earls soswndproc class

[Quintz]

ok, for the past couple weeks I've had problems shutting down my computer. During this time, I noticed 3 seperate Rundll32 in my processes (ctrl-alt-dlt) and when I tried to end one of those rundll32's it would crash my comp. I ran both ad-aware, which didn't find anything, and spy bot search and destroy, that found a "vbouncer" which spybot could not remove all of it components. But I found out that by going into safe mode, I could remove what spybot could not, then ran it again, and it came out clean. And then I saw 2 of the rundll32 running, but my computer would shut right down quickly. Well tonight I tried to shut down, and I'm getting the end task error of "earls soswndproc class" is waiting to shut down would you like to wait or shut down, I choose to shut down, and my comp does practically nothing for a few mins, then I it's like I didn't even try to shut down. I've tried googleing this phrase, but nothing comes up. Any of you have any ideas what this is and how I can stop it? Thanks in advance.

[GaryRouth]

My first suspicion would be that the pests aren't completely gone [the 2nd guess would be that the damage they did is still around, even though they aren't]

How about some 2nd and 3rd opinions on whether they're still lurking? I've been recommending online scans as a nice double-check in addition to your local antivirus. HouseCall is at http://housecall.trendmicro.com. Panda Active Scan is at http://www.pandasoftware.com/home/default.asp. PestPatrol's online scan is at http://www.sunbelt-software.com/product.cfm?id=911 . . . they are all pretty good.

That "earls..." process sounds pretty darn suspicious, possibly a randomly generated name.

What version of Windows are you running? [is this the Win98 box in your signature?]

[Quintz]

Yes, it is that version. So I've re-ran my spybot, ad-aware and avg anti virus, nothing so far. Trying those links now, thanks. The pestscan picked some things up (suprised that ad-adware didn't), seeing what the trend micro will find.

[Quintz]

trend micro found nothing also. Going through the list that pest control had, and I'm not finding the files to remove like the instructions are saying. I don't like the looks of this.
Did I mention also that right now, but right now I'm working with out an taskbar. I Have to alt-tab to get anywhere. :-(

[GaryRouth]

For the missing taskbar, you can try a little Registry edit suggested in one of their MS Knowledge Base articles http://support.microsoft.com/default...02&Product=w98

It's possible it got bonked by whatever visitors were writing things in the Registry.

If you're pretty sure that things are cleaned up nicely by the antivirus and antispyware folks, and yet certain features and functions just don't seem right, you could try running the System File Checker to make sure things are all there. Another more thorough option would be an over-the-top (there are two methods, one's a bit faster [the one we mention further down in the thread] - the slower one is a little more flexible, especially if you do a Custom install, which I generally recommend for anyone who's experienced enough) http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=70846

Hope it's a quick repair!

[SJMS]

When Earls soswndproc class delayed my shutdown, I came here but failed to find anything concrete. In my case, it seems to have come from a Hoyle Casino exe.

[GaryRouth]

SJMS - does uninstalling the Hoyle game remove the process?

If so, that would be a bit of a smoking gun. You could search your system for instances of "earl*.*" to see if you can find any files, and then figure what's possibly up by what folder the file is in (though it might be just forced in). You could also search your registry for "soswndproc" and see if a class value looks suspicious.

Vivendi seems to have taken over quite a few gaming software houses, and it's support theme seems to be: "If it's an older game made by a company we acquired and the game is no longer being produced = you're just flat out of luck". They discontinued support on so many titles it's not even funny, and their support site returns almost no help regardless of the search. . .

There's no email support = so we can't ask the Hoyle Casino authors if that's their file.

No fun at all.
. . . Gary

[SJMS]

Gary,
No reference was found in the registry, but the exact text was found in the executable. As the problem has occurred exactly once since the game was installed in May 2001, I have no intention of removing or updating it at this time. My intention was simply to give other readers with the same problem something to investigate that was less speculative than a virus or spyware.

[GaryRouth]

Glad to hear that it's not likely malware-related in your case [for the earlier case, there was some pest-removal along the way, taskbar troubles, etc.].

Curious to hear if it recurs. [When you can't reproduce the error, it certainly does make the troubleshooting tricky].

I have a couple of regular customers who greatly enjoy their Hoyle titles (Casino among them). I just wish Vivendi didn't end support so quickly (or at least had more info on their site).

Makes it a bit Roulette-like to guess for a fix, huh!
. . . Gary