DennisD

What a s***ty night and day I've just had. Forced into a format and reinstall last night by reasons unknown. Out of the blue, I suddenly couldn't run any programmes at all except Internet Explorer, just kept getting the message "do you want to run or save this file?", which just kept popping back up when I pressed yes.. When booting, got the same request for every one of the items in my startup sequence, so I had no AV running etc.. Couldn't even access Windows Firewall to see if it was running, or System Restore. Had a quick visit here, but didn't stay long without AV and firewall, and more worrying, my recguard (system recovery partition protection) wasn't running. The name that kept popping up with most of these blocking messages was "rundll32". Had a look at that dll last night, and it was the only one in system32 not to have the two cogs on its icon, just plain, and after reinstalling today, it's still the same. Is that trying to tell me something? Anyway, the biggest headache was Microsoft Update. That flaming programme kept giving me error messages, but eventually got it working. Only 74 updates to install. It was probably something simple, but seemed too risky to come asking advice with no security software running at all, so opted for a reinstall. Probably needed a spring clean anyway. If anyone has any ideas as to what caused this, I would be interested to hear them, and in the meantime I'll do a Hijackthis log, which I'll post. Would appreciate someone looking at it just to make sure. The joys of lalaland. You just have to laugh.

You must be related to Lulu.

I have no idea how to do this 1200, but I think all the info you need is here, although check the date of the article, because I've no idea if the process has changed in the ensuing time. Link: I would say, that everything I've seen about this process emphasises the risks involved, so good luck. Hope this helps.

That's a really nice find BrownSugar. Very Educational. I've been a fan of Auslogics for a while, but to be honest, probably because it presents a really nice face to the world, and it sounds like it's treating the drive with a gentler touch. Don't laugh, it's surprising the things that influence our decisions short of knowing any better. But like probably the majority of folk on here, I'm also a big fan of JKDefrag. Now I know why. Edit: Also bookmarked the site.

Humpty, this is one of my favourite things, no, not shoelaces... Useless bits of information that you can drop into a conversation sometime. Like... "Hey, new shoes, nice laces, did you know that you can fasten them at least 30 different ways". The sort of comment that will really impress people.

I think it may be a good idea to make another observation about Returnil for the benefit of anyone wanting to give it a go, but not too sure. The point I want to make, is that the System Protection and the Virtual Partition are two completely separate and different functions. In my case, I skipped mounting the Virtual Partition on install because no matter how many drives or partitions you have, the Virtual Partition is mounted on your Operating System Partition, and if you mount this, the only way I can see to get rid of it is to uninstall and reinstall the programme. Unmounting the Virtual Partition does not get rid of it. The System Protection is the only feature I use for the reasons I've said, and I have it configured to boot inactive so I have the choice to activate it or not. Hope this helps.

You're absolutely right Hazel, and I hope my comments weren't misconstrued to mean something they didn't. The guys on here, including yourself, are nothing short of amazing, as I know from my own experience. Anyone asking even the most basic question gets the help and advice they need, but there are undoubtedly a great many more who never ask a question for fear of it being deemed a stupid one, and I feel quite strongly that a lot of people would benefit from programmes like Returnil if they understood what they could and could not do with them. This is probably one of the best Forums there is, and it never ceases to amaze me how people get the most complex problems sorted out, and it's that wealth of Knowledge and experience I think which must make a lot of folk think their question is so basic that they don't ask, and in the process miss the opportunity of something from which they could benefit. I have the greatest respect for all the guys on here, but sometimes you're knowledge is scary, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Anyway, I hope no ones misread my comments as being in any way critical, as that was the farthest thing from my mind.

Wasn't aware of Karen. Thanks for the link Hazel.

It does only protect the Sysytem Partition, but as I've said, IMO I wouldn't use it as a standalone malware protection. To me, it's greatest asset is it's ability to mount a copy of your Operating System in memory, enabling you to prevent anything being written to your real Operating System. I use it alongside my "traditional" security software with no problems, and I use it primarily for trying new stuff. Hope this helps.

As long as you have Returnil active, (Icon in sys tray red), install to C: > programme files as normal, and you are installing to a copy of C: > programme files in your computers memory. Everything appears to be happening as normal, but it is happening to a copy of your operating system in RAM. Nothing at all is being written to your real C: > programme files on your hard drive, and nothing is being written to your registry or to Windows files. Reboot, and it's gone. Nothing to uninstall or delete. If you're unclear about anything, please PM me anytime, and I'll try to help.

It beats me how the usefulness of an application like this isn't expounded, especially to less experienced users. I've no intention of using Returnil as an alternative to conventional security software, but the benefits of using it to try out new software far outweigh the initial difficulty of understanding how it works. Most people are confused by something they don't initially grasp, or have never had explained properly to them. And a prime example is yours truly, who had no idea of the difference between a web based email and an email client. How basic is that? How could I know the difference, if I if I didn't even know there was a one. When I first discovered this place, it soon became apparent that my knowledge was a great deal less than I thought it was. But I stuck around, read a lot, asked a lot of questions, and gradually learned. And I still know just a little bit more than nothing. Let me point out one basic concept to anyone confused by anything. Ask...If you don't ask, you will never find out. There is no such thing as a stupid question if it is something you don't understand. Anyway, along this voyage of discovery I tried out a great deal of new software. I was like a kid in a sweet shop. And while I was installing and uninstalling all this stuff I was filling up my registry with leftover rubbish. The sort of rubbish that slows things down and causes problems. So I learned about Installer Trackers like Zsoft, and Total Uninstall. Programmes that are supposed to remove everything the new software installs. Unfortunately, they don't. And now we come to an application like Returnil. A very powerful programme with a very simple concept. Activate it, and it makes a copy of your Operating System in your computers memory. So instead of loads of stuff being written to your hard drive when you try a new piece of software, it is "written" to the copy of you're Operating System in your computers memory. It's like it's being written in thin air. And if you don't know about this memory (Random Access Memory), everything in it completely disappears when you shut down or reboot your computer. Try all the new software you want, and you will not end up needing registry cleaners and/or defragmenting programmes as much as I needed them before Powershadow and Returnil came along. If you find you want to keep a piece of software you've tried, believe me, it's far less bother to reboot, leave Returnil inactive, and download and install the software again, rather than having to uninstall it from you're hard drive. Yesterday, I installed 8 new pieces of software, one after the other. Only liked one of them. Rebooted, all traces gone, left Returnil inactive, and downloaded and installed again the one I liked. I cannot imagine going through the hassle of installing/uninstalling 8 new programmes the old way. IMHO, this is a must have application for people who do not have a great deal of knowledge, but would love to try lots of new stuff. I use this programme a hell of a lot, and I'm not really that knowledgeable, but it saves so much hassle, it's worth spending as long as it takes to learn how to use it. To you experienced guys, I'm stating some very obvious and basic things in this rant, but from my own experience, some of the most basic concepts aren't obvious to a lot of people. This is a great FREE tool. Learn how to use it to your benefit.

Installed fine JD, thanks again.

Pleased I came back to this thread, thanks JD.

Never bothered with theme changes. Might try this method. Thanks for the info, and the links.

Thanks for the link Humpty, it's easy to become complacent about YouTube and similar sites.

Thanks Humpty. Been using this all afternoon. Done numerous reboots, and does exactly what it says on the tin. Being a regular Powershadow user, the added attraction of this programme is the fact that it uses ram instead of hard drive space. I like this a lot and have it running from start-up, with no perceptible increase in boot up time. I'm amazed there's a free version. Nice one.

New to me. Thanks for the link Hazel.

Fingers crossed, haven't had any false positives with Avast.

Rather than post the individual items, I thought it easier to post the recent updates page from Cnet. Auslogics Disk Defrag V 1.1.5 / Paint.net V 3.08 Webware 100 winners. User voted 100 best web sites, all with links. One or two other bits and pieces. Link:

Nice one. I was thinking maybe another tree house, or the little folks local supermarket may have a branch nearby.

Apologies, you're absolutely right, but I hope you got some good info before the thread... "wandered"a bit. Athough, unless you're a young man , it must have brought back some memories. Edit: A quick correction to the Old Shep post. The film I was thinking of was "Old Yella"

You're not wrong Hazel. The film broke my heart when I was a kid, and that song brings it all back.

Well, don't have any pets to speak of, but I've a nice pic of my sons dogs I took while I was looking after them for him last summer. The white Boxer is Kiera, the other Molly. Every time I went out, they parked themselves on the stairs watching me drive away, and almost without fail, they were there when I got back. On this occasion, they were ready before I got out the door.

This tree house gets more interesting with every photo you post. Where does the rope bridge go?

If he isn't, he might well be soon. Can't beat custom made stuff.