on disk #2.

Click Next

3> We now choose the location to store our backup. I am using an internal local disk with the drive letter X: (Here we could choose a removable disk or network shared location).

Click NEXT and you will see the following screen.

4> At this point I can simply click Finish and then OK in the confirmation screen and the backup will run. If I chose to fine-tune compression or other settings, I would go into the advanced button.

After hitting finish I get one more screen asking me what I want to do with the job settings I have just created.

Hit the OK button and your backup job will run. In about 30 minutes you will have an image that can return your C: partition precisely to the state it is in now.

We have one more task to complete before we are done. We need to create our rescue boot disk.

1>From the main screen select Other Tasks then Create Rescue CD

2> I have always been able to use the Linux CD with no trouble but YMMV

Click NEXT

3> Put a blank CD in your CD writer, Make sure the correct drive is selected and press finish

Be sure to test that your PC can boot from the above CD and that you can see the image that you created in step one. It is also a good idea IMPERATIVE to mount the image from inside Macrium and make sure you can see and open the files on it to verify that it is a viable image.