EMPTY DEVICE MANAGER

[jdc2000]

I wouldn't trust that drive to store anything important.

[yurka]

I realize that somehow the entire folder Services was somehow intruded and ALL services were disabled. So far, I could not find a Restore Defaults button (I doubt that such button exists). I'd like to know what you guys think: was it a malware attack and, therefore, is unlikely to happen again or is the HDD so bad that it is likely to happen again?

[Train]

Sounds like malware to me. Had a client's rig have a lot of the services disabled after getting it clean, I had to enable each service one by one.

[yurka]

That what I was doing yesterday and today - one by one. So far so good, changes survived several restarts.
It did feel like like malware; yet, both MalwareBytes and AVG anti-virus did not find anything. Now Active@Hard Disc Monitor scanning the disc, will post the log tomorrow. Overall disc"health" is rated 97%(?!).

[yurka]

So far, so good: I have the Net, the sound, DevMngr and Services are running. Active@ HD Monitor did not find a single bad sector, which is quite strange: a free Fix Cleaner did find a few, which is kind of expected for a HDD that has run over 9000 hours (A@HD M data). A@HDM is only $5.99!
Yesterday I read (again) that one should get a good Registry cleaner and use on a regular basis. Once I used Registry Mechanic, with very bad results - apparently RM weeded out something useful, so some programs had not run anymore (it was many years ago, do not remember details). Since then I read MANY other opinions - NEVER "clean" the Registry - a bit slower PC is better then a Registry with deleted values. I agree, the above is especially true for this old slow one. What's the consensus here?
Another question I have is about this guy: Welcome to The Ask Leo! Newsletter - is this Leo good? In particular, should I use this:
http://pcpitstop.com/store/pcmatic_s...askleo_pcmatic.

[Train]

<shudder> I would not touch programs like that with a 10 foot pole.
I use MSE and malwarebytes and sit behind a router.

That has been the basic setup and all I have run for the last 10 years has been a AV program and one malware program.

[yurka]

Thank you train, please go easy on me, I am a PC ignoramus: MSE= MS Security Essentials? If so, I download it today and unsubscribe to Leo's newsletter.

[Train]

Yes, MSE= MS Security Essentials

AVG has a removal tool you will need to use.
http://www.avg.com/us-en/utilities

And I would not be surprised if AVG is what is slowing you down either. Just removed off of a computer and boy, did it speed up and MSE does not slow it down either. Clients rig.
Just FYI, reading the various threads and post here at vdr is where I learned bunches about computers and I mean bunches.!!

Now the AVG I had to use revo uninstaller to get rid of it. Just so you know.

[yurka]

IOW, MSE is all-in-one. I used to use free Avast but on both PCs it malfunctioned, so I upgraded to Pro version in new Win7 and replaced it with AVG in WinXP. I'll follow your advice and replace it with MSE. What about Win7? Do the same or continue Avast?
One question please: MSE wants to be updated at 2a.m. Will it turn the PC on??? or should I leave the PC in sleep mode or change the time of update? TIA.

[Train]

MSE, no, it will not start the PC. I just changed the time to when I know I normally am on the PC. I normally update it myself so I know it is done. The heck with this AUTO junk.

Using MSE on Win 7, Vista and XP, but that is just my preference.

[yurka]

I completely agree. Sorry for a stupid question- I was very confused. It was the first time when a scheduler came pre-loaded, and by M$ itself! I am quite illiterate but not to that extend :-).

[Train]

We had to learn some things the hard way ourselves, them lists of scheduled things in store bought computers is a complete pain.

[yurka]

The latest news: every time I turn the PC on, I see a small box: "Program error. (yellow'!')svchost.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows.You will need to restart the program.
An error log is being created."
The closest thing I could find is svchost without .exe. What program do I have to restart? Where can I find the "error log". What should I do with it if I find Error Log??
A quick online search brought me here: http://www.neuber.com/free/svchost-analyzer/. I could not upload the results because the file exceeds the size limit. Two files are marked with red exclamation points <access is denied, run as administrator>, ~10 - with yellow exclamation points, most are Okay (belongs to Windows).
I opened the Services folder again, and was able to start almost all programs which I could not start yesterday - they gave me various errors. A couple of Network System files and third party SW (e. g. Google and Java) could not be started. Now Security Task Manager from here http://www.neuber.com/free/svchost-analyzer/ is running, for the second hour!!!
I'll post the results (if it ever stops!)