weird little but annoying problem

E

evanjm

Member
specs first: Acer Aspire 5315 (-2326) with Intel Celeron CPU processor and Vista Home Basic (32 bit).

Why would my desktop items suddenly move around whenever I reboot? I'm not talking about program/file icons but rather the clock and calender on the right hand side of my desktop. It's a section I never touch--just a clock, calender, and image of the month (photo for calender). Now, suddenly, when I start up the computer, these things appear on top of one another or rearranged. It's odd, but irritating to me now. I can find no mention of this anywhere online. Some people have issues with rearranged icons, etc., such as in vertical vs. horizontal rows, etc. etc. But not random movements of utilities, etc. Anyway. Any suggestion would help. Thanks,


Evanjm:confused:
 

My Computer

System One

I think the problem may be related to your system specs. Can we have full system specs?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Wow. Thanks for the quick reply. That was cool. Anyway, I don't know what specs would make a difference. I mentioned that it was an Acer Aspire 3515-2326 with an Intel Celeron Processor (550) and Vista Home Basic (32bit). Besides this, it mentions a "service pack 2," whatever that is. It has 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, the processor has 2 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache (??), It also mentions "up to 252 MB Mobile intel graphic media accelerator X3100. Mentions "rating: 2.4 Windows Experience Index." Does any of this help?

Evanjm:huh:
 

My Computer

System One

I was focusing on memory, actually. I think that you do not have enough ram. You have the minimum required. Minimum means just enough if everything is perfect. MS says that half that is sufficient, but it really is not, under normal circumstances.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Hello evanjm,
I have seen this before, it was caused by malware.
Download this free app, update and scan.

Malwarebytes

You may want to check your file system too.
Open a command prompt as administrator and type sfc/scannow press enter and let it scan, if errors are found you will need to scan again, until clean.

Hope this helps, good luck and post your results.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor 300 Gig Maxtor 300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
thanks for the help.

Two quick questions: 1) will this program detect anything that spybot or avg hasn't already found or gotten rid of? Is malwarebytes more specific in this regard, etc.?

And 2) I am extremely paranoid about downloading stuff online because I once downloaded a couple recommended programs that ended up nearly destroying my computer with viruses and other hassles. Things seem fine now, but because of the experience, I am still terrified of downloading ANYTHING, or using personal/bank info, etc. while browsing. It sucks, because some things are so much easier just ordering online. But I'm afraid something could still be on my computer, despite all the cleansing I did. And now that you suggest this is malware related, I am even more worried, because I do regular scans every week, which now, for the most part, only pick up tracking cookies (doubleclick, fastclick, etc.--where I get these, that's another concern). Anyway, sorry for the long spiel. Any response would be appreciated.

-Evanjm
 

My Computer

System One

Every malware scan is different, they each have their own defintion of malware. Malwarebytes is suggested by most in this forum as one of the best.

All any member can do is give suggestions and hope that they work. You must make the final choice, its your computer. If I make a suggestion and it does not work, you become the one with the problem. Bottom line, listen to my ideas and those of others and of course your own, and then decide.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
just noticed above in this thread that you mentioned not enough ram. I know one GB is not ideal, but not enough for what, specifically? Did you mean generally? Or specifically for this malware scan? Should I get more Ram? I seem to have plenty of memory with the two hard drives. But ram is a tad slow, though no serious problems with it thus far (note: I haven't yet used my computer for what I bought if for, though: very long adobe InDesign files. Because I haven't been able to afford the adobe masterworks set, and the last thing I want is to pay for the three programs just to find out I can't use them without waiting long periods of time, etc. Note: I'm talking about entire books with graphics as well as text, etc. in a single file.

I'm rambling again. I'll try this scanner and see what happens.


Evanjm
 

My Computer

System One

Mentioning not enough ram, it is meant in general terms. You cannot operate all the "window dressing features" to their full potential; but what comes with the computer should work. I think it is a fair assumption that big programs, using a lot of ram, will operate in less than ideal conditions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
thanx again, I'll get more ram before I get all the programs I need. I did notice that the same computer (relatively) for the same price now has THREE GBs of RAM. If I would have waited a year, I'd have three times as much.

At any rate, the reason for this reply: How do I create a restore point? I know I have done it before, but I can't seem to find a way to do it (computer, control panel, etc.)???


Thanks again,

-Evanjm
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Until you buy more ram you could try turning off Aero control panel, personalization,Window color and appearance this is found if you use classic view in control panel.
Malwarebytes is safe to use no need to worry about that
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
Holy hell!! You were right. Malwarebytes found a list of adware and other things--mostly all attached to a single program: a video player of all things. I guess neither spybot nor avg picked it up. Now I have no video player because it quarantined the whole thing! Oh well. This is exactly why I no longer download things. The video player was recommended.

Thanks for the advice. And I'll try the RAM solution as well, though I'm not sure what that stuff is. I'll turn it off. Is one GB of RAM really that bad? I know people with less.


Thanks for everything y'all, much appreciated.


-Evanjm
 

My Computer

System One

You made the right choice. Malwarebytes will not hurt your computer. If used in the future do not use the registry cleaner function.

Glad that you gave it a chance (after a little push) to help solve your problem
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Looks like it automatically scanned the registry along with everything else, listing registry keys among the quarantined. Other than that, there's no mention of registry cleaning in the tools, settings, etc. There's three scanner options, but they're not specific. I chose the quick scan because it mentioned that most cases only require quick scan.

-Evanjm
 

My Computer

System One

Evanjm

Thank you for the kind words and rep. You cannot overstay your welcome, as you joked. Your presence, here, will always be wanted, whether to learn from us or to share your own expertise.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
If you did a quick scan and found something I would recommend you do a full scan soon to be sure it has found everything it can
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
evanjm said:
Looks like it automatically scanned the registry along with everything else, listing registry keys among the quarantined. Other than that, there's no mention of registry cleaning in the tools, settings, etc. There's three scanner options, but they're not specific. I chose the quick scan because it mentioned that most cases only require quick scan.

-Evanjm
Click to expand...

As mentioned before, it would be wise to do a full scan, at this time

As far as the registry, you are correct, it is just a scan not a cleaner.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    intel core 2 Extreme QX6700
    Motherboard
    intel
    Memory
    3 gigs
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDA
    Sound Card
    Creative SB X-FI
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway 24 HD Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920 by 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    2-500 gigabyte hard drive Western digtal
Do any of you know how to find out which websites I am getting this adware and tracking cookies from? I want to know where I am picking it all up. I'm talking about the usual stuff AVG and/or Spybot S and D pick up on scans (fastclick, doubleclick, BurstMedia, CoreMetrics, MediaPlex, and Zedo). I go to normal sites but I want to avoid the adware. I can delete history as well on my browser, but I can't figure out how to set it up so that it flags or warns of the cookies as they occur, or better yet, before I enter the site.

I use Google Chrome.


P.S. Why don't people protest or assault these companies that produce this stuff??? :mad:

-Evanjm
 

My Computer

System One

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