(sent using MIME-Quoted Printable to avoid wrap--I hope...)
"Mary" wrote in message
ups.com...
Mr. Terhune: I checked for viruses/malware and all was clear. Followed
the Clean Boot instructions, then did scandisk & defrag. Didn't dare
to change AV apps just yet. Here's the list of background apps:
I'll comment on your background apps below, but first, some additional comments on your original post. I didn't say anything about some of the other things you mentioned in your original post, like "messing with virtual memory", which is almost always a bad thing to do. Please go back in there and reset it to "Let Windows Manage..." Also, I forget where the setting is that you probably changed where you choose between best performance for Server or Programs, but be sure to change it back to Programs. In fact, any of that tweaking you mentioned, it would be wise to undo whatever you did.
Do you notice any difference in performance after doing basic maintenance? I doubt it was much, but we needed a baseline, which is why I started with that. What is almost certainly a major part of the problem is Adware/Spyware. Most of the tools I recommended in my article on Security deal with those kinds of problems, and you need to use *all* of them, since they all look for or protect against slightly different things. Another good resource for issues involving Spyware/Adware is
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
Note: Before uninstalling applications, make sure to reenable any disabled items in the MSCONFIG panels, since the uninstaller won't be able to find these entries if they are disabled. As mentioned in my Clean Boot article, you may want to disable the startup groups in MSCONFIG and then restart, in order to get them unloaded, but then go back and re-enable everything, click OK, but DO NOT restart when prompted. Then do your uninstall procedures.
I'm going to reorganize this list to group them more appropriately
ScanRegistry Registry (Machine Run) c:\windows\scanregw.exe /autorun
SystemTray Registry (Machine Run) SysTray.Exe
TaskMonitor Registry (Machine Run) c:\windows\taskmon.exe SchedulingAgent Registry (Machine Service) mstask.exe
LoadPowerProfile Registry (Machine Run) Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
LoadPowerProfile Registry (Machine Service) Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
The above five items are Windows standard. Except in Cleanboot mode, leave these items enabled. Yes, there are two LoadPowerProfile items, but they load at different times and experience has taught us that if you disable one or both, weird things may happen. Scan Registry checks the Registry's integrity and makes a backup if none already exists for "today". Task Monitor logs the usage of applications and provides this info to Defrag for the purpose of optimizing file placement. System Tray provides a place for a few things like the Volume Control in the system tray.
KB891711 Registry (Machine Service) c:\windows\SYSTEM\KB891711\KB891711.EXE
This is part of a recent Windows Update and should be left intact.
CriticalUpdate Registry (Machine Run) c:\windows\SYSTEM\wucrtupd.exe -startup
A scheduled task that checks for new Updates from Microsoft. Best leave this one intact.
Microsoft Office Startup Group "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE" -b -l
This one usually doesn't cause problems, either. It helps Office programs launch more quickly and provides other benefits, and it will get re-enabled when you use Office, anyway.
run Win.ini hpfsched
Part of your HP printer installation and no big deal. Leave it alone
Logitech Desktop Messenger Agent Startup Group "C:\Program Files\Desktop Messenger\8876480\Program\LDMConf.exe" /start
LDM Registry (Per-User Run) C:\Program Files\Desktop Messenger\8876480\Program\BackWeb-8876480.exe
Both of the above are useless for the most part (see
http://tinyurl.com/7z3zo) It also uses the well-known BackWeb, a tool that is often considered Spyware and can be used to distribute adware/spyware. However, many companies use BackWeb to provide similar services as those Logitech is offering and in some few cases it is actually wise to leave it in place, in order to allow tech support access to your system. I never leave anything like this installed, and in this case, it's potentially causing problems for what I think you'll agree is no benefit. I'd uninstall this using Add/Remove Programs. My guess is that the item is titled "Logitech Desktop Messenger.
Tau Monitor Registry (Machine Run) C:\PROGRAM FILES\AGNITUM\TAUSCAN 1.6\TAUMON.EXE
This is a trojan detection/removal tool. Not one that I would use, but if the documentation is correct, it only runs at startup and while it might slow down your startup, if it makes you feel safer, by all means leave it.
EM_EXEC Registry (Machine Run) C:\PROGRA~1\LOGITECH\MOUSEW~1\SYSTEM\EM_EXEC.EXE
This program supports special functions for your Logitech mouse (you still have a Logitech mouse, right?) If you actually use those special functions, fine. Otherwise, most machines get along without this application just fine. Uninstallation is optional.
mdac_runonce Registry (Machine Run) C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\runonce.exe
This is leftover garbage from the installation of MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components) You DO NOT want to delete the file Runonce.exe, but you do want to get rid of this startup command. Instruction for that to follow.
VsEcomrEXE Registry (Machine Run) C:\Program Files\Network Associates\McAfee VirusScan\vsecomr.exe
MCAgentExe Registry (Machine Run) C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\AGENT\mcagent.exe
files\mcafee.com\agent\mcagent.exe
MCUpdateExe Registry (Machine Run) C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\AGENT\MCUPDATE.EXE
VSOCheckTask Registry (Machine Run) "C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\MCMNHDLR.EXE" /checktask
VirusScan Online Registry (Machine Run) "C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\mcvsshld.exe"
MPFExe Registry (Machine Run) C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\PERSON~1\MPFTRAY.EXE
McVsRte Registry (Machine Service) C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\mcvsrte.exe /embedding
*All* of the above are part of the McAfee Suite you're using. As Glen notes, you can test to see if it's causing problems by turning it off (after physically disconnecting from the internet), but I personally can't see how it *wouldn't* cause problems at one time or another. But I've already commented on what I think of this stuff.
Your material stated that it's not a good solution to disable items in
msconfig so I need instruction on how to do it. I had played around
with unchecking boxes based on info from sysinfo.org site which may
have resulted in the unresponsive mouse problem. Most items on the
list relate to McAfee...maybe that's what's slowing things down.
The proper statement is taht it's not wise to *permanently* disable items using MSCONFIG. It's intended to be used for trouble-shooting, and if you have a mess of permanently disabled items there, it makes life difficult, to say the least. Each of those items above has a notation next to it referring to where the command resides in the system, as follows:
"Startup Group" refers to a shortcut in the StartProgramsStartup folder. To get rid of it, simply right-click and delete the shortcut.
"run Win.ini" and another that you don't have, "load Win.ini", refer to lines in the Win.ini file, Example: "Run=hpfsched", and you get rid of them by simply deleting the appropriate line.
The rest are Registry commands located in the following Registry keys:
"Per-User Run" = HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run
"Per-User Service" = HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\RunServices
"Machine Run" = HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run
"Machine Service" = HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\RunServices
To permanently get rid of such commands, you need to edit the Registry. That's a potentially dangerous place to play around, and it usually isn't necessary anyway if you properly uninstall the related applications. If you *do* get into the Registry, be sure you have a current Registry backup by running Scanreg /backup from the Start\Run box, and then back up the Key you're editing by opening the appropriate key and then using FileExport to save a copy of that key in a REG file. Unfortunately, you do have one such item that needs to be deleted manually, "mdac_runonce", though it isn't really a big deal if you want to leave it. It will potentially cause some delay during Startup is all. The rest of the items above should disappear if they uninstall properly, but that isn't always a given--sometimes yu have to clean up after these things.
As mentioned before I wondered about the computer overheating. I don't
live in an air-conditioned house and even though there are not too many
really hot days in Maine (2 seasons he winter & August)it does seem
like the computer runs better when it's cold.
It's possible that heat would cause a bit of a slowdown, I suppose, but it's generally assumed that the only time to worry is if the machine starts spontaneously rebooting itself.
Thanks, Mary
You're welcome, Mary! Feel free to ask further clarifying questions. Personally, I think that besides the probability that McAfee and that Logitech Desktop thingy are very likey to be causing your system to bog down some, it's also likely that you have other adware/spyware problems. I strongly recommend you follow up with those tools I recommended and the Aumha.org site. No one anti-spyware/adware tool catches all of them. You want to run at least Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy on a regular basis, and to keep the stuff from getting into your system in the first place use HOSTS Manager and SpywareBlaster.
P. S. What is "MS-MVP"?
"Microsoft Most Valuable Professional" is an award given my MS to people in the public sphere who provide support for Microsoft products.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Here's my MVP Profile:
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pr...f-9415eeb3201a
--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User