Unable to Open SpywareBlaster

I'm unable to open SpywareBlaster. Upon completion of installing the program, I clicked on "Finish", which is supposed open the program. A window immediately appeared saying "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down" . . . the details said "Spywareblaster caused an invalid page fault in Module Kernel32.DLL @ 0167:bff886df". I have uninstalled and reinstalled this program four times and still get the same response. Prior to reinstalling the program, I have run Ad-Aware SE, SpyBoT SD (with TeaTimer running), and ran a full system anti-virus scan in safe mode using McAfee's Anti-virus program.

I downloaded and ran HighjackThis. I am submitting the HighjackThis log below for your review. Hopefully, this may help explain why I am unable to run SpywareBlaster.

removed HJT log - please see announcement here. If Javacool needs this log for this SWB problem, he has access to it - Detox

 

Would you first attempt the following in regular mode....disable\uncheck Spybot's Resident TeaTimer and SDHelper features via Spybot's top menu....Mode\Advanced mode\Tools\Resident....re-boot your PC and then attempt to run SpywareBlaster.

If not successful....would you then mind following the below procedure and re-boot into Safe mode. Once in Safe mode....attempt to run SpywareBlaster.

Also....would you mind posting your PC info such as Make\Model, how much RAM....etc and what other security software you have installed, such as anti-virus, other anti-spyware, firewalls, etc....that you haven't already mentioned.


How to boot into Safe Mode....Win98

 

As you instructed, I disabled Spybot's Resident TeaTimer and SDHelper features . . . rebooted the PC and attempted to run SpywareBlaster . . . NO LUCK . . . same error message appeared.

I then rebooted the PC in Safe Mode . . . SkywareBlaster DID RUN in Safe Mode.

With respect to the other information you requested:
PC:
Gateway Model G6-400 (purchased 6 years ago)
Specs:
Memory - 64 MB Ram (I should probably increase this)
Motherboard - TABOR II
Processor - Pent II 400 Mhz
Video Card - Ensoniq AGP

SECURITY SOFTWARE:
McAfee Anti-Virus (Current version)
McAfee Personal Firewall Plus (Current Version)
Easy Cleaner
Spyware Doctor (I have been exiting this program right after boot up)
Ad-Aware SE Personal
SpyBot Search and Destroy
AdSubtract Pro (Pop-up ad remover)

I believe this is all that you asked for . . . thanks for your help.

Dave

 

Dave....since invalid page faults are usually associated with RAM problems(lack of RAM or the virtual memory system has become unstable because of a shortage of physical memory(RAM) or shortage of free disk space)....I'd like to suggest you try a few things first(selective start-up)....and also ask how long it's been since you defragged your hard drive....how big your hard drive is....and how full your hard drive is ?

Having said that....and given the quantity of RAM you have and given the fact you have a ton of items that run on boot-up(shown in portion of HJT log below)....would you Please attempt a selective start-up of Windows by going to Start button\Run....type msconfig and select OK. With the System Configuration Utility open....select the Startup tab and un-select only the items I am showing in bold below from your HJT log. Then select Apply and OK. When it asks to restart select No. Then close out all open browser Windows and program Windows if any and then shutdown your PC. Once PC is off....unplug cable or however it is you connect to Internet....then turn on Computer....Re-run Spywareblaster after boot-up.

This in no way should render your computer from booting BUT in case it does....simply turn your computer off and follow the previous instructions concerning booting into safe mode and then re-run msconfig and re-check all items....we'll then be even more selective what we run on start-up. Bottom line IMO....you have very little RAM for all the programs you have as TSR's.

HJT log run entries:
Logfile of HijackThis v1.98.2
Scan saved at 12:44:55 PM, on 11/11/04
Platform: Windows 98 SE (Win9x 4.10.2222A)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [EnsoniqMixer] starter.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CriticalUpdate] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\wucrtupd.exe -startup

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ScanRegistry] C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TaskMonitor] C:\WINDOWS\taskmon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VoodooBanshee] rundll32.exe 3DBBps.dll,BansheeLoadSettings
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VsecomrEXE] C:\Program Files\Network Associates\McAfee VirusScan\VSEcomR.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QAGENT] C:\QUICKENW\QAGENT.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MCAgentExe] C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\AGENT\mcagent.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MCUpdateExe] C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\AGENT\MCUPDATE.EXE

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [POINTER] C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\point32.exe

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VirusScan Online] "C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\mcvsshld.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BJCFD] C:\Program Files\BroadJump\Client Foundation\CFD.exe

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VSOCheckTask] "C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\MCMNHDLR.EXE" /checktask
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MPFExe] C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\PERSON~1\MPFTRAY.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IPInSightMonitor 01] "C:\PROGRAM FILES\SBC YAHOO!\CONNECTION MANAGER\IP INSIGHT\IPMon32.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IntelliType] "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Hardware\Keyboard\type32.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\QTTASK.EXE" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [SchedulingAgent] mstask.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [winmodem] WINMODEM.101\wmexe.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [McVsRte] C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\mcvsrte.exe /embedding
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MSMSGS] C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Taskbar Display Controls] RunDLL deskcp16.dll,QUICKRES_RUNDLLENTRY
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Spyware Doctor] "C:\PROGRAM FILES\SPYWARE DOCTOR\SPYDOCTOR.EXE" /Q
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SpybotSD TeaTimer] C:\PROGRAM FILES\SPYBOT - SEARCH & DESTROY\TeaTimer.exe
O4 - Startup: Office Startup.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA.EXE
O4 - Startup: Quicken Startup.lnk = C:\QUICKENW\QWDLLS.EXE
O4 - Startup: MemoKit.lnk = C:\Program Files\MemoKit\mk.exe
O4 - Startup: AdSubtract.lnk = C:\Program Files\AdSubtract\adsub.exe

 

Bubba, thanks for your response.

On your first question, I defragged the HD about 4 weeks ago . . . I had to defragg the HD in Safe Mode as for some reason Defrag stopped working in Regular Mode about a year ago. It wasn't until about 4 weeks ago that I found out about running defrag in Safe Mode.

As to the size of my HD, it's 10GB EIDE . . . according to Easy Cleaner, 73% of the HD is unused.

On un-selecting the Bold Items shown on the HJT log, I have some questions:
Will unselecting the Bold Items prevent the applicable programs from running? I'm somewhat concerned about those Bold Items that pertain to McAfee and Quicken . . . will the anti-virus program be operating? Will I be able to open Quicken, etc.?

Before proceeding with your suggestion to unselect these bolded items, I'm wondering if it might be better to just add more memory to my PC first. I realize 64MB of RAM is not much by today's standards . . . I believe my PC can be expanded to 384 MB of RAM (I'm not certain of this), but if I increase memory to 320 MB, or say 256MB, should this be sufficient for all of the TSR programs shown on the HGT log? My preference would be to increase memory.

Again, I really appreciate your help on this . . . thanks.

Dave

 

Yes....No....possibly not....BUT

When presented with a problem of possible conflicts....it's normal for me to shutdown everything un-needed temporarily. My suggestions in no way was to be permanent....only temporarily. Once you have a bear\bare minimum of programs\processes loading on start-up....you then start re-loading....one by one....each program you want loaded until the problem crops up. All of this is done as a systematic procedure....meaning within an hours time frame or so....NOT over a period of a few days.

I mentioned all that....because....even IF you do decide to increase your RAM....you might run into something similar again and hopefully you'll remember that in order to find the conflict one has to get rid of some of the players....temporarily.

The additional RAM will definetly help your system and will only cost about a round of golf....around 50 US dollars another words

 

Bubba, thanks. It makes more sense now. As I understand it, after the initial shutdown of all "unneeded" (i.e. bold) items, I reboot the PC and then open SpywareBlaster. If SpywareBlaster opens successfully, I go back and reselect one of the "unneeded" items . . . reboot, open SpywareBlaster . . . continuing to repeat the process by reselecting another "unneeded" item until the point is reached when SpywareBlaster won't open. It seems that when I reach this point, there may be some remaining unselected TSR programs that I may need, and therefore, I may have to go back and deselect a specific item and reselect the needed item.

Question: When adding back the "unneeded" items, is there a particular order of selection in which "unneeded" items should be added back? Is the reason SpywareBlaster won't open primarily due to some incompatability between SpywareBlaster and a specific TSR program . . . or is it the lack of sufficient memory due to the number of TSR programs?

Secondly, do you recommend going through this process before adding additional memory . . . or does it really matter? If you recommend doing this before adding memory, I'll have to wait until tomorrow as I'm tied up this afternoon.

BTW, since I have the serial number of my PC, I was able to go to Gateway's Tech Support Web site to identify the specific memory module for my PC as well as the maximum amount of RAM (384MB) that can be installed. This is the memory module Gateway said I would need for my PC:

128 MB PC100 SDRAM Module $99.99

It would seem I should be able to get a better deal at either Best Buy or CompUSA.

 

Best Buy....PNY 256MB PC133 SDRAM DIMM Memory
Our Price: $99.99
Check your owners manual for any required specs when buying sticks of RAM.

Firstly....I'm a gluten for punishment and always wanting to know who the trouble maker is but if you are going to add RAM....that's a call you can make.

Am I 100% sure this is a memory issue....nope....but in all my years....my opinion is your attempting to pull 10 kids up Pikes Peak in a wagon....all the while their arguing amongst themselves about who gets to sit up front. Somethings gotta give sooner than later.

There also is no particular order you need to add things back but I personally add back what pertains to each program. Another words....all the selections that are McAfee's....add them back at one time and then re-boot....does SpywareBlaster work ? Then add back....Quickens stuff and so on so forth.

Even if it's not extra RAM that fixes SpywareBlaster....you really need more IMO. In fact....since your Win98....IF you opened up Resource Meter(RSRCMTR.EXE) with all those programs running....I'd be somewhat shocked if it was a high % number.

 

Bubba, thanks.

I'll try your suggestions, however, I've decided to add more memory first.

On running RSRCMTR.EXE, how does 42% grab you . . . real low. The increased memory should really see an increase in speed.

I'll get back to you later on this to let you know how I make out.

Thanks again . . . its much appreciated.

Dave

 

Your Welcome Dave and don't let Best Buy talk you into a new screamin mean machine....to close to Christmas