Web browsers/ internet work intermittently

Thank you for any help you can provide.

The problem started (as far as I know) when I clicked on a pop-up (a couple weeks ago) that said I needed to download codecs to watch a video on a site that I was not very familiar with. The next day, I noticed that my internet connection would stop working after a while. Now my internet connection on that machine rarely works.

I notice that dwwin.exe shows up in task manager whenever I try to run firefox or ie, and if I "end task" dwwin.exe, that is usually the only way the browser window will open. In ie, it usually says I am connected to the internet, but can't display the webpage. Intermittently, programs that have auto-update features will display pop-ups saying a download is ready.

I ran firefox off of a ubuntu live cd, and it ran perfectly, which makes me think it is not a hardware problem. I have encountered several BSOD's since the problem started, but also ran memtest with no errors.

I could not run Rootrepeal w/o an immediate BSOD after selecting the drive to scan (so no log is included). I also ran Superantispyware an additional time on quick only because it popped up with an update right after I finished the initial complete scan. I didn't want to be told I didn't use the most recent update. I pasted the quick scan into the original scan that is attached. *Note: the Trojan Guarder that Superantispyware found was downloaded by me from cnet after the problem started and before I found this forum.

I have windows xp running. There is currently no antivirus software as I uninstalled AVG and have not had a consistent internet connection needed to install Avast. One of the logs says I had AVG running which may interfere, but I can confirm that it was not. I checked task manager and services.msc. I found a fix by deleting system32\wbem\repository after the log was created.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

 

Thank you for your reply. I have uninstalled the trojan guarder software.

I am having trouble accessing the windows recovery console. When the system boots, it flashes on the "select operating system" screen for a split second and then moves to booting xp normally. I managed to use F8 to get to the menu selection for the recovery console, but when I select that option and press enter, I get a black screen with a single blinking cursor in the upper left corner (no C:windows\ or anything like that).

I can't find the XP install cd. Do you know of another way to get the recovery console (or fix the mbr w/o it). I tried running combofix again with a manually added copy of the windows setup floppy program dragged onto it, but it did not solve the problem. Unless you have another idea, I will try to find a way to get the windows setup floppies onto a bootable cd. Thanks.

 

I can't get the recovery console to work. I used the method you suggested, and it hangs on a black screen with a single blinking cursor. I even created floppy discs w/ xp sp2, which got me to the console menu, but when I selected it, it crashed and restarted the system.

Is there any other way to go about this repair, or is my system toast? I don't get any internet access under windows, but it works like a charm under ubuntu live.

 

Okay, I have followed your directions and attached the logs. I used MBRfix from the UBCD4Win. I don't know how to tell if it did anything. I also ran a few of the spyware/virus scans included in the UBCD4Win that are also mentioned on this website as additional things to try. Nothing notable turned up.

Browsers (IE and Firefox) still do not work. They take a couple of minutes before a window opens with an error message. Something is obviously damaged, but I hope the nasties are gone! Thank you for your help.

Todd