Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with WindowsXP

Internet, you're being weird. Stop it.

Rhaomi — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:01:41 -0800

Trying to set up a new wireless network and running into all kinds of strange problems. Connections dropped every few hours! Some machines work, some don't! Can connect to internet, can't connect to router! DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER (literally). Please help. The set-up is a little convoluted, but does work (until it doesn't).

The original router is an ISP-provided 2wire HomePortal 1700HW, a combination DSL modem/router that plugs directly into a phone jack and broadcasts it as a WiFi network. It's a few years old but has worked decently on its own up to this point, so I don't think the problem lies there.

The newcomer is a brand-new Western Digital My Net N600 router, acquired both to improve on the range of the old one and to provide networked storage capability for shared music and such.

Configuring the two of them to work properly was a bit of a dog, but I finally did get it working. The phone jack plugs into the old 2wire, now set to bridge mode to disable its built-in wireless capability. The 2wire plugs into the N600 via Ethernet. And the N600, armed with all the correct PPPoE login information from the ISP, correctly connects to and interprets the DSL coming in from the 2wire and broadcasts it out. Even the network storage works!

Problem is, every couple of hours this connection fails, and in the weirdest way possible.

Right now, I'm typing this on an old 'n' busted laptop running Windows XP. It's currently connected to the N600's wireless network and can browse the web no problem. All the status lights on the routers are green, running an ipconfig command returns normal IP address information (including the router's IP), I can ping the router at that location fine.

But I can't connect to the router's settings page (192.168.1.1). WTF?

Also, a visiting Chromebook can connect to the network but can't load any websites... except for AOL webmail, of all things. A test email sent from a phone showed up in the inbox fine, while Google, Facebook, etc. look dead. Not even Gmail, mail.live.com, or even just plain old aol.com work -- just mail.aol.com. This Chromebook doesn't have a data connection, btw, just WiFi. I say again: WTF?

Meanwhile, a newer Windows 7 laptop can't connect to the N600 network at all ("Unable to connect..."), and even plugging directly into the N600 router via Ethernet won't work -- I can ping it fine, but neither websites nor the router settings page itself will load.

Various mobile devices are likewise denied -- various iPhones and iPads can't connect to the network at all.

Power-cycling the N600 router solves all these problems and things work alright for all devices... for a few hours. Until everything craps out again, for no apparent reason.

What could be triggering this issue, and how do I fix it? I've dealt with wonky router stuff before, but it seems totally bizarre to me that:

- the status lights on both routers are fine, including the N600's "internet connection OK" light
- ONE laptop can connect to the router's WiFi and browse the web, and can ping the router, but can't access the router itself
- the other laptop can ping the router through a wired connection, but can't access the router settings or browse the web that way
- a Chromebook can connect to the network and can load *one* website (mail.aol.com), but nothing else
- no other device (apart from that first laptop that mysteriously works fine) can connect to the WiFi network at all

Any thoughts or advice appreciated; I'd love to get this problem fixed rather than have to venture back to Best Buy and try to find a replacement (maybe an N900? who knows).

How can I clone an XP drive and install that on a Windows 7 system?

filthy light thief — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:06:58 -0800

I have two laptops, an old XP machine with a dying power supply, and a new Windows 7 machine that could easily store the old XP harddrive. Can I clone the XP drive and make a dual boot system on the Windows 7 machine?

How to connect a Mac OS X and a Windows XP machine, in order to have a PHP+MysqL application running on Windows but with browser and usage from Mac OS X?

lion — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 03:59:54 -0800

I want to connect from a Mac OS X machine to a Windows XP running XAMPP (Apache, MySQL, PHP), in order to use an application running on the Windows machine. At the same time, I want to have the Mac OS X allowing Internet browsing, while Windows should be isolated from the Internet. Can it be done in some way, or can you suggest a possible setup close to that purpose? I do not have access to a Mac OS X machine, so I need instructions about what to do when I'll have to try this kind of setup:
There will be:

- a Mac OS X machine;

- a Windows XP machine;

- XAMPP installed on Windows XP, with Apache and MySQL running;

- a PHP/MySQL application installed on the Windows machine, normally working from a web browser on Windows, from address http://localhost/whatever

What I want to achieve:

- the PHP/MySQL application still running on the Windows machine, but using it from Safari on the Mac OS X machine;

- Internet normally working on the Mac OS X environment;

- Windows environment isolated (or protected enough) from the Internet.

Is there a way to build this setup?

Your answers may include hardware and/or software required to buy (e.g. router, cables, etc.).

Thank you very much.

Windows equivalent to Target Disk Mode?

Sticherbeast — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 07:47:34 -0800

Colleague's Windows laptop isn't starting up properly. Would it be possible to boot this laptop as an external hard drive to another computer, a la Apple's Target Disk Mode, perhaps using an Ethernet cable? We have both Windows machines and Macs in the office. Please note that I am exclusively looking for this sort of solution, within the confines of this particular question.

How do I download Windows XP updates just once and install them from the local source after that?

InsertNiftyNameHere — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 04:59:18 -0800

How do I save all Windows XP (32 bit) updates on my PC, burn them to a DVD, and then use that DVD so I don't have to download them again? I find myself installing XP (32 bit only, home and pro) not infrequently on different HDDs and machines for reasons I won't bore you with. This is a real pain because I have a slow DSL connection so it can consume a lot of time downloading all the updates from MS after the installation is complete.

I'd like to download all Windows XP updates from Microsoft's update site to a directory(folder) on my PC, and periodically update it by downloading only updates that are released after my first mega download.

Then, whenever I perform a new installation of XP, I could install XP from an installation CD, and then somehow point Windows Update on the fresh installation to the above folder, or a DVD copy of it, or whatever (somewhere local) so the machine with the fresh install grabs the updates locally rather than downloading them over my DSL line, thus saving me an enormous amount of time.

From the research I've done, I think the first part is probably doable, but I'd like to hear ideas for how to do that best.

The second part, where I need to point windows update on the fresh install to the local location, seems to be much tougher to do since I don't see a way that windows update can be forced to look at a local folder before going out to MS's update site.

Ideally, I'd like to accomplish the above without installing any 3rd party utilities that may infect the machine with malware.

Any relatively painless way to do this? Many thanks in advance.

How to get serial numbers from optical drives?

Awkward Philip — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:30:13 -0800

Is there any way to determine the serial numbers of the optical drives in my computer without opening it up? I'm running Windows XP. I've already tried the method suggested at this link, but it didn't work.

Using a Mixer w/Audacity to do Interviews on a Landline.

CollectiveMind — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:55:07 -0800

Using a Mixer w/Audacity to do Interviews on a Landline.? I am using Audacity v2.02. I am also using Windows XP x32 but I may be upgrading to Windows 7 x64. I want to conduct interviews via a landline using an Alesis MultiMix4 w/USB connector. My PC is connected to the landline through an Intel (R) 536 EP modem v.4.76.70.
- In Audacity there was a phone line selection in the input dropdown menu which I selected. But I didn't hear a dial tone when I clicked record.
- In Control Panel > Audio Devices and Properties > Audio tab, there is a selection for modem #0 record and modem #0 playback. I selected these. The same selections are in Audacity in the input and output dropdown menus. I selected them too. But this configuration gave me an error that said I needed to check the input source and the sampling rate. The sampling rate for a landline is 8Khz. I changed the sampling rate but kept getting the error.
- The Audio tab in Audio Devices and Properties also has a USB Audio CODEC option which I selected thinking it would be a better connection to the mixer. And yes, it does let me record to Audacity through the mixer when the microphone input is selected, but there still seems to be no connection between Audacity and the landline. I thought that through the USB, I could not only talk to who is on the phone through a microphone which is connected to the mixer, but listen to them through the mixer too.
Can the hivemind give me any help? Thanks.

Using Paragon "Adaptive Restore"

lattiboy — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:49:53 -0800

Need help with Paragon "Adaptive Restore", part of the Backup & Recovery 2012 software package. I feel like an idiot, but I simply cannot work out how to use the adaptive restore feature.

I simply need to move/clone a hard drive with an existing Windows XP install (and some very hard to install software) to new hardware. The Mobo on the old machine is dead and I really need the software on this machine up and running ASAP.

thanks

How can I fix my XP computer from UBCD?

AgentRocket — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 16:50:58 -0800

How can I run chkdsk (or something similar to fix my XP computer) from UBCD 4.1.1? My work computer runs XP Pro and it after getting stuck in the middle of defragmenting it has refused to boot all day. Our IT help desk said that if I can "boot to disk" and "get a command prompt" I can run "chkdsk /fix /r" and that will maybe fix the issue.

I downloaded and burned an iso of UBCD 4.1.1 from my home computer, and I can get the menu when I start up my work computer. But there are lots of options there that I don't understand and "get a command prompt" is unfortunately not one.

Is there a way to run chkdsk from the UBCD menu? If not, is there something that I can run from that menu that will try to fix my computer? Degree of Difficulty: I am good at following directions but I am only marginally clever with computers.

Safe, easy, preferably free way to get hot corners in Windows 7

limeonaire — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 14:47:41 -0800

I want OS X Exposé-style hot corners in Windows 7. Is there any alternative to Hot Corners or LiveEdge? When a similar question was asked back in 2009, those two programs seemed to be the de facto standard. But unfortunately, both of them trigger virus warnings on my machine, even when downloaded from CNET (which I feel like is pretty reputable). The Hot Corners site explains that false virus warnings are often triggered by the program's installer, and provides the program's source for scrutiny, but I don't really want to have to dig to evaluate the validity of those claims. I just want something that works, that will let me trigger monitor sleep and/or a screensaver when I move the mouse to a specific corner or two of the screen.

On Windows XP, I used to use a cute little program called xHotSpot for this, which I think I got off of Aqua-Soft back in my heavy desktop-customization days. It still works fine on my old XP machine, and I still have the installer for it, but it doesn't work in Windows 7, even when I try to run it in Windows XP Mode via Windows Virtual PC.

Are there any newer programs out there that will do this while still being fairly lightweight/single-purpose/hopefully free? I don't really want to have to install any big, feature-laden, RAM-hogging program just to achieve this one simple thing. Bonus points if the suggested program has an option to disable it with a quick click in the notification area, e.g., before I start up a full-screen game.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me!

Why is my Windows XP telling me that the current user account is not recognised?

Senza Volto — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:49:33 -0800

For the past month or so, my Windows XP SP3 gives me the message "The current user account is not recognised. Restart the computer and then open User Accounts." whenever I try to open User Accounts. The problem is not resolved by restarting, but is temporarily eliminated by logging off and logging back in. It reappears on restart. Why is this happening? Currently I've seen it hinder:
- causes some icons to disappear from system tray
- Realtek HD Audio Driver does not open from Control Panel
- Media players (VLC Player, The KMPlayer, PotPlayer) do not play audio, citing a problem with audio drivers
- Opening Device Manager tells me that I do not have sufficient security privileges.

I've googled it to no luck and the only real "fix" seems to be to reinstall Windows, which I'm not keen on doing as the problem does seem to go away when I log off/log in.

I've tried sfc /scannow and registering everything in Dial-a-Fix.

I only have one user account on my Windows, it has Admin privileges.

If you guys happen to know a good place for me to ask this, that would be appreciated as well.

I would like to legally make my copy of Windows XP work!

visual mechanic — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 23:04:40 -0800

I need Windows XP on my boot camp capable Macbook Pro. I purchased the home edition SP2 a long time ago, but have now lost the product key / activation. I'm looking for legal ways to install XP tonight or tomorrow. I still have the installation disk. I'm willing to pay for a new key from microsoft, if they sell such a thing. Or I'd like to buy a fresh copy in Los Angeles by tomorrow. Every store that I've looked into that normally sells software only seems to be selling Windows 7 now.

I could order one from Amazon and have it overnight, but I wouldn't get it until Tuesday. (That's my backup plan.)

It has to be Windows XP, there is software that only runs on that platform. I know I could buy Windows 7 Professional or Enterprise edition and run it in XP mode, but I'd rather avoid that if possible. (That's backup plan #2.)

Also, I can't find the receipt for the software I purchased, and it's not OEM, so I think calling Microsoft Customer Service or scanning my computer to get the lost key is out. It was installed on my Mac at one point, but I didn't like how much hard drive space it was taking up, so I deleted it.

All of this will be lost .... Windows XP pining for the fjords?

maudlin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:54:57 -0800

My installation of Windows XP Pro (SP3) seems to have developed intermittent amnesia. I've noticed a couple of times in the past week that files which I edited and saved under new names just -- disappeared. (Details inside). Today, after restarting the machine, I found my desktop wallpaper and Quick Launch icons had reverted to what I had several months ago, and my Recent Documents lists in MS and Adobe products was showing material from July 2011 and earlier. Plus, my iTunes library had suddenly been unable to find about 10% of my songs, although I have been able to manually locate them and make iTunes recognize a few again. These "missing" songs are both old and new: I don't see any pattern in time re what has gone missing. I'm assuming the worst -- XP death throes in progress! -- and am updating my data backups NOW. All my applications seem fine so far: I'm not missing anything that was recently installed. No other data seems to be actually missing. While I back up, is there anything else I should investigate or hypothesize? Disappeared files in the past week: (All data is saved on a separate physical drive. C drive is only for the o/s.)

1) Word 2010 was used to save a docx file under a new name. Edited content extensively, saved, and emailed. Recipients said file was old version, and checking my hard drive, that was true: new name, all old content.

2) Three Adobe Captivate files were saved under new names and edited on Dec 2. On December 5, they didn't show up in the app's recent files list, and they were nowhere to be found on the data drive.

Oh, one more thing [/Columbo]: I have Norton Ghost 15 installed. I backed up my XP install last year (Dec 10 and 13 2010, with two recovery points set), but I haven't had the drive it's backed up to connected recently, so I'm used to seeing the Ghost icon in my taskbar with a red x through it. Today, after the restart, the Ghost icon appeared without the x. When I opened it earlier today, threat level was at 2 (Medium), but right now it's at threat level 1 -- Normal. Event Log is empty.

Frankensteining a Windows XP Install: old into new?

Uther Bentrazor — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:59:08 -0800

Can I put my old XP state into a new XP install? Recently I was hit by some kind of malware that got blocked by SpyBot halfway through installing, and locked up my machine, forcing a reboot. After which, the computer would no longer boot. After rebuilding the boot.ini and some system restore stuff, I ended up with the NTLDR is missing error. After which, I tried just about everything on this search page, I tried using the XP disc to repair the install, and more. Nothing.

I pulled the harddrive to make sure it wasn't a faulty drive, I plugged it into another machine, ran all sorts of scans on it to make sure the HDD itself wasn't damaged; it wasn't. I backed up all my data, plugged it back into the original machine, tried everything all over again, to no avail.

Finally I gave up and installed a new copy of XP in a separate directory just to get it to do SOMETHING. It installed and booted up fine, of course, it's a fresh install, so nothing (programs, drivers, etc) is there yet.

So at the moment, I have a machine with two XP installs (C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS1). All of my programs and data are intact, and everything is still present in the old install, but I know it isn't as simple as just copying the working parts of one into the other and having my old setup back. As an IT professional by trade, I admit I find my inability to reclaim my old desktop to be a slight bit embarrassing, as it feels like the solution should be, if not easy, at least simple.

So I turn to you, AskMe Hivemind, is my old XP install doomed, and I should start scouring for the install discs of every single program I used to use, or is there a way to rebuild my home?

Look ma, no passwords

alcopop — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 11:25:05 -0800

A relative passed away. I've been asked by family to wipe her work laptop before it is returned to the company. I don't have any of her passwords. Is there a way to wipe it anyways and have it in a returnable condition? My aunt passed away last week and I need to wipe her Dell Latitude D505 work laptop. I don't think there is anything too sensitive on there but she headed up a no-kill shelter and people are worried that sensitive info would be left on the computer. It's running Windows XP, ctrl alt del log in screen pops up and I can't get past it to do anything without her passwords. I am at a Starbucks with the laptop, an iPhone and an iPad and would like to take care of this as soon as possible. Is it possible to wipe the laptop and have it in good condition in these circumstances?

new life for a Nikon 990 Coolpix

diode — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 08:22:26 -0800

I'm trying to set up my Nikon 990 Coolpix camera as a dedicated image camera on a PC. I'm not able to download images via USB and wondering how I could get this to work. I need to take a boatload of images and get them into a PC quickly and easily. I have this camera available as a utility camera that can be permanently utilized in this role if I can get it to work on a PC. I'm able to connect this camera to a Macintosh and download images using Image Capture application. On a PC, I've tried the latest Nikon software available from their website, which does not detect the camera. I've tried looking for the original CD installer for the camera, and not been able to find it or buy it.
This camera has plenty of working utility for me if I can get images off it conveniently and quickly. I don't want to use a memory card transfer, though I suppose that could be a final way to do this. A cheap USB reader I got off eBay didn't work, so if there is one that would definitely be compatible and work, feel free to suggest one.
Best outcome: open source or free application that would run the camera as a tethered shooting platform. I don't think that's out there, so next best solution is the equivalent of Mac Image Capture for the PC.

Frequently dropping wireless

moonroof — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:30:06 -0800

My wireless connection keeps dropping every few minutes. Eee PC, Windows XP, roommate's Macbook does not have this problem. I've got an Eee PC laptop running Windows XP. We have a Motorola Docsis 3.0 and a Belkin N300 Wireless N router.

Every few minutes, the internet stops working, and we have to "repair connection" to get it back again. We have only had this problem since moving to our new house with the new modem and router setup. In our previous apartment, our modem and wireless setup worked fine. Our roommate's Macbook does not have this problem.

This is a very frustrating problem that has been going on for months. Any advice or help would be appreciated. If you need to know more tech specifics, ask and I will let you know. Thank you guys so much in advance!

Help me avoid spending way too much time navigating between folders.

t_dubs — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:58:00 -0800

Can I revert the behaviour of Common Item Dialogs in Windows 7 to that of Windows XP? This is a frustrating problem that really only makes things take way more time than they should.

In Windows XP, Common File Dialogs (Open/Save) generally opened to the last selected location of that file type.
Since the Common Item Dialog introduced in Windows Vista, they open to the last selected location in that program. Period.

An example:

I am running some .GS scripts on .XYZ data.
In Windows XP, the dialog opened to select the script would open to the last location I selected a .GS file. When the script needs some data, it opens a dialog for an .XYZ file, which opens to the last location I selected an .XYZ file.

In Windows 7, the dialog opened to select the script would open to the last location I selected a file in this program (probably where my .XYZ files are). When the script needs some data, it opens a dialog for an .XYZ file, but opens to the folder I selected the .GS from.

Running software in compatibility mode for WinXP has varying results. Is there any way to revert this behaviour for good?

Need 64-bit MS Paint install file!

CelebrenIthil — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:19:10 -0800

Could anyone provide me with the 64 bit MS Paint install file from Windows XP or Vista? (NO Windows 7!) I upgraded from a 32-bit XP computer to 64-bit Windows 7 one. Microsoft decided to "upgrade" MS Paint in the latter version and now it is a big steaming pile of turd that can't even make stuff like it's basic paint bucket tool work right anymore.

I've always used MS Paint for spriting and pixel art and I really need it back.

There are many tutorials on how to install the old version on your Win7 machine but I can't find a 64-bit version for the life of me. (I'd just have used the file on my old xp 32-bit computer otherwise and wouldn't have bothered the Hive Mind)
If anyone could provide me to paintnt.exe (or maybe even just paint.exe?) 64-bit, I'd be extremely grateful!

P.S: If anyone even utters anything about getting Paint.NET or Gimp or anything like that I will do my best to reach through my screen and physically throttle you.
I don't need any alternate program, freeware, shareware or what-have-you, I already have Adobe Photoshop for all my other art needs, I just need the old handy/clean/simple little MS Paint again for what it did perfectly.

Thanks a truckload for any help! :D

DotNetNuke + XP + IE8 = ARRRGH!

rednikki — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:01:05 -0800

After a month in the field, this DotNetNuke site is throwing up Tab Recovery Errors in IE8 for users using Windows XP. While the most efficient answer may be "don't use XP" it is unfortunately not the best answer. Anyone have an idea? More details inside... I am posting this for a friend who has had absolutely no luck in the usual spots for this. I'm hoping the superior average intelligence of MeFites will lead to an answer! Here's the details.

Launched the DotNetNuke site on June 3. Prior to that it was tested in all browsers for compatibility, and despite a few differences (of course) the site worked well. On July 5, for no apparent reason, we began getting a Tab Recovery Error in IE8. The error log lists the error with an ID 1048, and the other piece we narrowed down is the error happens with the mshtml.dll. Here are the other quirky things about this error:

1. Happens randomly by page, and on most but not all Windows XP computers with IE8.
2. It doesn't happen with IE7 but not many people are still using IE7 anyway. I have not tested it with IE9.
3. However, the company who setup our document management system is now saying their product is having the same issue but with IE9. So far, their "fix" is to tell clients not to upgrade to 9.
4. The error happens when editing OR viewing the site, and it's happening on both our development and live server.
5. DNN says it is not their product, but IE.
6. We've considered all the security and Windows updates to no avail.
7. All the online documentation talks about client side fixes like clearing the IE cache, resetting or reinstalling it, removing or disabling add-ons. We did that and it still happens. Plus, we can't ask all our viewers to do this.
8. I get the error at home on an XP/IE8 machine but I can have three tabs open and I only get it with our site. I also have a Windows 7/IE8 system and I don't get it.

I've troubleshooted this problem since July 5 and that's as far as I've gotten. I'm really frustrated and I know you may or you know a lot of people in the field who may have other suggestions, or have run into similar problems with IE.

Batch renaming through sub-directories!

The Great Big Mulp — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:13:10 -0800

I want to write a batch file that will let me change the extensions of all the files of a certain type (so, like, "ren *.nco *.zip") through all of the sub-directories in a directory. If this is possible, how is it done? I've been doing this whole thing via the command prompt, and I'm just getting really sick of typing my way through all these sub-directories. Plus, it's taking up far too much of my time.

There's got to be a better way!

cintiq color calibration issues

NoraReed — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:05:33 -0800

Wacom Cintiq color calibration issues under Windows XP run on an iMac. For some reason my Cintiq is calibrated to be really, really red by default. I can change the settings around but I can never get it anywhere in the realm of right; it ends up having color, contrast and brightness issues.

I don't think this is an issue with the Cintiq itself because the colors on the menus look right-- the reds are normal reds, blacks very black, etc. Is there a software fix for this?

I'm using Windows XP run on an iMac, if it matters.

Looking for tips, tricks and best practices for installing Win7

filthy light thief — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:45:01 -0800

I'm reformatting my system and installing Windows 7 my computer this weekend, and I'd like tips, tricks, best practices and the like for setting up a new system. It's been a while since I've "refreshed" a system, and I feel rusty. And my RAM might be failing/faulty. More details inside. This system has been upgraded a few times over the past years, including more RAM, a new video card, and replacing a second hard drive, when the older one was failing. All this under one old install of XP. I bought some OEM installation discs for Windows 7 from New Egg last Christmas, and have been dragging my heals about backing everything up and reinstalling.

Since my machine isn't the newest and shiniest, I've been thinking of streamlining my system, before (with rt7lite or slipstreaming) or after installing Win7.

To make things trickier, my RAM may be failing (my computer crashes after running uTorrent for anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 days). the HCI Design version of Memtest found an error, but Memtest86 (run from a bootable CDr) found nothing.

In short:
1. Do you have any Best Practices for reformatting and installing a new OS, specifically Windows 7 OEM?
2. How and when should I check for faulty RAM?

Windows EFS locking me out of my files. What to do?

Bangaioh — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:48:22 -0800

Windows XP is denying access to EFS encrypted files for seemingly no reason. Please help. Today after booting up my computer and logging in to my user account as always, Windows XP SP3 began to forbid access to files previously encrypted with EFS by my user account. I did not change any password, install any new program, or update Windows yesterday. I try to decrypt them with administrator privileges but it doesn't work (which is how it is supposed to work, I reckon).

The only odd things I noticed were:

1. Late yesterday I got a prompt from Windows firewall saying explorer.exe was requesting access to the network (I did not allow it), and again today as soon as Windows started the first time (but not after subsequent restarts).

2. According to Spybot, I had a new registry startup entry for "wewyy.exe" on Docs.../[Username]/Appdata/Agtab. I deleted both file and startup entry and on restart they're not there anymore. I did a flash scan with Malwarebytes and it detected nothing.

3. I did a scan with RootkitRevealer from Sysinternals and it noticed a mismatch between API and raw hive data form the Cryptography\RNG\Seed but Google tells me that's supposed to be normal.

I should probably also note that, along with Windows firewall, I use a hardware firewall in my modem, and SuRun for always working as a limited account.

Any ideas what to do? Please ask for more details if needed.

How do I protect my PC while surfing the net?

14580 — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:56:54 -0800

Please tell what I can do to be safer while surfing the Internet. I barely escaped a virus I got while surfing with the latest version of Firefox on a completely updated and patched Windows XP machine. I wasn't visiting any sites that were risky but AVG Free, my anti-virus program, suddenly popped up and said it had detected a virus and asked me what I wanted to do with it. I quarantined it but a few minutes later I lost control of the machine and fake hard drive failure and system restore windows started popping up.

To make a long story short I got rid of it with some skill and luck. But I'm worried about it happening again. I'm pretty computer savvy but not as much as I used to be. What do I need to do to prevent something like it from happening again?