Inactive Compaq XP computer runs slow; locks up

P.S. My brother and I both wonder what you experts might recommend as the best free Firewall. I use Vista's built-in firewall with a tweaker applet called Vista Firewall Control activates outbound as well as inbound control. My brother has been using an older (not latest) version of ZoneAlarm which we'd thought decent but which on one site gets a very bad review. He wonders now if ZoneAlarm allowed some of the malware onto his Compaq. Any suggestions you or your colleagues have would be much appreciated. Anti-virus suggestions too...we both use latest version of Avast. many thanks for your time and attention. tvjohns

 

RE: your suggestion "I suggest Windows repair installation:..." Looks like excellent solution, but how can I load and activate this .exe file at the start of Compaq boot-up which never reaches the Desktop Where I can click and install it? I could copy this Errortech XP repair file onto a CD which of course will be the first scanned item at boot-up. Would this .exe file automatically start...or at least be recognized such that I can activate it by pressing the Enter key?

 

P.S. I thought I had software to make bootable a CD with XP repair file "ErrorTeck_setup" copied onto it. But don't find it now. I assume for Compaq XP to recognize such a CD it would have to read as Bootable, just as the Fdos disk was created--!? If so can you suggest software to make formatting of a plain CD as Bootable?

 

Yes, my brother has both Windows XP CD and a Restore to Factory original CD, this last which I assume is bootable, thought I am not sure how the XP CD would interact with the Restore CD as the directions supplied with the Restore CD are not very informative.

But I do not see how your query about having Windows XP CD relates to your earlier direction "I suggest Windows repair installation: http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic...ir-windows-xp/" has anything do with having the Windows XP CD.

Are you suggesting I by-pass the XP repair utility and use the Restore CD (and or the Windows XP CD) to restore my brother's Compaq computer to original Factory condition?

If you are, by use of the Windows XP CD alone, I'm not sure just how to do that, as I say, Compaq's directions have no mention of using the Windows XP CD alone, only the Restore CD.

Further, how the Windows XP CD could facilitate using Windows XP repair utility on this computer that can't load the Desktop is beyond me. I assume running the Windows XP CD would result in re-installing the entire XP OS, which I'm guessing you expect would result the Compaq computer able to access the Desktop. But with a new, "clean" re-install of the XP OS would the Windows XP repair utility even be needed?

Any clarification you can offer would be much appreciated.

 

RE: your latest comment: "I suggest you start reading my replies more carefully.
I provided a link to Windows XP repair manual.
I assume, you didn't read it. "

My bad — you are correct. When I logged onto the link you refer to, the 1st item I noticed on the top of the page was "Xp Repairwww.ErrorTeck.com" and I ignorantly assumed this was the XP repair item to which you were referring. Going back to this page now I scrolled further down coming the long text article or manual as you refer to it...which starts: "How to repair Windows XP... One of the best kept secrets of Windows ..." Which I now assume (correctly-!?) is what you meant when you just now referred to "Windows XP repair manual." Which has all the blue screen shots, how to boot from CD, etc.

I shall get right on this with my brother's Compaq.

And my best regards, thank you so much for your time and your patience!

 

Earlier today, I ran the repair routine per the excellent Windows XP Repair Manual. Long story short: wound up not able to repair existing XP installation. Instead had to opt for full, new install of totally new XP in a way that resulted deleting all previous XP content. Hence my brother's Compaq has XP OS in brand new, pristine condition. Whatever malware might have still remained on the computer is gone with everything else that existed prior to this new, fresh installation.

Whatever you might still suggest as ways of hardening this computer against any repetitions of malware infection — such as you suggested to me about my Vista laptop — running MalwareBytes, TFC, installing Secunia PSI, etc. would of course be greatly appreciated.

Again, many thanks for your time and patience.