Some USB Storage Devices Don't Work - But Some Do

My current challenge is a new Maxtor Onetouch 4 external hard drive. Windows
detects it as an "other device" and gives error code 28 asking for a driver.
It never shows up as a hard drive. The Maxtor is plug and play and should
not need a driver. The Maxtor works fine when plugged into another computer,
so I know the drive and USB cable are okay. I also tried three different USB
ports that work fine with other items (like my printer) plugged into them, so
the ports are okay.

I am running XP home edition, with Service Pack 3 installed.

This issue seems to be part of a pattern that has emerged in the last 6-12
months. Windows recognizes one Ipod but not another. Likewise, it
recognizes one thumb drive but not another.

Microsoft Help and Support has Article ID # 925196 that describes my problem
pretty closely. That article advises to delete an upper filters value and a
lower filters value from specific Registry Keys. I found the keys but
neither an upper nor a lower value showed up.

I hope this description gives enough symptoms for someone to recognize the
actual problem and point me in the right direction. I have been searching
Microsoft's and other user groups for many hours over several days without
finding a solution.

Thanks for any ideas.
--
LT

Gel
Sun Jul 20 12:01:15 PDT 2008

On 20 Jul, 18:44, Lost Texan <LostTe...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:
> My current challenge is a new Maxtor Onetouch 4 external hard drive. =A0W=
indows
> detects it as an "other device" and gives error code 28 asking for a driv=
er. =A0
> It never shows up as a hard drive. =A0The Maxtor is plug and play and sho=
uld
> not need a driver. =A0The Maxtor works fine when plugged into another com=
puter,
> so I know the drive and USB cable are okay. =A0I also tried three differe=
nt USB
> ports that work fine with other items (like my printer) plugged into them=
, so
> the ports are okay.
>
> I am running XP home edition, with Service Pack 3 installed. =A0
>
> This issue seems to be part of a pattern that has emerged in the last 6-1=
2
> months. =A0Windows recognizes one Ipod but not another. =A0Likewise, it
> recognizes one thumb drive but not another.
>
My XP PC had grief with USB devices, and only way
was to reboot; however XP3 has fixed that.

> Microsoft Help and Support has Article ID # 925196 that describes my prob=
lem
> pretty closely. =A0That article advises to delete an upper filters value =
and a
> lower filters value from specific Registry Keys. =A0I found the keys but
> neither an upper nor a lower value showed up.
>
> I hope this description gives enough symptoms for someone to recognize th=
e
> actual problem and point me in the right direction. =A0I have been search=
ing
> Microsoft's and other user groups for many hours over several days withou=
t
> finding a solution.
>
> Thanks for any ideas.
> --
> LT

Moi
Sun Jul 20 13:10:52 PDT 2008


"Gel" <barclayhomes@ukgateway.net> wrote in message
news:8dcb0358-8368-43fb-9dcd-22f7b0608c43@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
On 20 Jul, 18:44, Lost Texan <LostTe...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:
> My current challenge is a new Maxtor Onetouch 4 external hard drive.
> Windows
> detects it as an "other device" and gives error code 28 asking for a
> driver.
> It never shows up as a hard drive. The Maxtor is plug and play and should
> not need a driver. The Maxtor works fine when plugged into another
> computer,
> so I know the drive and USB cable are okay. I also tried three different
> USB
> ports that work fine with other items (like my printer) plugged into them,
> so
> the ports are okay.
>
> I am running XP home edition, with Service Pack 3 installed.
>
> This issue seems to be part of a pattern that has emerged in the last 6-12
> months. Windows recognizes one Ipod but not another. Likewise, it
> recognizes one thumb drive but not another.
>
My XP PC had grief with USB devices, and only way
was to reboot; however XP3 has fixed that.

> Microsoft Help and Support has Article ID # 925196 that describes my
> problem
> pretty closely. That article advises to delete an upper filters value and
> a
> lower filters value from specific Registry Keys. I found the keys but
> neither an upper nor a lower value showed up.
>
> I hope this description gives enough symptoms for someone to recognize the
> actual problem and point me in the right direction. I have been searching
> Microsoft's and other user groups for many hours over several days without
> finding a solution.
>
> Thanks for any ideas.
> --
> LT

I use the one-touch and it works fine. No drivers. However, I do not use the
(imaging?) software that's on it.

blueman
Sun Jul 20 13:32:00 PDT 2008

Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week. I've
looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
answer as to why this is happening

The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged it
in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
option for you.

Patrick
Sun Jul 20 18:08:58 PDT 2008

"blueman" <mike@guitarstorage.com> wrote in message
news:4daab35a-662c-42c3-bf47-a7907e74db18@y38g2000hsy.googlegroups.com...
> Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week. I've
> looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
> very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
> Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
> where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
> answer as to why this is happening
>
> The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
> out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged it
> in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
> was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
> option for you.

A couple of comments, first, that kind of card is about $20 where I am,

And second, the fact that the add-on card works points to physical problems
with the physical chips on the original ports (the motherboard). XP is
going to use the same drivers for both physical devices, and of one works
and the other doesn't, the one that doesn't is probably just physically
broken. Unfortunately there are few moving parts to fix in semiconductors,
and if the parts are broken you pretty much can't fix it with software.

HTH
-pk

Functional
Sun Jul 20 19:40:03 PDT 2008



"blueman" wrote:

> Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week. I've
> looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
> very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
> Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
> where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
> answer as to why this is happening
>
> The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
> out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged it
> in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
> was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
> option for you.
>
> Thanks for the info. I just purchased one of these and have yet to attempt to use it Are you using it as a backup or a seperate drive? The reason I bought it was for additional memory in an attempt to relieve my c drive and other drives.

Patrick
Sun Jul 20 22:03:20 PDT 2008

"Functional illiterate ABN" <Functional illiterate
ABN@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:33828FB7-9E61-4345-8661-297225E71AC6@microsoft.com...
>
>
> "blueman" wrote:
>
>> Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week. I've
>> looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
>> very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
>> Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
>> where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
>> answer as to why this is happening
>>
>> The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
>> out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged it
>> in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
>> was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
>> option for you.
>>
>> Thanks for the info. I just purchased one of these and have yet to
>> attempt to use it Are you using it as a backup or a seperate drive?
>> The reason I bought it was for additional memory in an attempt to relieve
>> my c drive and other drives.

I use several external USB drives, mostly as backup and storage, but I never
buy pre-built ones, since you can't know the most important detail - the
maker of the actual disk. Good cases are around $30, 500 gig drives are
around $100, it takes more time to open and toss the packaging than to
assemble the drive.

If you are planning to use external drives for bandwith-hungry applications
like audio or video processing, you should consider FireWire; if so you must
be aware that FireWire does not really support hot-plugging, though it's
supposed to. Hot-plugging can destroy the port circuitry, and this can
become very expensive.

As to the previous poster's issue, though, that looks to me like a defect
with the motherboard port circuitry, and that's why the new card suddenly
allowed the attached devices to function properly.

HTH
-pk

blueman
Mon Jul 21 05:18:09 PDT 2008

On Jul 20, 9:08 pm, "Patrick Keenan" <t...@dev.null> wrote:

> A couple of comments, first, that kind of card is about $20 where I am,
>
> And second, the fact that the add-on card works points to physical problems
> with the physical chips on the original ports (the motherboard). XP is
> going to use the same drivers for both physical devices, and of one works
> and the other doesn't, the one that doesn't is probably just physically
> broken. Unfortunately there are few moving parts to fix in semiconductors,
> and if the parts are broken you pretty much can't fix it with software.
>
> HTH
> -pk


There may be a problem with the Motherboard but the only issues I was
having was with the USB ports. As I mentioned, there are endless posts
relating to this issue with few solutions. You can probably get it
cheaper than $37 but this one ws rated high and it's still a lot
cheaper, especially in regard to the cost in time, than replacing the
Motherboard. As I said, this is a "Workaround" that I'm very happy
to live with.

Patrick
Mon Jul 21 15:07:23 PDT 2008

"blueman" <mike@guitarstorage.com> wrote in message
news:d1910a72-6aaa-476e-b55e-26929182044f@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> On Jul 20, 9:08 pm, "Patrick Keenan" <t...@dev.null> wrote:
>
>> A couple of comments, first, that kind of card is about $20 where I am,
>>
>> And second, the fact that the add-on card works points to physical
>> problems
>> with the physical chips on the original ports (the motherboard). XP is
>> going to use the same drivers for both physical devices, and of one works
>> and the other doesn't, the one that doesn't is probably just physically
>> broken. Unfortunately there are few moving parts to fix in
>> semiconductors,
>> and if the parts are broken you pretty much can't fix it with software.
>>
>> HTH
>> -pk
>
>
> There may be a problem with the Motherboard but the only issues I was
> having was with the USB ports.

Yes, specifically with the USB controller chips on the motherboard.

That's why things work properly with the new card - you aren't using the
defective / damaged chips on the motherboard.

> As I mentioned, there are endless posts
> relating to this issue with few solutions.

It might be interesting, in a rather boring way, to correlate these posts
with the actual USB chips and boards involved.

In your case, it's pretty clear that the problem had nothing to do with
Windows, aside from Windows being unable to detect the damage to the chips.

> You can probably get it
> cheaper than $37 but this one ws rated high and it's still a lot
> cheaper, especially in regard to the cost in time, than replacing the
> Motherboard. As I said, this is a "Workaround" that I'm very happy
> to live with.

It's certainly the easiest way to do it, and in addition demonstrates the
underlying problem.

-pk

LostTexan
Mon Jul 21 15:21:01 PDT 2008

Thanks for all of the posts. Patrick raises an interesting question about
the motherboard but I have a confounding symptom (I think) in my case: All of
my USB ports work with any of the devices that the computer recognizes. None
of them work with devices that the computer does not recognize. One flash
drive is recognized but another is not; one Ipod is recognized but another is
not; the Maxtor One Touch 4 is not recognized in any port. All of the
devices that the computer will not recognize are instantly recognized on
another computer.

Does that detail make any difference in anyone's thinking? Thanks again.
--
LT


"Patrick Keenan" wrote:

> "Functional illiterate ABN" <Functional illiterate
> ABN@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:33828FB7-9E61-4345-8661-297225E71AC6@microsoft.com...
> >
> >
> > "blueman" wrote:
> >
> >> Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week. I've
> >> looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
> >> very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
> >> Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
> >> where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
> >> answer as to why this is happening
> >>
> >> The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
> >> out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged it
> >> in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
> >> was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
> >> option for you.
> >>
> >> Thanks for the info. I just purchased one of these and have yet to
> >> attempt to use it Are you using it as a backup or a seperate drive?
> >> The reason I bought it was for additional memory in an attempt to relieve
> >> my c drive and other drives.
>
> I use several external USB drives, mostly as backup and storage, but I never
> buy pre-built ones, since you can't know the most important detail - the
> maker of the actual disk. Good cases are around $30, 500 gig drives are
> around $100, it takes more time to open and toss the packaging than to
> assemble the drive.
>
> If you are planning to use external drives for bandwith-hungry applications
> like audio or video processing, you should consider FireWire; if so you must
> be aware that FireWire does not really support hot-plugging, though it's
> supposed to. Hot-plugging can destroy the port circuitry, and this can
> become very expensive.
>
> As to the previous poster's issue, though, that looks to me like a defect
> with the motherboard port circuitry, and that's why the new card suddenly
> allowed the attached devices to function properly.
>
> HTH
> -pk
>
>
>

FunctionalilliterateABN
Mon Jul 21 21:35:00 PDT 2008



"Lost Texan" wrote:

> Thanks for all of the posts. Patrick raises an interesting question about
> the motherboard but I have a confounding symptom (I think) in my case: All of
> my USB ports work with any of the devices that the computer recognizes. None
> of them work with devices that the computer does not recognize. One flash
> drive is recognized but another is not; one Ipod is recognized but another is
> not; the Maxtor One Touch 4 is not recognized in any port. All of the
> devices that the computer will not recognize are instantly recognized on
> another computer.
>
> Does that detail make any difference in anyone's thinking? Thanks again.
> --
> LT
>
>
> "Patrick Keenan" wrote:
>
> > "Functional illiterate ABN" <Functional illiterate
> > ABN@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:33828FB7-9E61-4345-8661-297225E71AC6@microsoft.com...
> > >
> > >
> > > "blueman" wrote:
> > >
> > >> Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week. I've
> > >> looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
> > >> very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
> > >> Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
> > >> where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
> > >> answer as to why this is happening
> > >>
> > >> The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
> > >> out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged it
> > >> in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
> > >> was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
> > >> option for you.
> > >>
> > >> Thanks for the info. I just purchased one of these and have yet to
> > >> attempt to use it Are you using it as a backup or a seperate drive?
> > >> The reason I bought it was for additional memory in an attempt to relieve
> > >> my c drive and other drives.
> >
> > I use several external USB drives, mostly as backup and storage, but I never
> > buy pre-built ones, since you can't know the most important detail - the
> > maker of the actual disk. Good cases are around $30, 500 gig drives are
> > around $100, it takes more time to open and toss the packaging than to
> > assemble the drive.
> >
> > If you are planning to use external drives for bandwith-hungry applications
> > like audio or video processing, you should consider FireWire; if so you must
> > be aware that FireWire does not really support hot-plugging, though it's
> > supposed to. Hot-plugging can destroy the port circuitry, and this can
> > become very expensive.
> >
> > As to the previous poster's issue, though, that looks to me like a defect
> > with the motherboard port circuitry, and that's why the new card suddenly
> > allowed the attached devices to function properly.
> >
> > HTH
> > -pk
> >
> >
> > Thank you. Maybe tomorrow I'll plug it in. It's a 500 GB and it was on sale for $ 100. Usually, you get what you pay for. You sound like you may know what your're talking about, and I have another question. Recently, sucumed to an impulse and downloaded, AntispyCheck. McAfee, Windows Defender, and, PC Pitstop tell me that this is not a good program. I have uninstalled the program, but now get a small popup on my task bar that says I am infected. Even Windows Live is unable to get rid of it. Any ideas??? Thanks..

CWK.... 101 ABN

Patrick
Tue Jul 22 14:41:32 PDT 2008

"Functional illiterate ABN"
<FunctionalilliterateABN@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D20FF34F-C382-4939-92E6-F92D9C8DC9D8@microsoft.com...
>
>
> "Lost Texan" wrote:
>
>> Thanks for all of the posts. Patrick raises an interesting question
>> about
>> the motherboard but I have a confounding symptom (I think) in my case:
>> All of
>> my USB ports work with any of the devices that the computer recognizes.
>> None
>> of them work with devices that the computer does not recognize. One
>> flash
>> drive is recognized but another is not; one Ipod is recognized but
>> another is
>> not; the Maxtor One Touch 4 is not recognized in any port. All of the
>> devices that the computer will not recognize are instantly recognized on
>> another computer.
>>
>> Does that detail make any difference in anyone's thinking? Thanks again.
>> --
>> LT
>>
>>
>> "Patrick Keenan" wrote:
>>
>> > "Functional illiterate ABN" <Functional illiterate
>> > ABN@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> > news:33828FB7-9E61-4345-8661-297225E71AC6@microsoft.com...
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > "blueman" wrote:
>> > >
>> > >> Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week.
>> > >> I've
>> > >> looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
>> > >> very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
>> > >> Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
>> > >> where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
>> > >> answer as to why this is happening
>> > >>
>> > >> The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
>> > >> out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged
>> > >> it
>> > >> in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
>> > >> was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
>> > >> option for you.
>> > >>
>> > >> Thanks for the info. I just purchased one of these and have yet to
>> > >> attempt to use it Are you using it as a backup or a seperate
>> > >> drive?
>> > >> The reason I bought it was for additional memory in an attempt to
>> > >> relieve
>> > >> my c drive and other drives.
>> >
>> > I use several external USB drives, mostly as backup and storage, but I
>> > never
>> > buy pre-built ones, since you can't know the most important detail -
>> > the
>> > maker of the actual disk. Good cases are around $30, 500 gig drives
>> > are
>> > around $100, it takes more time to open and toss the packaging than to
>> > assemble the drive.
>> >
>> > If you are planning to use external drives for bandwith-hungry
>> > applications
>> > like audio or video processing, you should consider FireWire; if so you
>> > must
>> > be aware that FireWire does not really support hot-plugging, though
>> > it's
>> > supposed to. Hot-plugging can destroy the port circuitry, and this
>> > can
>> > become very expensive.
>> >
>> > As to the previous poster's issue, though, that looks to me like a
>> > defect
>> > with the motherboard port circuitry, and that's why the new card
>> > suddenly
>> > allowed the attached devices to function properly.
>> >
>> > HTH
>> > -pk
>> >
>> >
>> > Thank you. Maybe tomorrow I'll plug it in. It's a 500 GB and it
>> > was on sale for $ 100. Usually, you get what you pay for. You
>> > sound like you may know what your're talking about, and I have another
>> > question. Recently, sucumed to an impulse and downloaded,
>> > AntispyCheck. McAfee, Windows Defender, and, PC Pitstop tell me that
>> > this is not a good program. I have uninstalled the program, but now
>> > get a small popup on my task bar that says I am infected. Even Windows
>> > Live is unable to get rid of it. Any ideas??? Thanks..
>
> CWK.... 101 ABN

I think I removed that from a system recently . Yes, it's malware
masquerading as a utility, whose main purpose is to bill your credit card.

There are lots of links about how to remove this, if you type the name into
Google you'll get at least a dozen telling you how to remove it.

Most of them tell you to delete a long list of files, most of which are in
the program files\antispycheck folder. There's an easier way to do that,
which is to simply rename that folder - add an X to its start, and reboot.
It's possible that you might have to boot to safe mode to do this.

My usual approach is to host the drive on another system, and I can rename
whatever I feel is necessary.

Anyway, renaming the folder and rebooting will prevent the app from loading,
will likely generate error messages, and you can proceed to manually remove
the files and registry entries that are appropriate.

This page is an example of what you will find, and presents a variety of
methods and tools for removing it.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/antispycheck

HTH
-pk

FunctionalilliterateABN
Tue Jul 22 18:07:02 PDT 2008




"Patrick Keenan" wrote:

> "Functional illiterate ABN"
> <FunctionalilliterateABN@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:D20FF34F-C382-4939-92E6-F92D9C8DC9D8@microsoft.com...
> >
> >
> > "Lost Texan" wrote:
> >
> >> Thanks for all of the posts. Patrick raises an interesting question
> >> about
> >> the motherboard but I have a confounding symptom (I think) in my case:
> >> All of
> >> my USB ports work with any of the devices that the computer recognizes.
> >> None
> >> of them work with devices that the computer does not recognize. One
> >> flash
> >> drive is recognized but another is not; one Ipod is recognized but
> >> another is
> >> not; the Maxtor One Touch 4 is not recognized in any port. All of the
> >> devices that the computer will not recognize are instantly recognized on
> >> another computer.
> >>
> >> Does that detail make any difference in anyone's thinking? Thanks again.
> >> --
> >> LT
> >>
> >>
> >> "Patrick Keenan" wrote:
> >>
> >> > "Functional illiterate ABN" <Functional illiterate
> >> > ABN@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> > news:33828FB7-9E61-4345-8661-297225E71AC6@microsoft.com...
> >> > >
> >> > >
> >> > > "blueman" wrote:
> >> > >
> >> > >> Been searching for an answer to a similar usb problem for a week.
> >> > >> I've
> >> > >> looked at posts back to 2000 and tried everything. This seems to be
> >> > >> very common yet there is no good answer. I can't figure out why
> >> > >> Microsoft hasn't addressed this. You can follow thread after thread
> >> > >> where someone has tried everything and yet there is no resolution or
> >> > >> answer as to why this is happening
> >> > >>
> >> > >> The good news is I finally decided to go with a workaround and went
> >> > >> out and bought (for $37) a usb pci clot card with 4 ports, plugged
> >> > >> it
> >> > >> in and it works perfectly. The time I spent searching for an answer
> >> > >> was worth way more than the $37 dollars I spent. This might be an
> >> > >> option for you.
> >> > >>
> >> > >> Thanks for the info. I just purchased one of these and have yet to
> >> > >> attempt to use it Are you using it as a backup or a seperate
> >> > >> drive?
> >> > >> The reason I bought it was for additional memory in an attempt to
> >> > >> relieve
> >> > >> my c drive and other drives.
> >> >
> >> > I use several external USB drives, mostly as backup and storage, but I
> >> > never
> >> > buy pre-built ones, since you can't know the most important detail -
> >> > the
> >> > maker of the actual disk. Good cases are around $30, 500 gig drives
> >> > are
> >> > around $100, it takes more time to open and toss the packaging than to
> >> > assemble the drive.
> >> >
> >> > If you are planning to use external drives for bandwith-hungry
> >> > applications
> >> > like audio or video processing, you should consider FireWire; if so you
> >> > must
> >> > be aware that FireWire does not really support hot-plugging, though
> >> > it's
> >> > supposed to. Hot-plugging can destroy the port circuitry, and this
> >> > can
> >> > become very expensive.
> >> >
> >> > As to the previous poster's issue, though, that looks to me like a
> >> > defect
> >> > with the motherboard port circuitry, and that's why the new card
> >> > suddenly
> >> > allowed the attached devices to function properly.
> >> >
> >> > HTH
> >> > -pk
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Thank you. Maybe tomorrow I'll plug it in. It's a 500 GB and it
> >> > was on sale for $ 100. Usually, you get what you pay for. You
> >> > sound like you may know what your're talking about, and I have another
> >> > question. Recently, sucumed to an impulse and downloaded,
> >> > AntispyCheck. McAfee, Windows Defender, and, PC Pitstop tell me that
> >> > this is not a good program. I have uninstalled the program, but now
> >> > get a small popup on my task bar that says I am infected. Even Windows
> >> > Live is unable to get rid of it. Any ideas??? Thanks..
> >
> > CWK.... 101 ABN
>
> I think I removed that from a system recently . Yes, it's malware
> masquerading as a utility, whose main purpose is to bill your credit card.
>
> There are lots of links about how to remove this, if you type the name into
> Google you'll get at least a dozen telling you how to remove it.
>
> Most of them tell you to delete a long list of files, most of which are in
> the program files\antispycheck folder. There's an easier way to do that,
> which is to simply rename that folder - add an X to its start, and reboot.
> It's possible that you might have to boot to safe mode to do this.
>
> My usual approach is to host the drive on another system, and I can rename
> whatever I feel is necessary.
>
> Anyway, renaming the folder and rebooting will prevent the app from loading,
> will likely generate error messages, and you can proceed to manually remove
> the files and registry entries that are appropriate.
>
> This page is an example of what you will find, and presents a variety of
> methods and tools for removing it.
> http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/antispycheck
>
> HTH
> -pk
>
> Geeze, you're a genius. However, after looking at the websight, this is going to take me a week. Gonna' try it anyway, being the functional illiterate that I am.
You sound like good people and I thank you...

CWK- 101 ABN