help-repairing current xpPro install

Hi, this is old PC w/XPproSP2. Last few days the following has happened (not in chron order):
-no sound item in system tray;
-when I go to check the sound CP, device mgr. window is empty, no devices (big white screen);
-when I try to access our server, msg comes back "inaccessible...permissions?" (shortened msg for here; you know what it is)
-system restore goes back only to beginning of month (july)
-even with MSconfig loading everything ( "normal" choice), no changes in behavior.

This acct. has had full priv on w2K local file server & I've been there thousands of times. I created another account (admin privileges) & loaded it on the server, same message.

I've added nothing mind boggling. I did add IE8b1 some weeks ago but no odd changes in PC noted.

Do I really need to R & R the OS or are there other ways to get this thang working? Thank you.

 

Hi larkin,

Empty Device Manager is often a sign of a particular infection, so lets first see if that's what we're dealing with, then go from there.

Please download AproposFix from here:
http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/aproposfix.exe

Save it to your desktop but do NOT run it yet.

Then please reboot your computer in Safe Mode by doing the following:
1) Restart your computer
2) After hearing your computer beep once during startup, but before the Windows icon appears, press F8.
3) Instead of Windows loading as normal, a menu should appear
4) Select the first option, to run Windows in Safe Mode.


Once in Safe Mode, please double-click aproposfix.exe and unzip it to the desktop. Open the aproposfix folder on your desktop and run RunThis.bat. Follow the prompts.

When the tool is finished, please reboot back into normal mode, and post a HijackThis log, along with the entire contents of the log.txt file in the aproposfix folder.

If this is indeed a malware related issue, this topic will be moved to the Removing Spyware & Viruses forum.

 

thanks, Noah. Ran apropos. Found nothing (wrong). The LAN problems magically disappeared (I changed nothing since 7/6 post; a cold reboot yesterday booted all the problems listed on post; today's 1st boot, same config, the LAN was normal & up. So it must be magic or something.) Which leads to another question:

Are network settings for wXPproSP2 stored in CMOS, other NVRAM or ESCD? Would loss of network settings (& sudden reappearance so that everything "looks ok" but really isn't, on a long-term basis) be due to something as simple as a fading battery? I'm getting concerned that this is a really serious hw issue age-related (like a 10y.o. mobo & its parts) & not fixable. Thanks.

 

Glad to hear 2 things.

1. No infection
2. It's all working again



Those settings are all stored in the registry. Could be a failing LAN card (or onboard LAN), or the controller for it (MOBO), and I suppose it's possible, the battery. Batteries are cheap, and changing it to be sure wouldn't hurt.