" Winstart Problem "

[hmyers1]

During bootup I get an error message saying " winstart has experienced a problem and the program will be shut down " . I have just been closing this error screen and continuing to use the machine. I have noticed that all commands to do anything take a long time to execute. It is especially prevalent in outlook express and when searching the Internet the system locks up and even refuses to control-alt-delete.I am useing Win98 and it has always been faithful till this message started. The only thing I have tryed so far is to reload 98 but this didn't help . I looked in the registry but didn't really know what to look for. I know the machine is loaded with spyware and adware and have tryed to eliminate somee but this hasn't helped maybe made it worse. I need a place to start.

[GaryRouth]

Most likely, it is a spyware component of IGetNet or GoHip that has only been partially removed. But there are other possibilities, most of which are spyware/virus related also.

Is a clean wipe of the hard drive & fresh re-install out of the question? [ie, do you have clean backups of personal data and programs you wish to restore later?]. This is your safest option - if you understand the precautions to take immediately after.

Whatever repair strategy you choose, make sure that once done with the repair, BEFORE you again connect to a local network or to the Internet, you need to have antivirus/antispyware/firewall programs installed and active. [If you are on a cable/dsl or local network, I recommend that you use a router with a hardware firewall as well]. During the repair, you must be unplugged physically from any networks. *You'll also want to visit Windows Update for Security patches immediately after the repair* [even better - if you have or can borrow the Windows Security Update CD from Microsoft, it can bring you up-to-date with Security patches up to Feb 2004 while offline = since you're vulnerable online to exploits until the patches are in place]

You can always download pest removal tools from another (virus-free) computer.

Tools to use:
Spybot Search & Destroy http://www.safer-networking.org
Lavasoft AdAware http://www.lavasoft.de
Zone Alarm 4.5 http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/fre...45_594_000.exe
(stay with version 4.5 for a while until they fix up version 5 a bit more)
AVG antivirus (if you don't already have an antivirus program) http://www.grisoft.com

To check which winstart is likely causing your problem, check in msconfig and look at each tab carefully. If there is a WinStart.exe in your Startup list, that's not a good thing. The removal tools above will help remove it.

To get a good background of the whole startup/background processes situation in Win9x and how it affects your system resources and performance, check out http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[hmyers1]

you are right!!! i Tried to clean ad-ware,spy-ware, and viruses . Was able do viruses but couldn't get to spyware and ad-ware sites to down load necessary software. The computer I'm using right now does not have cd-burner so I couldn't get get from here.I know that my best bet is a clean wipe of the Hard drive and start over . Where can I go to get explict instructions on how to do this , especially what things i need to save to get me back for a fresh start.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

If you only want to save a few documents, a few floppies would do. If you have any large files (photos, music, videos, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.) you'd probably want to save to another hard disk or to CD/DVD disks. A reasonable CD burner would cost $20, nice DVD burners are down to the $50 level for 8x speed recorders.

If there's absolutely nothing else you need to save on the hard drive (no OEM partitions by the builder), you could *Completely* erase the drive with a "zero write", using the tools available at the website of the hard drive's manufacturer (DataLifeGuard for Western Digitals, Powermax for Maxtors, etc.). Then you'd use fdisk to partition the drive, and let Win98 Setup format it for you. This is all much easier with a CD/DVD drive available.

If your computer was made by one of the large computer firms like IBM, Dell, Hp, Gateway, etc. it should have come with a Recovery Disk set which can reformat/reinstall things somewhat automatically. For a full Restore, you usually lose all data added since the machine was purchased: such data would have to be restored later [after being scanned for viruses and spyware, of course!].

There are some details on the prepartion of a hard disk in our Build Your Own sections [look around on the home page for links] - a zero-write makes the disk as blank as a new one, so the preparation is the same.

If you have another computer available, and it's well-protected from viruses and spyware, you have the option of trying to clean your Win98 drive in there - but follow all the precautions! http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=106182

[*in fact, if you're confident that the drive is clean as can be after scanning/cleaning in another system, you could then try an over-the-top = which might allow you to avoid having to reinstall all your programs and data http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=70846

Best of Luck!
. . . Gary