need help with parents PC

[Corban227]

so im visiting my parents house right now and i was trying to browse the internet on their PC when the computer BSOD. im not sure the reason why it did, but i feel they may have some serious spyware, maleware, or virus.
symptoms are:
1. THe computer takes about 15 minutes to start up
2. on task manager, many of the processes have two versions of themselves open, both taking up a different amount of memory
3. once the computer is started up, nothing runs properly. it constantly runs slow and every aplication will freeze. websites will make the browser freeze, taskmanager will freeze and shut down, the start bar will freeze.
4. if i try to close processes on task manager that are pointless (itunes, windows media, etcetc) afte rabout three, the computer will BSOD.

I have:
scanned the computer with spybot, adaware, malebytes, and CCleaner.
also i have run the antivirus and defragged the hardrive, but there is still no improvment.

Do you guys have any suggestions on what it could be or what else i could do? also is it probably spyware, or is the computer just getting old?

Specs:
dell inspiron
intel core duo E6550 2.33 GHz
3 GB ram
120 gig HD
windows vista 32 bit

probably about 1 year old.

thats about all i know

 

[Shockey]

Do they have anti-virus protection on it even? Sounds like a very messed up computer.

If they don't Start their. Take your pick out of the various anti-viruses and run one. See if it pick anything up I use nod32 and Microsoft Security Essentials.

 

[Corban227]

yea they have an antivirus. norton 360.
i just tried to restore windows back to the 15th of this month, to see if anything recent deleted anything essential, but the back up failed. i just restarted the computer, and waited 20 minutes. so far i havent closed anything and the computer "seems" to be running fine, but i dont trust it. it will still have some random freezes

 

[Nighted]

FORMAT.

Set everything up and make an image. They're going to screw it up again.

I once did a format and reload on a laptop. The guy had over 3000 fonts. lol

 

[Dangman]

Take the hard drive out, hook it up to another PC and scan again using MalwareBytes, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Super Anti-spyware to make sure that drive is clean.

And just for the hell of it:
[Testing the RAM]
Download Memtest86+ v4.00 or whatever the latest version is, unzip it, burn the ISO file to a CD, and then boot from it, just like you would do with the XP/Vista install CD. Let Memtest+ run for at least three hours on each stick of RAM separately as well as test the RAM all together. Go for a full 24 hours if you want to be completely sure that the RAM is not a problem. If you start seeing errors, than your RAM is defective or you have incorrect settings for the RAM.

[Testing the Hard Drive]
Download the CD image of Hitachi Drive Fitness Test, burn the ISO file to a CD, and then boot from it, just like you would do with the XP/Vista install CD. Test the hard drive and see if any problems are found. DFT will run on most manufacturers' hard drives. Alternatively, you can use Seagate's SeaTools for DOS to test a Seagate or Maxtor drive. For a Western Digital drive, you could use Data Lifeguard Tools for DOS to test a Western Digital drive.

 

[Shadowssong]

If you want to take the hardcore approach (which I would do before you format), try to run combo fix (make sure you do NOTHING while its running) and post the log up here. Be warned combofix is a very powerful tool so do not assume anyone suggesting it (including myself) responsible for any possible damage, that being said, combofix is good because it works (I actually had to use it to remove a small vundo infection just a few weeks ago).
If you have trouble running any scans (mostly .exe's) then try to run rkill which will scan currently running harmful processes and kill them (it doesn't remove anything, just kills the process) and then try scanning. You may also want to try running GMER before combofix (although at this point you might as well just use combofix's built in GMER).

 

[cbutters]

Sometimes when a computer is this messed up, backup their files to a thumb drive, wipe it clean and reinstall the OS again. Don't put any of that norton or mcaffee crap on there again, it just slows things down and cause half the problems with slowness in the first place. I especially hate avast. avast locks system files when windows is trying to do updates and can royally screw things up.
Backup files -> wipe HDD -> reinstall OS -> install microsoft security essentials

Microsof Security essentials is awesome compared to most other packaged antivirus solutions and it is free.

 

[minishotglass]

Try scanning the computer with Hitman Pro as well. Friend had a nasty scareware trojan that no other scanner would pick up.

 

[tonyyy]

Sounds like you did most of the work but still having problems... I recommend using combofix!

If that doesn't work reformat. If that doesn't work do some hardware test.

I had a laptop recently and I ran pretty much everything you did and combofix even. Turned out that the harddrive was dying so I ended up replacing that.

 

[Grizaptimus]

When a box is that screwed up... A quick format and reinstall tends to be the best and most hassle free solution.

 

[Corban227]

alright, thx for the suggestions guys. imma get memtest and one of those hdd testers next time i go down to visit them. i would just reformat but i dont know if they have the original windows disk. my stepmom has all her stuff backed up on a portable hdd but the lack of a windows cd would cause issues. also ill check out hitman pro and combo fix.

when i get results ill post back here

 

[engiNURD]

I agree with Danny's suggestions (Malwarebytes, SecurityEssentials, and Super Antispyware -- all run using ANOTHER system with their HDD plugged in). If those don't fix it, I'd definitely reformat instead of bothering with Combofix unless you really need to save that xp installation. It's a Dell, not too hard to find the ISO for the windows disc. The specs of that system are nowhere near becoming obsolete, especially for standard web browsing/email and office duties -- should last another 3 yrs or more, but you'll probably want to get Win7 on there instead of Vista.