Computer has no Malware/ very very slow.

I have recently posted in the Malware Forum. Here is the link. TimW has suggested I move over to the software forum. What do I do?

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=210715

My laptop is slower then steam coming off mule poop! I have an Intel Core 2 Duo, x64 windows vista, 4GB RAM and runs like it has 128mb of RAM. There are 81 processes running and I keep getting a popup telling me that DirectPlayerCore.exe has a verification error. I tried removing NBC Player from add/ remove programs but it won't allow me to do it. I have run SuperAnti Spyware, Malwarebytes, Ad-Aware, CCcleaner, Smart Defrag and MGTools. I also keep getting a window message saying that there may be a problem in the hard drive and I should run a Scan Disk. I click on the link to run it and it says it will run when the computer reboots. However, it never runs.
I use my computer for Online College and I cannot complete anything because the computer will not react. Takes 10 minutes to just close a window.
I really appreciate everything you do. Is my computer fixable or do I have to use the recovery drive?

 

What all is running in the background and on startup?
I use WinPatrol to keep an eye on my startup list.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/WinPatrol_d3380.html

 

Use msconfig.exe from run on start (winxp) or stype it in search (winvista/win7)
Use the startup tab and deselect some processes
use services to end annoying services becareful!
and go to the All Users directory:
C:\(Win7/Vista=Users Xp=documents and settings)\all users\start menu\startup
have a look in the start menu directory,
p.s. I'm better with xp this may help

 

using msconfig probably isn't a good idea. Using what hrlow2 suggested is better. Using msconfig to select/deselect items doesn't actually remove an item.

 

Firstly you must be sure that you have backed up all data you may need in the future because a wipe and reinstall (or fitting a new hard drive) may be needed if you cannot get this sorted cleanly.

Way too many processes but we'll attend to obvious problems like this NBC player first, Revo Uninstaller should allow you to get rid of this.

Do you have a Windows Vista install disc? Try getting ChkDsk to work by going through the steps with Brink. We need to know if the hard drive really is a problem.

The bad NBC player may have an impact there, also things like Windows Search/Indexer, any scans, defrags, etc. running from the Task Scheduler ...

 

i know,
it just stops tons of programs starting up and clogging your pc

 

If you have Norton or McAfee installed, remove 'em. These apps are famous causing MASSIVE slow downs, Spyware Doctor from PCtools can cause big slow downs also. If you have AVG set to run automatic scans, you might want to disable that too, 'cuz the PC will run very slowly during the scans time. You can also 'force' chkdsk to run at next boot; click Start (or the Start 'orb') and type cmd in Run/Search box. Do not press Enter, wait for cmd to appear at the top left of the Start menu; right click it, select "Run as Administrator". When the back command prompt window opens, type chkdsk c: /r and press Enter. You might get a question about forcing a dismount of the drive, answer "No". You should then get a question asking if you want to run the scan at the next restart, answer "Yes". Then type exit and press Enter and restart the PC. If that doesn't work, then we'll work on something else. As to the NBC player, you can try removing it with Revo as suggested above, or you can simply rename the NBC folder in "Program Files"; I commonly add a .abc to the end of a folder name to prevent its contents from being executed. This is safer than deleting the folder, and it makes it easy to recognize later.....
GOOD LUCK! Keep us posted!

 

Wow! Thank you all for the responses. A friend of mine has been helping me with this and he is the one who posted on your website. However, I got to impatient and decided to try things on my own. That was a mistake. I should have listened to him. I went home and Ctrl+Alt+del and ended the process for winexplorer.exe. As you may know, the computer crashed. I have gone running back to him and we need some help. Hi everyone, this is the friend....Okay.. Here is the problem now. Computer will boot up to a black screen that gives the option to Launch Start up Repair or Start windows normally. No matter which one I choose, it goes to a black screen with the mouse arrow just sitting in the middle of the screen. I have inserted the Dell Operating system disk then pushed the on/ off buttone to let it reboot. I hit F12 for boot options and select the DVD drive. It does the same thing as I described before.

 

I was finally able to figure out how to run a diagnostic. I received an error code of PSA 2000-0142. Unfortunately Dells website will not tell me what this is. They want me to call tech support, however her warranty ended on the 11th of February

 

Drive Self Test failed. Status byte = XXh, as the machine is only just out of warranty, it's worth pressing Dell to send you a new, pre-imaged drive to replace the old one.

 

Thank you. So, it is the hard drive that is bad?

 

As the Dell diags are less than helpful, I can only guess but it looks a lot like the problem explained by risk_reversal in post #11 of this thread.

Time to check you have all valuable data backed up away from the PC.