What is this?

I thought I had a malware problem but after running R & R me first & sending the logs in TimW says I'm clean, to try here. The problem is it takes forever for the computer to shut down & I seem to have a lot of "chatter" on the hard drive when nothing is running.
I also get a error message whenever I start the machine up. I get 2 windows, 1 says Windows cannot find '(I can't show the symbol- 6 sqrs.)' in parentheses.Make sure you typed the name correctly,then try again. To search for a file,click Start button,then click search. The second has DESKTOP in the top left corner of the top bar, the text says,could not load' (6 sqrs again)' in parentheses) specified in the registry,make sure the file exist on your computer or remove the reference to it in the registry.
CCleaner's registry tool shows a problem at: HKLM/software/Microsoft/windows/current version/shared dlls, & the path is C:/Windows/sys32/drivers/vsdatant.sys
I'd send screen shots but don't know how.
this is an old laptop,Toshiba Satellite L25, celeron R 1.6ghz processor, I've upgraded the memory to 1.87Gs.

 

If the hard drive is making unusual sounds, it's usually a sign of impending failure.

Backup whatever files (documents, music, pictures, etc.) are on the drive immediately if you have not already done so. If/when the drive fails completely, recovering them will likely be impossible.

Since it appears Windows is already missing files, check to see if the PC came with a CD or DVD restore disk (if a restore partition is on the current drive, it's unlikely it can be transferred to a replacement drive). If not, you'll likely have to order recovery disks from Toshiba to reinstall Windows after you replace the hard drive.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi gman863, perhaps chatter isn't the right term,the drive light blinks or stays on for what seems like a lonnnggggg time when shutting down. Before my wife took over this computer @ a yr. ago I don't remember it taking so long to shut down. Any ideas on the error messages?

 

Relates to Zone Alarm.
I see you are on XP and are currently using Zone Alarm.
Uninstall and then reinstall ZA. I'd boot to safe mode (F8- at boot) and uninstall ZA.
Some info here too.

You may like to try out like to try out another firewall. Scroll down to point #3.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=44525

Cheers..

 

Sorry to jump in but this may be handy,,http://www.majorgeeks.com/Zone_Alarm_Uninstall_d7492.html

 

A ZA uninstaller here at MG's too.

After ridding your PC of ZA and reading the page that sikvik pointed you to, I'd recommend you installing one of what I consider to be lightweight but effective firewalls that are better suited to your hardware (and less buggy) than ZA: PC Tools Firewall Plus* or Private Firewall.


* <-- make sure you uncheck the options to install Google Toolbar and Threatfire free edition. There's is no sense in installing excess baggage. NOTE: While this free firewall will still likely work and is better than the Windows firewall, it has recently (Aug 2010) been retired to be included in their pay internet security suite.

 

Sorry don't know how ZA uninstaller at MG got past me. Rougher day than I thought.

 

Also your Avast v5 has not updated and upgraded to v6. Probably the one year subscription ran out. Download the latest Avast installer from here.

Uninstall the current installation of Avast- and then run the installer you have downloaded. Register Avast and update.

Cheers..

 

Sikvik,nick T & Satrow, thanks, I followed the directions for uninstalling ZA & put Comodo on instead. That seems to have some baggage,Comodo Dragon & Geek buddy.I ran CCleaner 3 times till it stopped finding the 2 registry items @ shared dlls & vsdatant.sys. However, I'm still getting the error messages when ever the computer starts up. If some one can tell me how to do screen shots I'll send pics.

 

How to take screenshots.

 

Thanks satrow, here,I hope are the screen shots.

 

trying again!!

 

Interesting

Autoruns should help here, don't disable anything from MSFT or Windows - or anything needed for your particular hardware or security software.

When it first starts, press Esc to stop the initial scan > Options > Filter Options > check Verify code signatures (sometimes though even MSFT doesn't sign its' own software), Hide Microsoft entries and Hide Windows entries > OK > click the Refresh button.

Once that scan has completed, check through the Logon tab first and work your way through from there - be very careful what you uncheck, you're probably only looking for 2 strange items - maybe showing as file not found.

 

Please follow satrow's instructions. He's the real Guru.
Found something here. Scroll down to 'SuperSparks" post. If (big if) the font lists in msconfig startup tab we would know the registry location.

http://discussions.virtualdr.com/archive/index.php/t-155833.html
Cheers..

 

Sikvik,sartow, thanks, I ran autorun and came up with a bunch of "file not found" entries. Hope I didn't screw things up by deleting them.Before I ran that though I went to msconfig/startup & found the 6 sqr. entry listed. I got the location,went to regedit found it & deleted it. When I restarted the computer no errors found!! system is shutting down & restarting much faster now too.
thanks again to everyone for the help.

 

You might find some of your games not running or crashing out if you deleted certain 'file not found' entries from the drivers section. Many games run alongside 'anti-cheat' systems that are invisible to normal tools. If that happens, fire up Autoruns and see if you can replace the checks into the boxes for entries in the Drivers section and reboot - if they're still there and now able to load again, it might save a big download/reinstall.

 

About the only games I play are solitaire & desk top Taipei.Both of those seem to be working,so hopefully I'm good. Thanks again for the help!

 

Thanks, stay safe

 

Quick follow up after a re-read: Is the shutdown any faster now?

 

yes a lot!

 

That's good news