Galen
Sun Dec 04 03:51:28 CST 2005
In news:1133583133.511442.257370@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com,
bountifulharvest@gmail.com <bountifulharvest@gmail.com> had this to say:
Posted only to (I hope) the Microsoft groups!
My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
> David H. Lipman wrote:
>
>> Win98, WinME and alt.comp.virus ?
>
>> You are all overr the place onm this !
>
>> It sounds like you paid for screwing around you computer and it
>> certainly isn't virus related.
>
>
> Actually, I am using Win98SE. I post the message on these newsgroups
> after a search on googlegroups for "oleaut32.dll" and these are the
> newsgroups that come up the most !
>
> Please do not flame me for crossposting. I crosspost this on
> alt.comp.anti-virus because even anti-virus programs like Avast and
> anti-spyware programs like Spybot just refuse to run after I installed
> that "Duplicate File Killer" program.
>
> And the main point is, I can't even UNINSTALL that "Duplicate File
> Killer" program ! This point has made me _very_ suspicious of that
> program.
>
> If you have any suggestions on how to remove the "Duplicate File
> Killer" program, and/or how to fix the "Oleaut32.dll file cannot
> start" problem, and/or to enable my anti-virus, anti-spyware program
> to run on my computer, without having to reformat my entire HD, I am
> all ears.
>
> Thank you ! ! !
I'd not call that flaming actually. I'd call it accurate and honest sharing
of information. You're not going to like what I'm about to say so you may
not wish to read further. (Really, it might make you dislike me and that
would be entirely unacceptable but hopefully it helps.)
You, if not by choice then by not practicing safe hex, have opted to hose
you OS. There are few times - you can search and I bet you find fewer times
than you have fingers for the past year - that I recommend a complete
reformat. Try the various removal tools and hope for the best but even if
your box shows "clean" signs you'll never again be 100% certain.
Malware Cleaning:
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/general/malwarefix.html
Some of those are for systems which are upgraded beyond the 9x line.
Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta (Windows Defender) is one of them that comes to
mind.
Second... Do not EVER use an automated application to delete duplicate
files. Some files are duplicated because they need to be. Some files are
duplicated and deletion of the wrong one will cause problems. This is not
an, "I told you so." This is, "Err... Umm..." *hides face* "I've been there
before not ONCE but TWICE actually before I realized THAT was a bad idea."
Instead use the application to FIND the duplicate files and then BACKUP the
files and go ahead and research anything you're not 300% sure about before
deleting it. DO NOT use an automated application for this - it IS bad... Not
it's MAYBE bad - it IS bad. They're not OS-centric nor are they
setup-centric - they don't know what you need to keep but rather do exactly
as they *should* claim they do and that is, delete duplicate files.
Third and this is the real one that makes people hate me, no worries - I'm
used to it so go ahead - but it's just as important as all the rest. Running
your PC in anything other than recommended settings is not the most
brilliant thing to do. I tweak like a madman but I accept accountability and
try to not break stuff and maintain backups. The point is, well, would you
run a chainsaw with high octane fuel? Of course not - the manufacturer told
you right on the label that such would pretty much assure that you died or
lost limbs. Operating a piece of equipment beyond spec is likely to cause
problems. That's why they made the specs in the first place... Now if I only
listened to that advice... Of course, if I had I would not have broken as
much as I have and likely have not learned a great deal so it's up to you
but no matter what - YOU must accept accountability and blaming David for
"flaming" you isn't really a solution. In fact he was being honest and,
well, as polite as he ever is. He's curt but I think that's because he
expects us to all know what he knows. Curt isn't always impolite though,
it's just a certainty being displayed and an awareness of the full
implications in many cases. The real point is that YOU downloaded something
and installed it and it hosed your system and now you want it fixed. There's
nothing at ALL wrong with that - I have done so a billion and ten times.
Okay, so figure out what the problem is and fix it - in this case start by
killing the malware off and then doing a repair installation or the likes if
you must - I'd really like to see the outcome of the system file check
utility and scanreg... If those aren't any good then repairing the
installation might do the trick for you though you'll need to perform all
updates all over again. This time - as soon as that's done - backup!!! Then
on Patch Tuesday do another one??? Every month! (Save other data to another
partition or something...)
Backup! Image/Clone :
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/advanced/image-clone.html
--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of
existence." - Sherlock Holmes