[jamesd713]

Hello,

I have been dealing with an issue that Dell, Microsoft, and GeekSquad (PC bought trough BestBuy) have yet to help me fix. I would really appreciate some help for I have spent several weeks trying to find a remedy to my problem to no avail.

Simply stated, my PC (Dell Inspirion 545) running Windows Vista 64 has a problem maintaining browser functionality on both IE and Firefox. I will be surfing along with no problems and my browser will stop responding for reasons unknown....If I was using IE and then I try to start Firefox then firefox will not work either. Something happens, out of the blue, that effects both browsers unilaterally. The only thing that gets the browser to work again is rebooting the PC......Unfortunately, the aforementioned issue causes IE/FF exe to hang, so sometimes even shutting down takes a few minutes if not longer. Once I restart the issue is gone, but only for a matter of time. I am forced (in most cases) to reboot my PC several times throughout my workday. This is obviously causing me great mental pain, because my PC is only 2 months old and it has been doing this from the start. The issue is NOT a connectivity issue as my router still works fine and I am still able to a)ping websites, b)check Thunderbird mail client, c) use AIM. It happens on all different websites throughout the day, but never one or two in particular. For example, my IE froze on this website and I was forced to reboot before I could post.

Some basic info...

Explorer 7
Vista Home premium Service pack 1

I am using
Zone Alarm Firewall
AVG Free 8.5

Malwarebytes reports no viruses or malware.

Event Log reports 2 errors pretty consistently when this issue occurs

Event ID 10
Event ID 15016

I am not sure if it is relevant, but this PC was bought at Bestbuy right off the floor (last one in stock). The PC itself runs like a top, no issues EXCEPT this particular jamming issue with the browsers.

I plead, I beg, I crawl on my knees...for the love of all things that do not suck I ask that someone help me with this issue. All the so called experts have decided to take the easy way out with me and advise I reload the OP system. It makes no sense to me that this one issue warrants me starting from scratch on my PC and going through the long drawn out process of getting all my relevant work software back on the PC.

Please help...I hope someone can feel my pain here.

Kind Regards,

James

[Phantom010]

Have you tried disabling ZoneAlarm? ZA is notorious for conflicting issues with browsers.

[jamesd713]

Hello Phantom,

I have used ZA on several diff computers for years without issues. However, I guess anything is possible. Problem is I don't feel comfortable testing without a firewall. I currently have Windows Firewall disabled. Is Windows Firewall safe enough for general use so I can test for a while with ZA off?

This is a general Home Office PC so if Windows Firewall is copasetic I may just use that and uninstall ZA if that indeed is the issue..

James

[Phantom010]

Yes, Windows Firewall on Vista is pretty safe.

[jamesd713]

Ok. I disabled ZA and used Windows Firewall. The problem still occured eventually so it is not Zone Alarm.

[Phantom010]

Please click here to download and install the HijackThis installer.

Run it and select Do a system scan and save a logfile.

The log will be saved in Notepad. Copy and paste the log in your next post.

Do not fix anything

[jamesd713]

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 11:55:27 PM, on 11/16/2009
Platform: Windows Vista SP1 (WinNT 6.00.1905)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6001.18319)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Messenger\msnmsgr.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\ieuser.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Toolbar\wltuser.exe
C:\Windows\SysWow64\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil10b.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://g.msn.com/USCON/1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://google.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://g.msn.com/USCON/1
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - *{CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497} - (no file)
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG8\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5C255C8A-E604-49b4-9D64-90988571CECB} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: Search Helper - {6EBF7485-159F-4bff-A14F-B9E3AAC4465B} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Search Enhancement Pack\Search Helper\SearchHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Toolbar Helper - {E15A8DC0-8516-42A1-81EA-DC94EC1ACF10} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Toolbar\wltcore.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Windows Live Toolbar - {21FA44EF-376D-4D53-9B0F-8A89D3229068} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Toolbar\wltcore.dll
O3 - Toolbar: AVG Security Toolbar - {CCC7A320-B3CA-4199-B1A6-9F516DD69829} - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG8_TRAY] C:\PROGRA~2\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ZoneAlarm Client] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [msnmsgr] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Messenger\msnmsgr.exe" /background
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - .DEFAULT User Startup: Dell Dock First Run.lnk = C:\Program Files\Dell\DellDock\DellDock.exe (User 'Default user')
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Blog This - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: &Blog This in Windows Live Writer - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O16 - DPF: {E2883E8F-472F-4FB0-9522-AC9BF37916A7} (get_atlcom Class) - http://platformdl.adobe.com/NOS/getPlusPlus/1.6/gp.cab
O16 - DPF: {FD0B6769-6490-4A91-AA0A-B5AE0DC75AC9} (Performance Viewer Activex Control) - https://secure.logmein.com/activex/ractrl.cab?lmi=100
O18 - Protocol: linkscanner - {F274614C-63F8-47D5-A4D1-FBDDE494F8D1} - C:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG8\avgpp.dll
O23 - Service: Andrea RT Filters Service (AERTFilters) - Andrea Electronics Corporation - C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\AERTSr64.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Ati External Event Utility - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Ati2evxx.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: AVG Free8 E-mail Scanner (avg8emc) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~2\AVG\AVG8\avgemc.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Free8 WatchDog (avg8wd) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~2\AVG\AVG8\avgwdsvc.exe
O23 - Service: ##Id_String1.6844F930_1628_4223_B5CC_5BB94B879762## (Bonjour Service) - Apple Computer, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: @dfsrres.dll,-101 (DFSR) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\DFSR.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Dock Login Service (DockLoginService) - Stardock Corporation - C:\Program Files\Dell\DellDock\DockLogin.exe
O23 - Service: FLEXnet Licensing Service - Macrovision Europe Ltd. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher\FNPLicensingService.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\SLsvc.exe,-101 (slsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\SLsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: stllssvr - MicroVision Development, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\SureThing Shared\stllssvr.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: TrueVector Internet Monitor (vsmon) - Check Point Software Technologies LTD - C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: XAudioService - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\xaudio64.exe (file missing)
--
End of file - 8372 bytes

[Phantom010]

Have you tried your browsers after booting into Safe Mode with Networking?

[jamesd713]

Wouldn't I be surfing the internet without firewall or anti-virus protection though if I was in safe mode? Did the hijack logs tell you anything?

Remember, the issue is not immeadiate...it happens out of the blue, sometimes after 30 mins, sometimes after 3 hours...but the ultimate fact is...it always happens. Before the issue my browsers work fine, fast, and efficiently without apparent issues.

Thanks...

James

[Phantom010]

The reason I was asking you to try it in Safe Mode with Networking was to determine if one of your non-Windows applications was causing the issue. A lot of times, antivirus programs or firewalls are the culprits because they are constantly running in the background and can create conflicts with certain applications.

Unfortunately, I can't get a clear view of your running processes as Windows Vista 64-bit is not really supported by HijackThis. I'm sure you don't have only 8 processes running in your Task Manager? Perhaps a screenshot of your running processes could give me a better idea?

[jamesd713]

Here you go...I can't attach screen caps without hosting them somewhere so here is the list from processes written out

thunderbird.exe *32
ScreenHunter.exe *32
FlashUtil10b.exe *32
EXCEL.EXE *32
wltuser.exe *32
msnmsgr.exe *32
explorer.exe
dwm.exe
taskeng.exe
wuauclt.exe
taskmgr.exe
avgtray.exe *32
zlclient.exe *32
Ati2evxx.exe
winlogon.exe
ieuser.exe *32
csrss.exe
iexplorer.exe *32


Thanks again...

[Phantom010]

When opening your Task Manager, please click on Show processes from all users and take another screenshot.

To take a screenshot in order to attach it to your next post, click on ALT+Printscreen at the same time (you may need to do it more than once if your processes are not showing all at the same time).

2- Open Paint.

3- Select Edit.

4- Click on Paste.

5- Select File.

6- Click on Save As...

7- Save your screenshot as a JPG file.

8- Attach the screenshot to your next post.

[jamesd713]

I don't think you understand...I know how to take a screen shot...You cant just attach a jpeg to the reply...You must host the pic somewhere and provide the url...that is why I wrote them out.

[Phantom010]

No need for a URL. Simply click on Go Advanced and click on the paperclip to attach your JPG file.

See attachment below.

[jamesd713]

Ok....here you go.