Spyware Guard & Startup Problems

Since the last update to Spyware Guard - I started having problems with my startup program:
Could not get pass the first screen;
Memory of all programs stopped;
Programs did not function as they had before;
Could not print because all of the sudden none of my printers were installed!

At first I was sure that either my operatein system had blown a braincell - or that my harddrive had stopped working or any of a handful of other 'hardware' issures!

But, then I found that turning the machine off and on did sometimes get it going after a very long wait

So, through a process of elimination - I started shutting down one program after another until the startup was not messing up -- the "only" one that made a BIG difference was the Spyware Guard -- once I took it out of the 'auto' startup mode -- everything went back to "normal" and all of my programs where back, memory was in tack and I could print again --- So, does anyone have an explanation

I am running wins98se, on a Compaq 7000 Presario, IE5.5; with ZA, AVG, PopPeeper, and AdShield - that is all that starts at 'start-up' -- So, something is not able to work together anymore and I don't know why or what to do about it -- I want the protection of the Spyware Guard -- but, I sure don't want the other problems again?

All suggestions are welcome.

 

It does sound like something you recently installed caused the conflicts (although I'm rather surprised SpywareGuard could have caused ALL of the symptoms you described - which again leads me to believe there is something else at work).

I'm working on a new version of SpywareGuard that is greatly improved, and will probably eliminate the chance of this problem happening. (Have you scanned your pc for spyware, however? It is possible it's a spyware program causing the issues at startup...) If, after reinstalling SpywareGuard, the same problems occur, could you e-mail me at javacoolsoftware@hotmail.com with any more details that you feel could help in diagnosing the issue.

EDIT: Could you please try downloading and installing the following:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/vb60pro/Redist/sp5/WIN98Me/EN-US/vbrun60sp5.exe

Simply install that file from Microsoft, enable SpywareGuard's Control Panel at startup, and reboot - and tell me if the problem still occurs.

Best regards,

-Javacool

P.S. If all you did was disable the SpywareGuard Control Panel from running at startup (and you did not press the "Disable Protection" button in the Control Panel), protection is still enabled - however I'd like to get the Control Panel working for you again.

 

I am afraid all is mute now - this is a copy of what I posted at the Spywareinfo forum about this problem - pehaps you could suggest something I should do now that the extended family is no longer here?

My whole system crashed - I did not have a chance to see your reply before that happened - but, I know what went wrong with some of it now -- I did not know about the correct way to uninstall Spyware Guard and I did it wrong with very bad results.

I finally had to Safe Mode and do a scanreg/restore and I am able to get back some of the functions now and I was able to get here. I am not at all sure what to do now though because I am not sure what all is really working? When I turned the computer on the first time -- I got an error message saying that I did not have an operating system -- I turned off the computer then and back on again and I got into the desktop and eventually on the internet and here -- this has been a nightmare!

All of the trouble started when I attempted to install a new printer -- I think that the Lexmark Z65 and Spyware Guard do not work together -- that is all that I can think of. I am afraid to try installing the printer again or to download and run Spyware Guard -- everything was running well until the last update of Spyware Guard and my attempt at installing the printer.

Spyware Guard was working very well with my Lexmark X83 all-in-one, but my computer blew its brains out when I attempted to install the Z65.

What in the world would make the Lexmark and Spyware Guard not work together in the same way that the X83 did

Should I still download that MS stuff?

Thanks to both of you for your attempt to help -- It is a bit hard to think well when about 6 people are all yelling at you because the computer will not work -- that was the reason I acted in haste and the reason I was so short tempered - so, I was not more patient.

Now that the daughter and the grandkids are gone home - I have the computer and my "space" back to myself and I can start to think better!

 

Thank you for posting this information.

It sounds as though your problem was not SpywareGuard in any way - you may have toggled something else off at the same time (the printer software?).

There should be NO way SpywareGuard could cause any of those problems - even in some sort of conflict (and conflicts with printer software are highly unlikely). It sounds like you either have equipment failure (hard drives do break down after a while) or the printer software messed with system components - or both.

(BTW, if you uninstalled SpywareGuard incorrectly, it wouldn't cause those issues - at most, you would get a dialog box that says "SpywareGuard definitions cannot be found" (definitely not a message about no Operating System!).)

I've had experience with the "no Operating System detected" issue - and it is usually because of hard drive failure or, possibly, motherboard failure (but in your case it sounds like the hard drive). The fact that it did this on one attempt, and then worked on another (and your quote here: "But, then I found that turning the machine off and on did sometimes get it going after a very long wait") can pretty much rule out a software issue, IMHO. If your computer is still under warranty, I would call up the maker immediately and ask if they can send someone to your house to fix it. If your warranty has expired, you may want to have a technician look over your system anyway.

There is also a small chance that it could be the printer software causing all these issues (possibly a corrupt download or a misconfigured setup program from Lexmark), but I've never seen a faulty printer install cause a "no Operating System detected" issue so I'm going to stick with my guess that this is a hardware issue.

Best regards and hope this helps,

-Javacool

 

Ruddy.

Sorry about your problems, but I also believe it could be a harddrive / hardware failure, especially if you leave your system off for a while and restart and it comes back up.

I had a similar failure around 9 months back, mine just kept rebooting for no reason all of a sudden and it was a combination of a fan bearing failure in the PSU AND the Harddrive being faulty from the get-go.

Your system comes back up after it's been off a while *could* indicate a problem with heat. It has cooled off and will work ok until it gets hot again.

Certainly SpywareGuard should not interfere with printers at all.

Do as javacool suggests or if you have a program like Sandra SiSoft and do the Burnin test with it that will certainly indicate what is failing or take it to a tech.

Hope you can resolve this soon, I know what it's like.

Regards, TAS