Windows Functions Quitting...

Hello...

1. Our ability to Shut-down ("Turn-off") or Restart a machine running XP (SP3) is gone. We can go into "Stand-by", but neither of the other two options will work.

2. Also (same machine/OS), I can "Switch Users", but can not "Log-off".

3. On both this machine AND a Vista machine, I "lose" icons from the task-bar tray (lower-right corner). By "lose" I mean they disappear (become hidden) - off & on, intermittently - on their own.

Any suggestions are MOST welcome - haven't found anything in a search here - nor in a quick web search - thanks in advance - OH - we're using both Firefox AND Chrome on both machines ... doesn't matter which we use, the icons still disappear (hide).

 

Thanks for the reply...

After years of using Avast on the machine in question (it is actually my 70 year-old mothers machine) I switched her to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) as I didn't feel a 70 year-old "safe" web-surfer needed to sacrifice the resources that it takes to run such robust security as Avast. Additionally, the machine is a bit "old", and has a very small Hard Drive - about 20Gigs - so there is a slight issue with HD space. Also, this machine can't handle any more than 2Gigs of RAM - and it is maxed-out with that now.

I like MSE (at least in this case/situation - for my mothers purposes) - it uses very few resources, and actually picked-up some bad stuff immediately after I installed it - bad stuff that got by Avast (please don't get me wrong - I LOVE Avast - have used it for years, and currently have it on my Vista machine which has a much bigger hard Drive and much more RAM than the XP machine).

The XP machine also has (and has had for years) Javacool's "SpywareBlaster" (ingenious piece of software in my humble opinion) and recently switched from Sygate (free) Firewall to Comodo (free) - so, never used the XP firewall (which by all accounts is weak).

This machine is also wired to a router with what I believe is the highest level of security possible ("WPA2-PSK"?).

I have used Spybot S & D quite a bit, before (in the past), but I much more often utilize MBAM and SUPERAntiSpyware these days (and occasionally Spyware Terminator), and the machine consistently comes-up clean.

Thank you again for the reply, but I think there's something else causing the issues (with both machines).

 

Ok, well, thanks again.

MSE updates itself (near-daily), and from personal experience and by all other accounts (which I have read - and I've read quite a few - "btw"), MSE is rated quite well - at least for the purposes of a 70 year-old person who basically only checks email, and visits a few sites - none of which would be porn or the such.

I've run several AS programs, including the rather "behind the times" (from what I've read) Spybot - and they all come back "clean".

It's a desktop not a laptop (not that it matters, I suppose) from 2002, and yes, I think I understand that the router is merely one "layer" of security, and won't protect from things that may be allowed past it.