cascading series of dos windows on startup - odd behavior likely a virus, but I'm confused .....

On startup I get a cascading series of DOS windows (15 to 20 ) which then
vanish. When I attempt to run an app a dos window pops up, vanishes , and
the app will not run. This behavior started after I installed AVG anti virus
software ; but there were similar issues prior (control panel apps would not
work). I have been able to run a up to date scan with Norton via my lan on
the drive, and it passes. A great number of viruses were found and deleted,
first by avg and then by norton....
I note that when I boot on a win98 floppy I'm unable to see my C drive ...
which leads me to suspect a boot sector virus ...but the cascading series of
dos windows on startup points to something more upper level ,no ?

I see too that MS Word , for example, will run if I click on a doc in
windows explorer ...so the OS is working still, largely ....

Sounds like you're ready for a complete wipe and reinstall. Sounds like the
system is rather decently damaged. In any case, here's a boatload of info you
might find useful:

Note that the meat of my suggestions is contained in the linked "Clean Boot"
article, but the rest is quite relevant to the overall concept of "maintenance",
as well.

The below includes everything I think is necessary for computer security, no
more, and certainly no less. Yes, there are valid differences of opinion
regarding which antivirus software to use, but the rest of my suggestions have
fairly unanimous support among the cognoscenti. The initial suggestions go hand
in hand with maintaining a clean and secure system. Not all links to
Spyware/Adware programs may be functioning (it's a war out there), so if you
have any problems, try using the links available at
http://www.aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm

See my article, "Clean Boot--What it is and why you need it"
http://www.google.com/groups?selm=%2...GP11.phx.gb l

Because some of the more recent known invaders are capable of interfering with
the suggestions contained in the above, I suggest you also consider first doing
the following, though it may be necessary to set up a clean boot, and even then
manually kill a malicious process or two before you can even get these
accomplished. Many invaders are built to first detect and disable protections
that are in place, so that you might, for instance, have to obtain and employ a
DOS-boot antivirus like F-Prot. Repeated running of scanners, booting back and
forth from Safe Mode to Normal, or into DOS Mode--a lot of gymnastics are often
required to get to an error-free and nasties-free condition. Once there,
however, some user sanity and education, plus regular "wetware" updating, will
*keep* your system healthy.

Update your Antivirus, run a full scan. Then, if you haven't already, obtain,
update, and run any or all of the following Trojan/Parasite/Adware/Spyware
cleaners. I recommend getting and running *all* of them. They each target
slightly different things. Again, be sure you update the definitions they are
using to identify crap before running them, each time you run them--which,
depending on your surfing habits, should be anything from once a month, to once
a week, to once a day, to once an hour if you're really into junkware sites (aka
"Free goodies", game sites, fun-places-to-be, etc.)

Tradition had it that Firewalls were generally not needed when using simple
dial-up modem connections. Alas, this is no longer the case. *Everyone* needs a
firewall! Also, I make no bones about it--Norton, McAfee and Trend-Micro
products (and probably a few others) are ABOMINATIONS!, particularly when it
comes to Win9x systems. They are massive suites that intrude into basic
functions where they simply do not need to go. For freeware solutions, I suggest
AVG or AVAST (based upon the recommendations of others, though each has it's
minor drawbacks) and ZoneAlarm Firewall. But for really good, inexpensive, and
trustworthy protection, you simply can't beat eTrust Armor. Antivirus and
Firewall combined, very non-intrusive upon the system itself (I've *never* seen
a crash caused by EZ Antivirus, and there's hardly any impact whatsoever on
Resources, etc.) eTrust is from Computer Associates Inc.--the antivirus is a
version of their corporate product usually known as Inoculan, and they got smart
recently and switched to using a version of ZoneAlarm for their firewall.

You can get a one-year free trial of eTrust EZ Armor at
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/. This offer was initially slated to end this
June, but has been extended through February 2005. The trial offer is also
included in at least some versions (not sure about all languages) of Microsoft's
Windows Security Update CD, an item *everyone* should own.
(However, do *not* just run the Update CD on your system without a proper
analysis of where your system stands with regard to Updates. Might do more harm
than good.) EZ Armor would normally cost $50 for the first year (a deal in
itself), and yearly renewal subscriptions only cost $25--an absolute steal when
compared with other offerings. Order the Windows Security Update CD directly
from MS, totally free, including S&H, at
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

In addition to Antivirus and Firewall protection, I consider the following items
to be indispensable protection and clean-up utilities. My judgment is based upon
their being free, good, accurate, and safe, if handled correctly. See, also,
suggestions from MVP Mike Burgess on his site, http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/,
particularly the general Windows/IE
Security page, http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/security.htm. More current
discussions of Security issues can be found at the Windows Support Center
(provided by MVP Jim Eshelman, a true Saint!) at http://www.aumha.org

(SpyBot S&D = "SpyBot Search & Destroy")

Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
SpyBot S&D http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download
HijackThis http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe
CWShredder http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip
Spyware Blaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

PLEASE! Before doing any of these, see also,
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm for suggestions and cautionary
information about internet surfing, and some important hints about using the
above. ESPECIALLY, be aware that HijackThis scans result in a LOT of stuff that
you *don't* want to delete. The admonishment to save a log and show it to an
expert is critically good advice. Not following that advice can really do some
damage to your system. SpyBot S&D, too, is capable of similar problems,
especially if you change default scan settings, or "Immunize".

An additional tool that is very helpful in protecting your machine is a HOSTS
file. Microsoft MVP Mike Burgess maintain a frequently updated list of bad
sites. They may be sites that provide most of the junky advertisements you see
in other places, or sites that install spyware/adware, or that, for whatever
reason, you shouldn't allow into your system. Using the HOSTS file, you can
redirect such addresses to a site that's guaranteed will fail to load on most
machines--your own computer.
HOSTS Overview -- http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

I also consider MVP George Gedye's HOSTS File Manager an indispensable tool.
I've been amazed at how well this one tool stopped most of the crap from getting
in in the first place. You can find it at the bottom of this page:
http://www.mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/Software.htm

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User

"Barret Bonden" wrote in message
...
On startup I get a cascading series of DOS windows (15 to 20 ) which then
vanish. When I attempt to run an app a dos window pops up, vanishes , and
the app will not run. This behavior started after I installed AVG anti virus
software ; but there were similar issues prior (control panel apps would not
work). I have been able to run a up to date scan with Norton via my lan on
the drive, and it passes. A great number of viruses were found and deleted,
first by avg and then by norton....
I note that when I boot on a win98 floppy I'm unable to see my C drive ...
which leads me to suspect a boot sector virus ...but the cascading series of
dos windows on startup points to something more upper level ,no ?

I see too that MS Word , for example, will run if I click on a doc in
windows explorer ...so the OS is working still, largely ....