New Computer, New problems

[JohnCho]

I built myself a computer, which was my first build.
Not too bad. Everything ran perfectly for about two weeks.

about two or three weeks later, I started to notice that I can't access some programs and internet sites for example: slickdeals.net, soompi.com/forums.
But the weird thing is that it's not that all the websites are not working, but only a few... I checked on my old computer to see if the sites worked on them and they do...
It's driving me crazy. I thought it might have something to do with IE, so I downloaded firefox. I can download the file, but when I try to install it, it doesn't load. All I get is a short "dong" error sound.

Also, I play UT2004 from time to time and I realized that that goesn't run load either, not to mention SS.

i thought this might be a firewall issue, so I turned the windows, norton, and the firewall on my asus mobo off, nothing helped. I'm running out of ideas. Anyone know wtf is happening to my computer? I feel like it's dying!

btw, I ran norton and adware and they didn't find anything... I also ran CCleaner to clean my registry and the problem still exists.

[Maverick]

It's possible that this can also be an anti-virus program issue, try to run Continuum with any anti-virus off (and make sure its not in memory).

[Doc Flabby]

Its sounds to me you are infected. If everything was fine the first couple of weeks you have likly caught something.

try using spybot, to check for spyware: http://www.safer-networking.org/ its much better than adware imo. and it picks up some viruses.

If you are using IE you should be fully patched upto date before even thinking of venturing online http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Stick to firefox/opera www.opera.com if your XP wont validate WGA.

Sometimes malware changed this file to prevent u downloading things, this seems unlikly but its worth a check:

c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

This file should only contain one entry

127.0.0.1       localhost

[JohnCho]

Hey guys, thanks for all your input.

I got infected with a virus.
It seems to be a nasty one because when I find it and try to quaranteen or delete it using norton or adware (which it catches now) the system crashes and reboots. Now... what to do...

What's the best way to get rid of this nasty virus?
It's some type of trojan... I can't get a full description on it because my system crashes before I can see the description when it finds it.

Would the best thing to do is go into safe mode and run adware and norton and see if it deletes it? I'm not really much of a computer buff so I would appreciate it if you explain to me how to fix it in dummy words. haha thanks!

[Doc Flabby]

The problem is the virus is running in the background and disabling your av.
I would reallly recommend using spybot in addition to adaware, it picks up somethings that adaware doesnt. The great thing about spybot is it can immunise your computer so it never gets infected in the first place.

Anyway this is my suggestion:
dont use safe mode:
use msconfig to disable any programs you dont recognise.
This way the virus wont get loaded at start up.

Theres a guide here:

http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/

disable every thing apart from these 5 programs:

* ScanRegistry
* TaskMonitor
* SystemTray
* LoadPowerProfile
* Your antivirus program (trust me, you won't have a hard time figuring out which one is your antivirus program. It is pretty obvious.)

Then restart your computer and use norton +spybot + adaware to scan your computer adn you should be able to remove it hopefully.

[JohnCho]

Thanks for all the help!

I actually fixed it last night but was too tired to update my status.

I had one hell of a time fixing it though.
I was a worm trojan that must have been sent through packets on a webpage or something. I had three firewalls covering my computer at the time and it just waltzed on by... haha

Anyways, I "obtained" a copy of panda antivirus and ran that. It took about 8 reboots and 2 microsoft updates (when I thought I was already updated) for it to come back to normal. Such a pain in the butt. I fixed it and uninstalled all the programs that I didn't need and/or use. I uninstalled all my antivirus and everything and turned my computer off for the day. When I get back from work, I probably load panda and firefox opera.

Anyways, thanks for all your input! I appreciate it!

[JohnCho]

So after this problem is fixed, I have another one...
The USB 2.0 is not recongnized.

I have the Asus A8n5x motherboard and I've been doing some research on this problem. Apparently when windows service pack 2 installs, it disables the usb 2.0 devices or something.

Problem is now my camera, wecam, and any other usb plug and plays are failing to be recognized. When I connect, most times nothing happens and other times, it says "unknown device".

I tried downloading the driver via the asus website, but no help. I'm not really too good with computers so if I have to mess with the BIOS, I don't think I'm handy enough. I hear that the bios is like the nervous system of the computer and I dont want to mess with it.

Is there a way I can fix this problem? It's driving me NUTS!

[Subjugation]

Regarding the USB issue...I had some problems with my USB being disabled. I could never isolate the problem to one specific program/driver, however.

In any event, does your device work after unplugging it and plugging it back in? That was one of the things tht I had to do for my old mouse. The other way I would fix the prob is to go into control panel>system>hardware>device manager>then disable the device. Then it would come back by adding it with the hardware wizard.

I finally just bought a new mouse, and haven't had the problem since. Just a thought.