Stuffed up my PC - help required please

[Blackbird]

Let’s be quite clear from the outset, this is my own stupid fault as I’m not what you’d call an IT techo and I need help to fix a problem!

Until last week, I used Zone Alarm Professional for combined anti-virus, anti spyware, anti phishing and firewall duties on our desktop at home. Whilst it worked well enough, it’s a resource-hungry mother and slowed down the PC. I’d read in PC World about how good the Avast free anti virus system was so decided to try it and revert to the Windows firewall.

I uninstalled ZA Pro, although it left a couple of files behind which I was unable to uninstall by any means that I tried. Installed Avast and that works just fine. Now comes the problem. Email and MSN works perfectly but whilst IE Explorer works fine for 5 minutes, it then stops working and the computer then requires a complete re-boot to get IE working for another 5 minutes and so on. I even re-installed IE Explorer to no avail and am beginning to wonder if I have a registry problem. It’s certainly puzzling that email and MSN work perfectly but IE Explorer says no connection after 5 minutes of perfect operation. Why does it trip after initially working ok?

However, I’m not totally dumb and have the whole system backed up on a Maxtor external drive, but I only want to go that way as a last resort.

I haven’t had the opportunity to fault find in depth but do any of you smart IT types have any pointers for me to go digging please?

Cheers,

Geoff

[Cajun]

install Firefox give it a go

If works delete all IE icons ande continue as nothing ever happened

[crashe]

Good luck in sorting this out.

You may need to really get rid of the Zone Alarm Pro files that are still sitting in there as they maybe the cause of the problem.


Rhino was really fantastic and helped me with my major probs recently on my pc. But he is out of the country at the moment (on holiday).

I had probs with my E Trust anti virus upgrading to a new name..... and that stopped my Zone Alarm FREE from working.

Had to uninstall the anti-virus and reinstall AVG to get the Zone Alarm firewall to work again.

That antivirus was great until it upgraded then all hell broke loose.
Ended up up with 6 trogans and 2 viruses.

But with Rhino's wonderful asssistance I got it all sorted out.


I have also stopped using IE sometime ago and now on Firefox (cheers Pyrocam).

[sAsLEX]

oh no my virus protection stopped ........ I must pay someone lots to fix this dire problem......



pardon my sarcasm, but , I ran my computer for four years with no form of virus protection whatsoever, had it on nearly all the time, and spent lots of time downloading games and movies from less than legal sites and no hassles


so avoid tracing blame to a lack of virus protection


Firefox is damn good so give that a go

[mynameis]

Mate, depends on what operating systems you're running on and what version of IE you have? If you have a legit version (just to make things easier) of, say windows XP then what I suggest is doing a full windows update as well as upgrading to the latest IE which is version 7 if not run on something like 6.?.?

In saying that to be perfectly honest IE is bit of a dog and well known to crash a lot of people face the problem, you're not the only one so as suggested try Mozilla Firefox it's quite reliable and user friendly. Run both ya see :)

Good you're backing your data up so nothing to worry about, if in case shit hits the fan you're safe do regular back ups. As for antivirus try something like AVG pretty popular and is good as well.

If you have the time and the original CD's also try and just reinstall the whole operating systems and all the programmes, I do it a few times a year then you don't have to worry about the bugs hiding in your machine or registry problems ect ect...

There's a lot you can do with computers and pages of solution can be written up, try the basics first, good luck mate.

[Blackbird]

Thanks for the good advice everyone, it is very much appreciated and the suggested Firefox option sounds a good initial way to go as I have it on one of those freebie magazine disks. All my operating systems (XP Pro, IE7 etc) are all legit and up to date.

I'll install Firefox sometime this week and see what happens.

One final question. How the heck do I get rid of the few residual Zone Alarm files that say they they are protected and resist all attempts?

Thanks again for the rapid response and likely solution.

Geoff

[The Pastor]

delete the C drive.

[crashe]

One final question. How the heck do I get rid of the few residual Zone Alarm files that say they they are protected and resist all attempts?

Thanks again for the rapid response and likely solution.

Geoff

Have you got 2 logins on your computer: 'Administrator' and also 'your name'?

Log out of your name and re-login in under 'Administrator'.
Try looking for any Zone Alarm Pro in there...
Load/remove installed stuff
Search - files/folders.

[phaedrus]

One final question. How the heck do I get rid of the few residual Zone Alarm files that say they they are protected and resist all attempts?

Thanks again for the rapid response and likely solution.

Geoff

does safe mode still exist in wondows? f5 on boot. Doing that would force it to not load drivers etc.. hopefully the files wouldn't be opened and locked.

[James Deuce]

Safe mode does still exist and it is F8 on startup.

[Brian d marge]

Just a hought , I had windows ,,yadda yadda .. but I managed to stuff uf my err legal copy ,,, so I was screwed so to speak

Downloaded ubuntu linux never looked back

Now I tinker ,,, as in I dont know what I am doing and try things out Ubuntu takes 20 min max to reinstall everything and another twenty for automatix ( installs codecs and common programs ) one click does it

Just a thought thats all

Stephen

[xwhatsit]

Just a hought , I had windows ,,yadda yadda .. but I managed to stuff uf my err legal copy ,,, so I was screwed so to speak

Downloaded ubuntu linux never looked back

Now I tinker ,,, as in I dont know what I am doing and try things out Ubuntu takes 20 min max to reinstall everything and another twenty for automatix ( installs codecs and common programs ) one click does it

Just a thought thats all

Stephen

^+1 I'm a happy 'buntu user :)

However, changing OSs is a rather dramatic solution.

When you say IE stops working, what exactly does this mean? That is, do buttons stop working entirely, can't access options from menus et c; or does it just stop being able to access websites? I think this distinction is fairly important.

Installing Firefox is a hell of a good idea anyway. Increases the inherent security of your computer anyway, AV or none.

[Blackbird]

When you say IE stops working, what exactly does this mean? That is, do buttons stop working entirely, can't access options from menus et c; or does it just stop being able to access websites? I think this distinction is fairly important.

Installing Firefox is a hell of a good idea anyway. Increases the inherent security of your computer anyway, AV or none.

To give an example, suppose I'm looking at various threads on Kiwi Biker. I go to exit one I've just read, either using the back button, New Posts or whatever. It sits for a moment, then throws up the standard screen (can't remember the exact words) when it can't connect to the internet. Yet email and MSN remain unaffected. Although I haven't timed it, it's always close to 5 minutes of IE explorer use. Almost like it has a timer running that cuts out the link.

[crashe]

Have you tried turning the computer off for a few minutes and then restart it up again and see if still does it...?

Sometimes just turning them off completely fixes it.


Can you also copy and paste what it says up on the screen and show us as well.

[bobsmith]

linux is absolutely brilliant when you're using the computer to work on it, I used to use it quite a bit especially when it was still in the 1.x.x stage lots of fun with gnome in development, etc...

It kind of sucks when you use your computer just to play games though.... :shutup:

Uhhh..... not that I have my computer just to play games of course............. hmmm......

Oh and try pressing ctrl-alt-del and seeing what processes are running. If there are any processes running that looks like the file names that you can't delete, you need to stop those processes first. Of course you should first ask why those processes are still running and why they didn't get deleted with the uninstall.....

[James Deuce]

Check the management console (or click Start Run then type services.msc) to see if there are any Zonealarm services running and stop then disable them so they can't start back up.

There's some good info buried in here:

http://www.computergripes.com/ZoneAlarm.html

[Ice_Monsta]

try installing both spybot Search and destroy and lavasoft ad-aware.

Spybot S&D - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html
Ad-Aware www.lavasoftusa.com

both programs are freeware and very good.

and go avast, beats AVG antivirus and norton all over..norton is crap - system hog and also because its so popular more virus' are targeted to worm their way through it.

Good luck with your fix

~ I.T Student :-P ~

[Blackbird]

try installing both spybot Search and destroy and lavasoft ad-aware.

Spybot S&D - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html
Ad-Aware www.lavasoftusa.com

both programs are freeware and very good.

~ I.T Student :-P ~

Thanks - already have Spybot and the Ad-Aware commercial version which monitors on line. Not free, but the on-line monitoring is handy for blocking tracking cookies. Not part of my current problem though.

[xwhatsit]

To give an example, suppose I'm looking at various threads on Kiwi Biker. I go to exit one I've just read, either using the back button, New Posts or whatever. It sits for a moment, then throws up the standard screen (can't remember the exact words) when it can't connect to the internet. Yet email and MSN remain unaffected. Although I haven't timed it, it's always close to 5 minutes of IE explorer use. Almost like it has a timer running that cuts out the link.

To me, that sounds like firewall settings. This Avast thing is a firewall as well?

I've never had that symptom, but there are situations where after a certain part of a firewall takes a beating for a period of time, the firewall will close that area. Can't quite see the details of how it would cause that (I'm no network engineer, Assembly and C is where I'm at), but perhaps you need to allow full access on the firewall for IE. Will do some Googling, see what I can turn up.

Yes it is also wise to completely remove Zonealarm. As was mentioned above, try logging in as `Administrator' if you aren't already, this will probably allow you to completely remove it.

[Blackbird]

To me, that sounds like firewall settings. This Avast thing is a firewall as well?


No, strictly anti-virus. How do you configure the normal IE firewall then? Thought it was either on or off!

[Beemer]

I've got a worse problem! I bought Adobe Photoshop CS2 last year and loaded it on my computer. I registered it online too. In February this year my computer died and I had to replace it. I loaded Photoshop again on the new computer, no problem, and again registered it when prompted. As is typical of my luck, that computer caused me no end of trouble and three months later was replaced with a new model. I again loaded Photoshop and registered it. But of course there was a slight compatibility problem with Vista and it kept prompting me to register the product, which I did a few times until I realised something was wrong and looked online and found a way to fix it.

I've used Photoshop without any problems ever since - until today that is! I put in my memory card, opened Photoshop and was told there had been too many activations and unless I took the following steps I would not be able to use the product again. I rang the tollfree number to activate it and entered my serial number. No problem there, but when I try and enter the 28-digit activation number, I can only get to the second to last set of numbers before an automated voice cuts in and says I have not entered enough numbers! I have tried three times but the same thing happens. I even tried ringing the 09 number but got the same voice activated system. The activation type shown on the screen is Repair 93: -2. I cannot find any number to call locally for help which is why I had to email them as the website just tells me to follow the same method I had been trying. The product has only been loaded on MY computer, it's just I've had three in the last year, due to circumstances beyond my control.

Bloody annoying as I can't use Photoshop until they decide to respond! I even tried opening Photoshop again but I just get a different set of activation numbers and the same problem occurs whenever I try to activate it by phone. I hate computers!

Apparently when you change computers you are meant to do something to transfer over the activation. Well, the guy who replaced my computer obviously didn't know this and neither did I, hence arriving up shit creek without a paddle right now!

[xwhatsit]

No, strictly anti-virus. How do you configure the normal IE firewall then? Thought it was either on or off!

Ah this is interesting. Windows XP has its own firewall, which I presume is switched on?

I'm thinking before we go any further Zonealarm will need to be removed 100%.

With a bit of luck running Firefox might fix the problem, but that's really just a workaround and you're not fixing the root of the problem (even though I recommend running Firefox in place of IE in any situation).

[beyond]

Hiya Blackbird,

Several things to try apart from all those above.
To get rid of the files, go to Windows Explorer on Folder View
then the menu tools, then folder options, click the Tab for view, scroll down to Hidden Files and Folders and click show hidden files and folders if not clicked.

Then go to the drive where the pesky files are and right click on each one and go to properties and make sure the Read Only box is unticked. Back out, refresh and try and delete. If you still can't then yeah, you'll have to reboot the computer and start in safe mode, instructions here if you are not sure:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mfr=true

You should now be able to delete them.

It also sounds like the program you used juggled your Internet connection timeout settings.
Try resetting Explorer:
To reset Internet Explorer to the default settings

Close any Internet Explorer or Windows Explorer windows that are currently open.
Open Internet Explorer.
Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Reset.
In the Reset Internet Explorer Settings dialog box, click Reset.
When Internet Explorer finishes restoring the default settings, click Close, and then click OK.
Close Internet Explorer.
The changes will take effect the next time you open Internet Explorer.

[Romeo]

Hey BlackBird,
Failing everything suggested I recommend you give this program a go, <a href="http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html">WinsockXP Fix</a>. Those firewall programs replace and interfere with a lot of lowlevel networking functionality and APIs, this little doo-dad reverts them to the XP standard. Hopefully it'll work for you, it's worked for me in the past when I had prettymuch the same problem.

Cheers,
Romeo

[BNZ]

I haven’t had the opportunity to fault find in depth but do any of you smart IT types have any pointers for me to go digging please?

Cheers,

Geoff

Hey mate,

It sounds more like a "bug" than a software caused problem. By a "bug" I mean it is an un-documented problem and is probably caused by something other than the simple avast install, e.g. did you test IE after removing ZA and before installing avast? It may have started then?

I would recommend you remove avast, restart and test from there. If this does not fix it then you have ruled out Avast as a direct culprit. If this does not fix the issue I would reccommend a full system virus & spyware scan as this sounds like exact symptoms.

Take a look in the Application & System event logs (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer). If there is an event being logged at the same time as the crash past this into google. You will no doubt find someone who has had this issue before.

If you are still having trouble PM me, or if IE displays a message post a screenshot.

Brendan

[Zapf]

Apparently when you change computers you are meant to do something to transfer over the activation. Well, the guy who replaced my computer obviously didn't know this and neither did I, hence arriving up shit creek without a paddle right now!

yes, suppose the transfer the activation. What effectively is de-registering your old PC, so that you can register a new one.

[Beemer]

yes, suppose the transfer the activation. What effectively is de-registering your old PC, so that you can register a new one.

Still waiting to hear from Adobe after emailing them this morning. I am so pissed off as I can't do any work right now and I've got two jobs on this Friday so it better be sorted by then! Why the hell don't people in computer shops mention this? Or better still, why the hell don't they stick something in with the original product so all purchasers are aware of this? I looked on their website and it says you have to transfer the licence from your old computer but this isn't possible, and the second one it was loaded on had a complete system restore done on it so no joy there either.

[sAsLEX]

Just a hought , I had windows ,,yadda yadda .. but I managed to stuff uf my err legal copy ,,, so I was screwed so to speak

Downloaded ubuntu linux never looked back

Now I tinker ,,, as in I dont know what I am doing and try things out Ubuntu takes 20 min max to reinstall everything and another twenty for automatix ( installs codecs and common programs ) one click does it

Just a thought thats all

Stephen

How many MB is you net connection though........

[scracha]

Thanks - already have Spybot and the Ad-Aware commercial version which monitors on line. Not free, but the on-line monitoring is handy for blocking tracking cookies. Not part of my current problem though.

Arghh..I can never resist the techie queries.

Zone-alarm frequently has problems uninstalling (so does that symantec norton piece of $hite). There's a non-free firewall from Adaware, make sure you're not running that too. Boot into safe mode (with networking) and do wot Romeo says about resetting the TCP/IP stack (Winsock fix is a goodie like he said). Reboot back into safe mode with networking (again).

Assuming you're using an ethernet broadband connection (as in not dial up or not a USB modem) then go to command prompt (start->run then type "cmd" then enter (without quotes). Then
"ping www.fark.com"
If you get no type
"nslookup www.kiwibiker.co.nz"

THEN

"ipconfig /all" and post the results (from both)

If you're going between coro and tokoroa then feel free to drop it into the workshop.

[Blackbird]

Thanks all for the really useful comments. To stop going into mental meltdown, I'm taking a slow and steady approach. Managed to remove the remaining Zone Alarm files and folder but still getting a message about "True Vector" missing, so there's a bit more to do yet. Had enough for tonight but will report back tomorrow night.

Cheers,

Geoff

[xwhatsit]

Hey BlackBird,
Failing everything suggested I recommend you give this program a go, WinsockXP Fix (http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html). Those firewall programs replace and interfere with a lot of lowlevel networking functionality and APIs, this little doo-dad reverts them to the XP standard. Hopefully it'll work for you, it's worked for me in the past when I had prettymuch the same problem.

Cheers,
Romeo

This could be the ticket for the win. Sounds like ZoneAlarm screwed up when uninstalling, and possibly if those files were altered then it's possible they weren't restored anyway. Give it shot, it can't hurt.


How many MB is you net connection though........

What's that got to do with it? Just download it once, burn a CD. Automatix is pretty lightweight.

For reference mine is 3.5MBit, and I get every bit of that in case you're trying to infer Ubuntu doesn't give you the full quota or something.

[Big Dog]

No, strictly anti-virus. How do you configure the normal IE firewall then? Thought it was either on or off!

PM me if you still have problems.
I am having difficulty following because of all the sales pitches for alternative os's and browsers.......

I had your issue and know how to fix it relatively easily.

[sAsLEX]

What's that got to do with it? Just download it once, burn a CD. Automatix is pretty lightweight.

For reference mine is 3.5MBit, and I get every bit of that in case you're trying to infer Ubuntu doesn't give you the full quota or something.

As all the automatic updates, the second thing he said, are done via you internet connection and they can be fairly large

[Brian d marge]

How many MB is you net connection though........

100mb and 1.5 Mb international , but it still only takes a few min to download , the biggest time taker is Automatix installing the programs you select

that can take the same as the install time ,, but its one click ( actually 3 now as java asks you to accept a file and so does skype

Its not perfect , window just accepts my pda , ubuntu , just doesnt recognize it

but who cares its free !!

Stephen

Who still has windows installed as I cant find a decent FEA package,,

[scracha]

Fuggin knew the linux fanboys would hijack the thread. Regards to windoze updates. Someone could take an Autopatcher or slipstreamed CD round to our chum on dial-up.

[Sniper]

Fuggin knew the linux fanboys would hijack the thread. Regards to windoze updates. Someone could take an Autopatcher or slipstreamed CD round to our chum on dial-up.

Dead right. I was trying to read Blackbirds problems and hopefully offer advice but the twits happened to ruin it.

Freaks

[xwhatsit]

Dead right. I was trying to read Blackbirds problems and hopefully offer advice but the twits happened to ruin it.

Freaks

Pardon me, dirty commoner :yes:

How's it going, Blackbird? Ever get it sussed?

[Sniper]

Pardon me, dirty commoner :yes:

How's it going, Blackbird? Ever get it sussed?

You are pardoned, just don't do it again

[Blackbird]

Pardon me, dirty commoner :yes:

How's it going, Blackbird? Ever get it sussed?

Hi X! Just got back from Coromandel, so haven't had time to play. Haven't solved the problem, but think I've got rid of all of Zone Alarm now. Will post progress to date tomorrow.

Thanks for asking.

Geoff

[Blackbird]

Update on my Internet access problems:

Firstly, many thanks to everyone for all your suggestions. At the very least, I’ve learned a lot about deleting old files, especially the use of safe mode as an administrator.

As a quick recap, I uninstalled Zone Alarm Pro and installed the Avast free anti-virus system. Since then, after 5-7 minutes of web surfing on IE7, I lose my connection with the web (we are on Xtra Broadband). Email and MSN continue to function perfectly in this time so connection problems are clearly restricted to web browsing.

I removed the remaining components of Zone Alarm using safe mode from the ZA folders and also removed the True Vector service from System 32. Researching Zone Alarm problems which others have experienced, True Vector appears to be the main culprit.

Alas, despite having done this and run Winsock software as per one of the earlier suggestions, the problem remains. I also installed Mozilla Firefox and the problem is present on that too.

It’s not a huge problem for the household as we do have an uninterrupted connection to our laptop which is connected by wireless to the base router. If I can’t sort it out this week, I’ll drop it into our local computer shop. However, it’s more a case of not liking to be beaten; especially as it’s clearly my fault for trying to remove Zone Alarm in the first place.

Cheers

Geoff

[James Deuce]

Do you have SP2 (assuming you have Windows XP of course) installed and do you have a System Restore point available prior to the attempted uninstall?

[Blackbird]

Do you have SP2 (assuming you have Windows XP of course) installed and do you have a System Restore point available prior to the attempted uninstall?


I do indeed. I also have a complete system backup on my Maxtor external drive from about 3 weeks ago. It's the principle of the thing and not wanting to put ZA back on!

[ceebie13]

OK... I daresay I'm going to lay myself open to a barrage of abuse,
sarcasm and vitriol here, but having read all these suggestions (all of which are very helpful to Geoff (Blackbird) I have no doubt) and trying to absorb all the complicated sounding techy jargon within them, all I can say is it did my head in and I'm bloody glad I run a Mac!

[scracha]

As a quick recap, I uninstalled Zone Alarm Pro and installed the Avast free anti-virus system. Since then, after 5-7 minutes of web surfing on IE7, I lose my connection with the web (we are on Xtra Broadband). Email and MSN continue to function perfectly in this time so connection problems are clearly


Geoff, I'll take a wee run up and fix it if you like (the long way to my mates in Whanga :-). 07 884 4403.

There's a small chance it could be DNS problems. The Xtra DNS server is notoriously $Hite. Try going into the control panel, network & interweb connections, then network connections, right click on your LAN connection, properties, select TCP/IP then properties. Click "use the following DNS server address" and type in 60.234.1.1 and 60.234.2.2 below it.

You might find all the local computer shop do is a recovery installation of XP (shh..that's what I normally do if the usual registry hacks etc don't work).

[Blackbird]

Geoff, I'll take a wee run up and fix it if you like (the long way to my mates in Whanga :-). 07 884 4403.

Thanks Scratcha - very kind of you - a nice opportunity for a run up the coast:yes: Sadly, the 'pooter is in Tokoroa where the roads are boring and there's been a good frost today!

I'll have a look at your suggestion tonight when I get home from work. Make sure you PM me when you're heading for Coro at a weekend and come and have a bit to eat with us.

Cheers

Geoff

[Blackbird]

Well, it's all fixed! :rockon: Ended up taking my 'pooter to the local computer store because I'd run out of time and needed a reliable internet connection. The local guys found bits of Zone Alarm still trying to interfere with the operating system, despite me using the proper uninstall methods and deleting the bits which were left by manual means. Thought I'd got them all but clearly, Zone Alarm dumps stuff all over the place. Incidentally, they also found bits of Norton there too and I uninstalled that 2 years ago. Some of these big security systems are clearly complete bastards to uninstall.

I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped me along with this problem. We might squabble among ourselves occasionally like any family, but when the chips are down; help is ALWAYS freely given by KB'ers. Special thanks too to Scratcha - I still owe you a cold one in Coro mate! Although I had to get outside help in the end, my computer knowledge has improved no end from all the helpful suggestions.

Ride safe and have a fantastic long weekend:Punk:

Geoff