Uhgg! Please help.

Alright, I followed the instructions that Cudni provided, and I also followed the instructions that Franklin provided, removed PG from the startup, deleted PG from Registry via Revo Uninstaller and deleted all PG Files via Revo Uninstaller (though I was not able to use teh PG uninstaller that Revo Runs first usually.)

Seems to have worked.

I still have a folder in Start Menu Program Files though. Anybody know how to remove that? It's not listed in the Windows Explorer in the Program Files, but it shows up on the Start > Program Files menu.

 

You can use a-squared's hijackfree to delete any startup entries, and uninstall any services which may be lurking.

See this post: here

http://www.hijackfree.com/en/

Just right-click and select 'delete' of the start>programs files folder.

 

I seemed to stumbled my way to removing Mamutu satisfactorilly as well. Revo wouldnt run the uninstaller because of a missing unins000.dat file again. But it cleaned the registry of what it did and removed the Files, I looked for something "Mamutu" like in the the system32 file (and drivers sub file) but couldnt find anything. I removed Mamutu from the startup menu using Winpatrol. Seems to have worked, but again I have an empty file lising for Mamuntu in the Start > Program Files menu.


Edit: Ill try that saraceno.

 

you might want to download Autorun it shows you everything from services to startup list.

 

Is that similar to the a2's HijackFree?

I reloaded a2's Mamuntu.

It seems to have repaired itself in reloading, as it noticed that it was already listed in the services. Then did some extra downloading and seems to be running. I wonder if it repaired its uninstaller dat file that was missing.

 

I think you meant Autoruns. Very handy, more there than in Winpatrols tools.

 

Thats the one, very handy indeed, I had the pleasure of being in your shoes couple of times where I did system restore & finding out that some software is there & not at the same time, its a pain in the neck.

 

EscapeVelocity... take baby steps my friend. You are sprinting around like mad.

Sul.

 

LMAO!

Yeah, well, Ive been learning alot. Best way to learn is the make mistakes like I just did. I think I recovered from it alright.

Though there is something with the browsers now, not loading pages, like there is no connection, then after a short but not instant time they seem to work, this is after all the icons have loaded in the tray, and Avast has finished loading its shields.

I also have been learning about virtualization.

I have identified some products and placed them in there more appropriate categories.

Im getting a feel for the different methods and how they work together.

Also some GUI feel for different programs.

So, its not all bad.

 

This stuff can be really complicated.

There are hundreds (perhaps 1000s) of products, and most of them are now multi-function.

 

A word of advice. Get your hands on a virtual machine application, such as virtual box or something. Install your OS into that. Then create what is called a 'snapshot'. It is a point in time that you can start over with. Then install the latest set of new tools in the vm. Once you are done testing, revert back to that 'snapshot' you made. Poof! Back to normal. Now do it all over again. Once you decide what you like, install in on the real machine.

Trust me, it will speed up the whole process immensely.

Sul.

 

Another word of advice. Stop trying all this out, and build a plan for what you want to accomplish. You are correct, there are many avenues you may travel down. Why get lost in the city? Once you know what you want to do, you can then narrow it down to a specific neighborhood to do your high speed sports car testing in

Sul.

 

Man is that a fact!!
I thought I spared my Windows install a lot of strain,and myself a lot of cleanup,with just Shadow Defender and Sandboxie.
Since I have instaled VirtualBox with a legit copy of XP Pro,I have been
to paraphrase Ric Flair,"trailing and Profiling",and having a care free ball.

 

Does it have to be a full Virtual Machine? And not the lower level virtualization software, like ShadowDefender or Returnil?

Can I just make a Macrium Reflect Image, and basically achieve the same goal?

I understand, I think, that all this installing and uninstalling is leaving Windows kernal cluttered with tidbits, right? Which isnt good.

Im thinking about doing another clean install of the OS, since I just did it. It will be a lot of work, but....then I can make an Image backup and preserve my clean OS. Or I could go the Virtual Box route. Or should I just go from where Im at. Ive been using Revo Uninstaller pretty much since the get go on the new OS.

BTW, I dont have a new HD because of serious malware problems. It was a HD failure.

Before Microsoft pulls the plug on updates for XP (besides XP SP3, Ive heard).

What say you?

 

Im all in on reformatting C: and starting from scratch.


Then Im installing the Virtual Machine, after working out the updates to SP3, drivers and Browsers n stuff. I guess this has been and will continue to be quite a learning experience. And Ill learn how to keep my computer from getting all buggered up, just with general use. Ill try stuff out on the Virtual Machine (do I need to partition the drive?, then once I figure out what I want to do, Ill load up the real machine, and do a drive Image Backup.

 

If you put the OS on fresh, great, but you don't need to for VM. You install something like Virtual Box (I paid for vmWare a few years ago), and then you install windows, in a windowed program. When you start Virtual Box, and start that "virtual machine", which has a bios just like your machine, etc, but you see that "virtual machine" boot up, come into the OS,etc. It is just a program, that mimics a "machine". You can put about any OS you want on that virtual machine. Want to play with linux, or maybe reactOS, do it in there and play before you commit to your real box.

Does that make sense?

Sul.

 

So I didnt need to reformat and install a fresh OS? I could have done it in a Virtual Machine and then saved it to the Real Machine?

I understand you can put any OS in the Virtual Machine, but I want a fresh OS, and learn how to protect it, from getting all buggered up with litter, from a lot of installs and uninstalls. I didnt like the way the browsers were acting, not connecting straight away. So I went with a fresh install.

So I will have to install the OS on the Virtual Machine too? Cause that is a major pain in the arse. Im on XP Home without SP1. So I have major updating to do, before I get somewhere. Also I have a 3rd party driver disk that isnt quite right, and I have to dig for the NVIDIA Quadro 120M driver, which NVIDIA says I have, because the screen goes into 800x600 4 bit color mode. Its not as simple as it should be. So its on to the Dell Website to load more drivers.

 

No, you miss the concept. The virtual machine is simply software that emulates a real machine. When you start a VM, you give it drives, memory, etc, almost like you would in a real machine.

But when you play with a VM, you don't really plan on committing it to your real drive, like you would with Returnil or Shadow Defender. It is the ultimate playground, but it is like have literally another computer running INSIDE of your real OS. You need to get a copy and play or read up on it.

Basically, you install the VM software, run the VM software, create a new virtual machine, install an OS to that virtual machine, then run that virtual machine as if it were another comptuer in your house. The only ties it has to your real machine is that it is running on it.

You will figure it out soon enough

Sul.

 

vitual enviorement make systems very slow this is what some complaints about

 

@Sully,

Oh, OK. But do I have to install Windows and the BIOS to the VM or can I just take a snapshot of the Real Machine and clone it?

@JMonge

Ive got a pretty decent Intel Dual Core with NVidia 7400 Go but only 1 GB of RAM. But if I can test in the VM decently with that, then the resource load on the Real Machine, once I decide on the security mix, will be low which is good.

Or I could just do an Image of the C: in another partition and backup to that, when Im done testing. Which might be the way to go.

XP Home SP3

Id also like to add Ubuntu in a partition, as well.

My laptop HD failed, that is why I have a fresh new 250gb WD Scorpio 5400rpm SATA 2.5".

Nearly finished the Fresh OS, updating the OS and Security patches and Dell Drivers. Ill do another System Restore Point and make an Image Backup from there.

Can anyone recommend a Partition Manager?

 

You will not have any fun testing VM with that little Ram. You need double that

 

My browsers arent experiencing the hesitation to connect online after the fresh OS install.

Im thinking about going the backup strategy in the testing, instead of Virtual Machine. Since I only have 1gb RAM.

I can do whatever and then backup to the previous state.

Is that an OK strategy intead of full Virtual Machine mode?

I am going to use Macrium Reflect and create another partition for the backup files. I will also create another partition for a Ubuntu install, though Ill hold off on this for a while....baby steps.

I am going to use EASUS Partition Master.

What say you?

 

Created partition with EASUS Partition Master. Backed up Full Image of C: (not cloned) with Macrium to new E: Partition.

Im really cookin' here!

LOL!

 

@EscapeVelocity:

When you set up Xp Sp3 in the VirtualBox,go ahead and alocate at least 256 mb Ram for the box.
Then go to the Black Viper website,
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

And disable all unneeded services in your Virtualbox XP.

When you see everything works fine in the VirtualBox,then you can apply the same "trim the fat",to your "real" system.

You will find 1 gig of RAM is more then enough to run XP pro Sp3 as guest on a host Xp Pro Sp3 setup with 1 gig of RAM.

Just MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE BLACKVIPER RECOMMENDATIONS
WHEN DISABLING SERVICES.

Sorry for the capitals,but in this case I thank they are warranted.

respect,rat

 

Thanks for the latest tip. Im behind the times here, so Im starting from way back.