PC graphics/internet etc problems.

Hiya, happy christmas/holidays to all.
I'm not sure if it's hardware problems or malware, so apologies if this is in the wrong place.

I was using Chrome until recently and my graphics/internet have been problematic for some time. Two days ago I uninstalled Chrome and switched to Firefox because I was getting the Facebook problems about Shockwave etc I have mentioned below and everything I tried to do online went so slow it was obvious something was wrong. If I open multiple tabs on Firefox I can't close them and I have to restart Firefox.

When I move a window on the internet and/or desktop sometimes the image stays for about 3 seconds despite being moved.

On Facebook my page regularly freezes, whether or not I'm playing a game and tells me
"Warning: Unresponsive plugin" then warns me Shockwave Flash may be busy...etc
or
it says the page is unresponsive and displays the Kill/Wait options.
or
"a script may be busy etc"

Also, while photos show fine on my Facebook, some icons are missing, eg...the little box next to Messages and Notifications at the top right but the numbers of messages and notifications are there and the overall look of facebook is different, I can't remember how it is meant to look, but the colours on the layout are noticeably different.

I have done chkdsk, chkdsk /f and /r, several checks of Java, Flashplayer and my graphics card have informed me I have the latest versions. Spybot tells me I have no problems, yet there's a large number of immunisations that can't be done. Microsoft Security Essentials comes up clear as does Malware Antibytes scans. A Spybot rootkit listed multiple problems regarding Everquest 2 and I deleted what files I could find as it was already been installed a while ago. Spybot also reports problems with the hosts file, but I've had reports in the past that Spybot changes my host file, and while I mainly trust Spybot, I wonder if that's something wrong. I also tried to run Vundofix and it appeared so blurred it was unusable.

I have also defragged, cleared caches, uninstalled anything I absolutely don't need, stopped start-ups I KNOW to be unnecessary, done countless system restores in the hope it will change, tried memory diagnostics, changing about:config settings, virtual memory (I do know a little, maybe more than enough to research to try and sort it myself, I grew up with computers and most of the time I succeed in fixing what's gone wrong, but I can recognise when I'm out of my depth), checked plug-ins etc, done safe mode CCleaner/chkdsks/scans/ even gone to the repair your computer option with Esc on startup and I am really now at a loss. Maybe my pc is on it's way out, but, I'm recognising problems I know for a fact I've sorted out in the past.

DrWebCureit has reported nothing either, so I'm starting to think it's a hardware problem. Windows Explorer is also very slow and sometimes freezes. Also, my mouse is acting very strangely, moving on it's own, and this always makes me suspicious.

My computer specs are...
Manufacturer and model: Packard Bell imedia 53720
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU E3200 @ 2.40GHz
RAM: 2.00GB (1.75 GB usable)
System type: 64-bit Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1

I have Spybot, MSE and Malware Antibytes and regularly use CCleaner and check with DrWebCureit.

I posted in MajorGeeks on Facebook and they said I should disable my plug-ins and reset Firefox, but I tried firefox in safe mode then reset it two days ago too and these problems haven't changed. They also said it sounded like I'd clicked on a fake adobe link but I've got Adblock Plus, I don't get fake ads or otherwise up. The other one I use is FB Purity. I doubt either of those would cause any of these problems. I don't think they read my post properly, and I suspect whoever answered isn't actually one of your team.

I'm tempted to uninstall Windows 7 and go back to XP but I'm not sure if this would fix anything.

I haven't needed to ask for help on any forums for at least two years, so thank you in advance

Debbie x

 

Thank you, my dad taught computing when I was very young so I learned a lot, but I'm not good with hardware problems that go beyond what I've already done, haven't had virus problems for about 5 years, had to learn how to sort it when a particularly nasty trojan caused chaos for me.

I'm going to see if I can find someone to check inside, might take some time, 'cos I'm usually the person people ask about their pc problems. :-D

If I boot into safe mode the resolution messes up, sorry, I forgot to mention it. I can't scroll down anything, i.e. the list of options after pressing Start or Scan options that may be low down the screen or change the size of each window I'm using, can't even see the restart option, I've got to move my mouse as far down as possible and click where I think it is. It doesn't give me any choice of a different resolution.

I've just been hit by another virus, a different type, I'm not well at all at the moment, but I'm going to run chkdsk again from cmd and check again what it says and I think my son tried IE (which I do not like or trust and haven't used for a while) and get back to you as soon as I'm able to, might be a few days though as I'm sleeping a lot.

I'd appreciate it if you don't close my post if this takes some time please. Didn't expect problems from another type of virus lol.

Thanks again

Debbie x

 

edit "A Spybot rootkit listed multiple problems regarding Everquest 2 and I deleted what files I could find as it was already been installed a while ago."
Uninstalled a while ago not installed.

 

Happy New Year to all the Majorgeeks and forum members !!

My pc has been sorted and I feel a little foolish, as my youngest son suggested changing the windows theme on my pc and told me I had it set to the lowest graphics settings. After laughing at him, facebook showed up correctly and my pc sped up. I've had no crashes or errors since doing this and my chkdsks didn't even find anything to repair.

Despite feeling a bit daft I do realise some people might not check such a seemingly trivial issue such as their theme and hope leaving this post on the forum may help other members who may also be despairing and about to do a complete re-install.

I will come back and post if any problems re-occur, thank you for your help.

Debbie x

 

Edit...

Apparently it's not sorted at all

The moment I posted in here again everything started freezing again.
Even Majorgeeks became unresponsive when I tried to edit my last post. Everything is still ultra slow, my Task Manager takes an age to start, and I usually have 14 scvhost.exe's running and one of them ranges from 300k - 600k memory, I don't know if this may be the root of the problem.

I'm going to follow your Malware guides starting tomorrow if possible and keep you updated.

Debbie x