View Full Version : Just got my computer fixed
Kendell
04-19-2007, 08:54 PM
FINALLY! :D Just hooked her up a little while ago and so far everything is working (needed a new hard drive) but I am getting pop-ups saying I need this registry cleaner or that registry cleaner. I'm really not familiar with these and I don't know if I should use one or if it's mostly spam or - if I do need to use one - which one to use. Help?
Off to watch Survivor and CSI but I will be back later and thanks in advance! Missed this site! :)
shelley
04-19-2007, 09:38 PM
Welcome back.
teyrn
04-19-2007, 09:55 PM
Cleaning the registry is one of those things that does come up once in a while. As you add/remove programs install and update drivers the registry gets changed and cluttered. Over time the registry gets bloated and needs to be trimmed down thus improving performance and the stability of your system. I don't know where you are getting the popups from though. Does it come when browsing the internet with IE or are they similar to official system messages even when IE isn't open?
The first I would suggest getting spybot and/or adaware. Both together can keep the puter nice and clean of malware. Another option is Windows Defender from microsoft.com. You can run one or the other or all of them for the best protection. Next if it looks like system messages or windows dialog boxes popping up even when IE isn't open I would go and right click my computer and go to Manage. When the computer management window comes up go to the very bottom on the left and go to services. Scroll through the services list till you come to messenger. Right click messenger and choose to disable. This is not MSN messenger but the messenger service used by Windows to send messages to PC's on the connected network. Here are some links to the malware software scanners and removers.
adaware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php)
Spybot Search and Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html)
Windows Defender (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-f7f14e605a0d&displaylang=en)
Hello Kendell,
I have never heard of a pop up that is related to a new hard drive that requires a registry cleaner. There are free registry cleaners but I stopped using them way back with Windows 98 and Me. If you don't know what you're doing, I would recommend leaving the registry alone. It's not like your closet that needs cleaning every few months.
If things are really that bad, you can try Microsoft's regclean (http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,4666-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html) which is no longer supported by Microsoft or you can try RegCleaner (http://www.snapfiles.com/get/regseeker.html).
Sometimes the best option is to reformat the drive and reinstall Windows. Remember to backup your data.
darkeyed_daisy
04-20-2007, 06:53 AM
Hey Kendell
Glad youre back. I look forward to seeing ya on the boards....
Kendell
04-20-2007, 10:24 AM
Hey Shelley and Daisy - thanks for the welcome back! :)
Teyrn - I had AdAware before and downloaded and ran it last night after your reminder. It cleaned out quite a bit, but - unfortunately - pop-ups for about 5 different registry cleaner websites continue. The messages start appearing when I come online with IE.
PN - I did some research on registry cleaners and there are a ridiculous number of them out there, and apparently some do more damage than good. I trust your recommendations since from what I"ve read here you know your way around a puter. :) I have my puter back because a fairly new friend from my coffee shop took pity on me and offered to get me back up and running for free. Perhaps he'll have an idea what is going on here. I don't relish the idea of having to dump and reinstall Windows. If he has no clue, then I"ll try the regclean you suggested and hope that takes care of things.
Very much appreciate all the ideas and input!
betheny
04-20-2007, 10:53 AM
Kendell-
The first line of defense, and the easiest, might be to stop using Internet Explorer as your main browser. I am no computer expert, but I find a lot less gunk since I started insisting that everybody use the (free) browser Firefox.
IE is too tempting a target for hackers. It has a lot of security weaknesses and the lion's share of the market. They can't resist it. It takes less than 10 minutes to install Firefox. I've sure never regretted it.
P.S. I am so much not a computer person that I feel very important and knowledgeable to even make this recommendation. It wasn't so long ago I remember asking "But what IS a browser?" Anyway, your coffeeshop friend is awesome, welcome back!
Kendell
04-20-2007, 11:29 AM
Thanks, Betheny! Yeah, the dude is awesome! He thought I already had gotten it fixed. When he found out I didn't, he made the offer and had the puter back to me in three days! :D
Strange how much you can forget bout puters when you haven't had your own in awhile and I'm pretty much starting from scratch. I"m working on getting things set up still and guaranteed I am not a computer expert either! Now that you mention it, I have heard the same issues about IE. I have nothing to lose giving Firefox a try - even if it doesn't resolve the pop-up problem, from what I understand it is still the better option for a browser than IE so I will try that next.
Gonna have to wait till later, though. As hard as it is to tear myself away from the puter I need to get out of here and take care of some business.
Hope life is treating you more kindly these days, Betheny. Take care and thanks again!
orangejello
04-20-2007, 11:54 AM
It is funny how when you don't even know somebody, you sometimes notice when they are gone. I was just thinking the other day I had not seen any posts by Kendell in a long time. Welcome back :)
Patonb
04-20-2007, 12:08 PM
You have some sort of Spyware, as PN said, NO new drive should have these pop-ups... Get and run the programs Teryn suggested.
I have had the experience when downloading a screensaver or other "free" program, a program sponsored by "gain" is downloaded as part of the program package. This opens your firewall to all messages from this company. You can eliminate this by going to you firewall and checking those websites that you have granted permission to enter your system. You can then disallow further downloads from this website,
Kendell
04-26-2007, 08:25 PM
Wanted to thank everyone again for their ideas. In the process of trying to eliminate this glitch, I now have one of the safest computers around - and the nifty Firefox browser, too! :D
Turns out that Teyrn had the winning idea to rid myself of pop-ups by simply disabling Windows Messenger - though I did so with use of an add-on from AdAware. From what I've read I dont' expect to have any problems as a result of disabling it and - so far - I do not miss it!
Patonb
04-26-2007, 08:32 PM
Turns out that Teyrn had the winning idea to rid myself of pop-ups by simply disabling Windows Messenger - though I did so with use of an add-on from AdAware. From what I've read I dont' expect to have any problems as a result of disabling it and - so far - I do not miss it!
Messenger?? Thats really odd. No, Messenger is the dumb verson of msn....Getting rid of its fine. Just odd it was causing you pop-ups.
Kendell
04-26-2007, 08:48 PM
Messenger?? Thats really odd. No, Messenger is the dumb verson of msn....Getting rid of its fine. Just odd it was causing you pop-ups.
Did some reading up on it and apparently it's not that uncommon. Never had it happen on my former computer, though. Maybe I just got lucky? :rolleyes:
CapnGimp
04-26-2007, 08:50 PM
Not the IM messenger, it is a SERVICE they are talking about. You NEVER get a message to get a registry cleaner from the OS, that is a spammer popup that accesses the computer thru the messenger service.
Hey Kendall, ya should have listened to me and let me send ya the hard drive a LONG time ago, don't say I TOLD YA SO ;)
Kendell
04-27-2007, 10:51 AM
Not the IM messenger, it is a SERVICE they are talking about. You NEVER get a message to get a registry cleaner from the OS, that is a spammer popup that accesses the computer thru the messenger service.
Hey Kendall, ya should have listened to me and let me send ya the hard drive a LONG time ago, don't say I TOLD YA SO ;)
LOL - OK- you told me, you told me! :mega:
:welcome::friday:Hey welcome back Kendell! :partyguy: Glad you got your computer fixed. I've been having some pop-up problems on my computer too lately, but I won't hijack your thread with that. I run Firefox and I love it, I'll never go back to IE. I love the tabbed browsing. I still haven't taken any pictures with the beautiful banner yet, but I'll try to get those soon.