Slow PC and no Shutdown!

Hi. Lately, my PC is running VERY slowly and also won't shut down properly. When running SpyBot, it gets half way through the scan and slows down to a crawl never finishing the scan. Also, the mouse is VERY slow and erratic. I have to abort the scan to get out of it. IF I ever get to the 'Windows is shutting down' screen, my PC just keeps on running and I eventually have to switch it off at the mains. In the past, the only way I could fix was with system restore, however, most of the time now that won't fix it.

Any ideas on what, if any, malware may be lurking on my machine? Thanks in advance.



Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 1:36:03 PM, on 7/27/2008
Platform: Windows ME (Win9x 4.90.3000)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v5.50 SP1 (5.50.4134.0100)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mmtask.tsk
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KB891711\KB891711.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KB918547\KB918547.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ATI2EVXX.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TASKMON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAY.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ATI TECHNOLOGIES\ATI CONTROL PANEL\ATIPTAXX.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\IDETOOL\IDETOOL.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WMIEXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDHELP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RESTORE\STMGR.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SPOOL32.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MCAFEE.COM\AGENT\MCTSKSHD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\DESKTOP\HIJACKTHIS.EXE

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.yahoo.com/
O2 - BHO: Spybot-S&D IE Protection - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHELPER.DLL
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ScanRegistry] C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TaskMonitor] C:\WINDOWS\taskmon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ATIPTA] C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [*StateMgr] C:\WINDOWS\System\Restore\StateMgr.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [KB891711] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KB891711\KB891711.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [KB918547] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KB918547\KB918547.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [ATIPOLL] ati2evxx.exe
O4 - Startup: IDETOOL.LNK = C:\Program Files\IDETOOL\IDETOOL.EXE
O9 - Extra button: Yahoo! Messenger - {E5D12C4E-7B4F-11D3-B5C9-0050045C3C96} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\YAHOO!\MESSENGER\YPAGER.EXE
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Yahoo! Messenger - {E5D12C4E-7B4F-11D3-B5C9-0050045C3C96} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\YAHOO!\MESSENGER\YPAGER.EXE
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHELPER.DLL
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Spybot - Search & Destroy Configuration - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHELPER.DLL
O12 - Plugin for .spop: C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\Plugins\NPDocBox.dll
O16 - DPF: {E8F628B5-259A-4734-97EE-BA914D7BE941} (Driver Agent ActiveX Control) - http://driveragent.com/files/driveragent.cab

Hi there,

Just passed by your post and as far as I can see, there are not really suspicious files, however I don't trust one particular file: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE

I must say that your system looks pretty clean and not really much applications are running, so that's a 'well done!' for you; you kept your computer clean.

Personally, I think that it has to do with a combination of the dangerous Internet, the slightly (probably, you're running Windows ME...) older hardware and the old operating system (information: Windows ME is from 1999 and is considered "Windows 2000 Home Edition", however that is not officially how it's called. It's just as much people consider it to be.

What I suggest you to do, is back up all the files you want to keep, and swap Windows ME with a newer version of Windows, or go with Linux!

My suggestions:

If you want to go with Windows, go for Windows XP Home Edition or Professional, but DO NOT GO for Windows XP Media Center Edition. It's slower and the Media Center will probably not run properly on your hardware.

If you want to go with Linux, go for Ubuntu or Xubuntu. Their websites are www.ubuntu.com and www.xubuntu.com. Why are they a good choice for your computer: The operating systems are actually FUN to use, they are lightweight, they have all the drivers built-in and if you need more they will be downloaded automatically, and it's perfect for newbies because the interface is so simple that even my mother can use it (and that says something ) And what's the best: they are free. The only thing you need to do is download the operating system (which is about 650MB, so if you have a slow internet connection, ask somebody else to do it for you), and burn the .iso file with your favorite burning application (more information on how to burn .iso files: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto#Windows). Put the disc in the drive, restart your computer, and give the computer about 30 minutes to install the stuff. Come back and it's installed!

I hope this helped you and your computer, and I'll see you later!

Daan.