Have tried running system restore to various dates in the past and system reply is always the sane that :No changes have been made to your computer. System Restore was unable to restore your computer to the specified restore point. Select another restore point and try to perform the restoration again. I know for a fact that software has been removed and added ffrom these various points in times ?? Or is restore used only for settings ??1 person got this answerI do too

Thanks Jose,Well here is what the fiaml outcome was...I used the sites from the earlier email for malware and anti-virus, could not believe what they found..55 viruses ans 33 malware/adware viruses..Guess so much for Spybot&Norton Security Suite !! most of the issues were in the registry. So at that point figured the reason for no hardware in the device manager was corrupted device drivers..So thans to your assistance was able to a reboot in safe mode and restored to a earlier point ran the software and cleaned up all the issues !!My sincerest ty for your help and you got my vote !! Hope you get that pony !! Now to figure the best software to be running to keep this fro happening again !!

Thanks Gerry I was aware of this but its nice to see the doco !!

It depends on your Internet habits, how dangerous you want to operate and if you want to pay for the protection or not.My habits are bad, I like to get infected on purpose (to learn how to clean things up) and don't want to pay for anything, and I like things simple.I always like to find out what folks are using now that allowed them to get infected in the first place (hence my standard questionnaire earlier) , then run MBAM and SAS so I can get to a known reasonably clean starting point, then fix whatever is left. MBAM and SAS have real time protection that you can pay for too.Spybot - used to like it, but it has lost it's luster with me. I am not keen on Symantec/Norton, McAfee, ZoneAlarm - too much overhead. AVG, Avast! and Avira sometimes seem to want to quarantine critical SP system files and you will not boot your system again until you replace the quarantined files so you might want to make yourself a bootable XP Recovery Console CD for your next fun project (no XP Media required). What will you do if your system does not boot someday and you can't use System Restore and you don't have a genuine bootable XP installation CD (this is most systems).The Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is fair and has gotten better, but I can get infected ten different ways it will not notice or remedy. But, Microsoft is not in the malicious software prevention, detection and removal business (that is not what they do) and the other companies are.When uninstalling some AV tools, Add/Remove Programs sometimes isn't enough anymore and some tools are complicated enough to require their own special uninstall procedures Here is a list of uninstalling techniques if you decide to uninstall your Symantec:http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/05/05/comprehensive-list-of-uninstallers-or-removal-tools-for-antivirus-software/#more-2878I am not recommending - you will have to decide... just my opinion. Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!

I understand fully Jose and agree..After the restore I did have to remove the Norton Security Suite but they have their own tool for removal which I used and then re-installed.You bring up a interesting point, which I did make a note that after getting these issues cleaned up that making a good set of recovery disks was a good idea but did not think of a bootable disk. I realize now why I have neither of these disks...the pc when purchased has a partioned drive..D on it which is the recovery in the event it crashes...Not exceptable ??My concern was that the removal of some of this adware&trojans appeared to be in the restore files..I tried to paste few of them here but could not get them to paste here or attach a file.I would like you to see them if there is a email address or I will post mine on yahoo and you can email me there ?? At this point not wanting to do a restore again I left the items in the quarantine file for future use if needed but prefer to delete them but afraid that I may need them again ... opinion ??So what are you a advocate of using for real-time protection, for a firewall, maleware and anti-virus, at this point I am not comfortable that what I have is doing the job !!One other note I found that sas & mbam both found identical items so one appears to be the same as the other, except with sas you get anti-virus.Did a search in help for creating the bootable XP recovery CD but found nothing..got a link to the procedure or the how to ??

I understand fully Jose and agree..After the restore I did have to remove the Norton Security Suite but they have their own tool for removal which I used and then re-installed.You bring up a interesting point, which I did make a note that after getting these issues cleaned up that making a good set of recovery disks was a good idea but did not think of a bootable disk. I realize now why I have neither of these disks...the pc when purchased has a partioned drive..D on it which is the recovery in the event it crashes...Not exceptable ??My concern was that the removal of some of this adware&trojans appeared to be in the restore files..I tried to paste few of them here but could not get them to paste here or attach a file.I would like you to see them if there is a email address or I will post mine on yahoo and you can email me there ?? At this point not wanting to do a restore again I left the items in the quarantine file for future use if needed but prefer to delete them but afraid that I may need them again ... opinion ?? Was going to remove mbam and just use sas but if I uninstall mbab the files would be deleted and sas has quarantined some not all of the same files...there have been negative occurrences at this point so I might think that deleting thes files from quaratine are ok but ??So what are you a advocate of using for real-time protection, for a firewall, maleware and anti-virus, at this point I am not comfortable that what I have is doing the job !!One other note I found that sas & mbam both found identical items so one appears to be the same as the other, except with sas you get anti-virus.Did a search in help for creating the bootable XP recovery CD but found nothing..got a link to the procedure or the how to ??

Leave your stuff in quaratine for a while and you wll forget about it until you do some housekeeping someday. Put a note on your calendar to remove them or something if they leave your mind with a question.I think if I saw a report of an infection in a Restore Point, I would get stabilized, whack all the old RPs and start new. I would not feel good about it unless I did. Disk Cleanup will let you remove all but the most recent RP then as you get things settled down, make a new RP every once in a while, but SR would like to create a new RP automatically (a System Checkpoint) ever 24 hours. Depending on the idleness of your system though, you could go days or weeks without a new RP in the calendar if XP doesn't ahve "time" to make one.When you get settled down, make a new RP by hand, don't change anything, reboot and then use then restore your system to the RP you just made to test your System Restore mechanism. The day you need SR is not the day to find out it doesn't work. Find out now if it works and fix it if it doesn't.To demonstrate SR, I will make a RP and then use Add/Remove Programs to delete the built in XP games (I can always reinstall them). Making no other changes, reboot and restore to the RP I made before deleting the games. If the games are back, SR worked. If not, it is afflicted.I just keep the Windows firewall on and have no real time protections but I think I have at one point or another installed most of the popular ones. If I was setting up some system for somebody else I would put on the Windows firewall, MSE, for "real time" and MBAM and SAS for when strange things happen or when they do their housekeeping (which they never do). If somebody doesn't mind paying, pay for MBAM.I do run MBAM and SAS scans alternating once or twice a week, but then I get infected on purpose to learn how to remove things that cause the system not to boot and pretend I don't have an XP installation CD (this is most people). How will I fix it? I am not a poster child for keeping my system free from malicious software.SAS will usually just find tracking cookies when run after MBAM but every now and then it will find something MBAM misses. Not every single program knows about everything. They are a good combo. I always start with those two when I want to be reasonably sure there is no obvous malware, then I will start fixing.I will send you instructions in two more messages on making two bootable CDs for emergencies. They are not the same as Recovery CDs that might have come with your computer. Those you can use for coasters or create an attractive mobile. You can often use just the Recovery Console to fix a broken XP.The XP Recovery Console is sort of "primitive". Google for the help and commands and read the Microsoft page (not somebody's interpretation). I have RC installed as a boot option and I use it all the time to simulate missing files, my system won't boot (wah!) broken systems and fixing. You can install RC as a boot option on your system and not have to worry about finding your CD.I would also suggest you slipstream yourself a bootable XP SP3 CD if you don't have one for those days when RC just won't cut it. RC doesn't have any XP files on it you can use for replacements. With those two in hand, you can fix just about anything.Then I like Hiren's boot CD for a more comfortable friendlier interface for file manipulation, replacing "missing" files and lots of other tools you can read about that will come in handy some day... say of you forget your password or something silly like that. People with system problems feel comfortable with Hiren's and the Recovery Console is weird and they don't always "get" it.Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!

Leave your stuff in quaratine for a while and you wll forget about it until you do some housekeeping someday. Put a note on your calendar to remove them or something if they leave your mind with a question.I think if I saw a report of an infection in a Restore Point, I would get stabilized, whack all the old RPs and start new. I would not feel good about it unless I did. Disk Cleanup will let you remove all but the most recent RP then as you get things settled down, make a new RP every once in a while, but SR would like to create a new RP automatically (a System Checkpoint) ever 24 hours. Depending on the idleness of your system though, you could go days or weeks without a new RP in the calendar if XP doesn't ahve "time" to make one.I just keep the Windows firewall on and have no real time protections but I think I have at one point or another installed most of the popular ones. If I was setting up some system for somebody else i would put on the Windows firewall, MSE, for "real time" and MBAM and SAS for when strange things happen or when they do their housekeeping (which they never do).I do run MBAM and SAS scans alternating once or twice a week, but then I get infected on purpose to learn how to remove things that cause the system not to boot and pretend I don't have an XP installation CD (this is most people). How will I fix it?SAS will usually just find tracking cookies byt every now and then it will find something MBAM misses. They are a good combo. I always start with those two when I want to be reasonably sure there is no obvous malware, then I will start fixing.I will send you instructions in two more messages on making two bootable CDs for emergencies. They are not the same as Recovery CDs that might have come with your computer. Those you can use for coasters or create an attractive mobile. You can often use just the Recovery Console to fix a broken XP.The XP Recovery Console is sort of "primitive". Google for the help and commands and read the Microsoft page (not somebody's interpretation). I have RC installed as a boot option and I use it all the time to simulate missing files, my system won't boot (wah!) broken systems and fixing. You can install RC as a boot option on your system and not have to worry about finding your CD.I would also suggest you slipstream yourself a bootable XP SP3 CD if you don't have one for those days when RC just won't cut it. RC doesn't have any XP files on it you can use for replacements. With those two in hand, you can fix just about anything.Then I like Hiren's boot CD for a more comfortable friendlier interface for file manipulation, replacing "missing" files and lots of other tools you can read about that will come in handy some day... say of you forget your password or something silly like that. People with system problems feel comfortable with Hiren's and the Recovery Console is weird and they don't always "get" it.Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!

Standard Copy/Pate instructions to make a bootable XP Recovery Console CD (you don't have to do the chkdsk part):You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file and burning it to a CD.The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:xp_rec_con.iso Download the ISO file from here:http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmigUse a new CD and this free and easy program to burn your ISO file and create your bootable CD:http://www.imgburn.com/Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is working.You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:Press any key to boot from CD...The Windows Setup... will proceed.Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:\WINDOWS)You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.The Recovery Console allows basic file commands like: copy, rename, replace, delete, cd, chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.For a list of Recovery Console commands, enter help at the prompt or read this article:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058First verify the integrity of your file system using the chkdsk command.From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the afflicted drive.Running chkdsk is fine even if it doesn't find any problems. It will not hurt anything to run it.Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:chkdsk C: /rLet chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take a long time for chkdsk to complete or it may appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing something. Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress. It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.You should run chkdsk /r again until it finds no errors to correct.Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the computer.Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!

I am just a copier and paster so I won't have to explain things once... (I do very little actual typing for XP problems). Make yourself a Hiren's BootCD which you can download from here:http://www.hirensbootcd.net/On the left, click Download, scroll down to the bottom, choose the latest version The download link is a little hard to see. It is at the bottom of the page above the drop down list for older versions and looks like this (click this part to download the ZIP file:Direct HTTP Mirror + Torrent + Torrent MagnetClick the "Direct HTTP Mirror" link to start the download and save the ZIP file to your desktop of someplace you can remember.The ZIP file is large, so the download will probably take a little while to complete. Then unzip the download to extract the Hirens.BootCD.ISO file that will be used to create your new bootable CD.Creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file is not the same as just copying the .ISO file to a blank CD. You have to use software that understands how to burn a .ISO file to a CD to create a bootable CD.In the Hiren's ZIP file are the BurnToCD.cmd file that you can double click to launch it. The BurnToCD.cmd will use the extracted BurnCDCC.exe file to burn the .ISO file to a blank CD using your existing CD burner. You can also use your own CD burning software as long as your software is capable of creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file. Most modern CD burning programs can create bootable CDs from an .ISO image. Creating a bootable CD from an ISO image is not the same as just burning the file to a CD.If you need a free and easy CD burning software package, here is a popular free program:http://www.imgburn.com/Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61It would be a good idea to test your new bootable CD on a computer that is working.You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.When booting on the Hiren's CD you will see a menu of options. Choose the Mini XP option. Then it will appear that Windows is being loaded and you will be presented with a desktop that has the look and feel of the Windows Explorer interface you are already used to using.Using the Mini XP, you can access the Internet, maneuver around your system, search for files, copy files, replace files, run various scans for malicious software, edit text files (like the c:\boot.ini) etc. There are dozens of free and useful tools included in the CD that can be used to repair your system or copy your important personal files to another device (like a USB device or external drive) in the event that you just give up and decide to reinstall your XP (hopefully you will not make that decision).Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!

I am just a copier and paster so I on't have to explain things once... (I do very little actual typing for XP problems). Make yourself a Hiren's BootCD which you can download from here:http://www.hirensbootcd.net/On the left, click Download, scroll down to the bottom, choose the latest version The download link is a little hard to see. It is at the bottom of the page above the drop down list for older versions and looks like this (click this part to download the ZIP file:Direct HTTP Mirror + Torrent + Torrent MagnetClick the "Direct HTTP Mirror" link to start the download and save the ZIP file to your desktop of someplace you can remember.The ZIP file is large, so the download will probably take a little while to complete. Then unzip the download to extract the Hirens.BootCD.ISO file that will be used to create your new bootable CD.Creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file is not the same as just copying the .ISO file to a blank CD. You have to use software that understands how to burn a .ISO file to a CD to create a bootable CD.In the Hiren's ZIP file are the BurnToCD.cmd file that you can double click to launch it. The BurnToCD.cmd will use the extracted BurnCDCC.exe file to burn the .ISO file to a blank CD using your existing CD burner. You can also use your own CD burning software as long as your software is capable of creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file. Most modern CD burning programs can create bootable CDs from an .ISO image. Creating a bootable CD from an ISO image is not the same as just burning the file to a CD.If you need a free and easy CD burning software package, here is a popular free program:http://www.imgburn.com/Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61It would be a good idea to test your new bootable CD on a computer that is working.You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.When booting on the Hiren's CD you will see a menu of options. Choose the Mini XP option. Then it will appear that Windows is being loaded and you will be presented with a desktop that has the look and feel of the Windows Explorer interface you are already used to using.Using the Mini XP, you can access the Internet, maneuver around your system, search for files, copy files, replace files, run various scans for malicious software, edit text files (like the c:\boot.ini) etc. There are dozens of free and useful tools included in the CD that can be used to repair your system or copy your important personal files to another device (like a USB device or external drive) in the event that you just give up and decide to reinstall your XP (hopefully you will not make that decision).Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!