Frequent Temporary Lockups on XP Pro

[chrisval]

Hi, I am a new kid on the block. I have this harrowing problem, with XP Pro, before and after I installed Service Pack 2, and I need some HELP!. Every 2 to 4 minutes, whether I am on the net or not, my system LOCKS UP. To release it, I have to open the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del), and then press the EXIT X, of the Task Manager TWICE. Once I have done this, I can go on as normal, till the next time, which could be anything from 2 to 4 minutes. I have all the necessary Spyware, Registry and PC Utilities programs, all registered, but still no luck. H..E..L..P..!

[rjfvillarosa]

I have known SP2 cause major problems if it is installed on a not perfectly clean system, try a system restore back to before you installed SP2 and see if that improves matters. You can always restore to your present settings if it does not help.
Out of curiosity, what antivirus and spyware scanners are you using?

[chrisval]

Thanks for the reply, I am using Spyware Doctor, Spy Subtract, Ad Aware SE Pro, Registry Mechanic, RegHance, Vet Antivirus, PC Bug Doctor, PC Booster and Norton Systemworks 2003 Pro, all registered. Still no luck with your suggestion. I really do not want to reformat my system drive if possible, which seems to be the general suggestions from friends of mine.

[rjfvillarosa]

There is not a lot of faith in Norton around here these days and are you sure you are running adaware SE pro as pro is obsolete now?
Nothing ventured nothing gained, have a go at these and see if they help.
www.grisoft.com (AVG7 free anti virus program available by download,...very good)
http://housecall.trendmicro.com (online virus scanner...excellent, will ask you to install a small activeX, no problem)
www.lavasoft.com (download the latest adaware 1.05 SE personal)
www.moosoft.com (The Cleaner...very good program for cleaning trojans trial version available)
Just a thought but you might want to consider running your scans in safemode.

[glc]

How many of those programs are running in the background at the same time? I see conflicts just waiting to happen.

[chrisval]

Yes I have started running the scans in Safe Mode. Which programs do you suggest to keep running in the background, and which ones do you suggest I turn off, and how. Please excuse my lack of knowledge in these matters. I am running AdAware SE Professional build 105, and am going to do a scan on that as well, while in Safe Mode.
At startup, I get a small screen, saying a shortcut (grviewex.exe) is looking for a program, but cannot find it. I have run msconfig, and removed the entries relating to the shortcut, as I do not have a program relating to it, but I just cannot get rid of the entries in the startup registry, even on Restart. As soon as XP pro starts the small screen is back again looking for the program. I go to msconfig, and the entries are back there again. There must be some way to get rid of these entries, or are they secretly planted somewhere. If so, is there a really good program or FIX you can suggest.

[rjfvillarosa]

Win32.Gema.F is a trojan that downloads and executes arbitrary files. It has been distributed as a 14,336-byte, PECompact compressed, Win32 executable.
Each time Gema.F is executed, it changes its filename and associated registry entries.

It copies itself to the %System% directory using several names: grviewex.exe Being one of them.

Complete info here.

http://catsearch.zonelabs.com/search...0ad9&x=15&y=13
Download the trial version of "The Cleaner" from www.moosoft.com it is verey good at detecting and removing trojans.