Hijackthis error starting progam message (MSVBVM60.DLL missing?)

If you try to run HijackThis and receive the error:
"A required .DLL file, MSVBVM60.DLL, was not found."
you'll need to download the Microsoft Visual Basic 6 runtime files located here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ba9d7924-4122-44af-8ab4-7c039d9bf629&displaylang=en

That is an older operating system, and as you probably know, applications nowadays use more resources to run. You are using AOL 9 with their anti-spyware and McAfee's firewall. Are you running McAfee anti-virus as well?

I do not see any major malware in your log -- only a little dust that we can clean later. For now, let's see what we can do about that slowness.

Here are some general steps that you can take to troubleshoot slowness:

Computer and browser slowness are not always malware related. Poor performance can be the result of disk fragmentation, disk errors, corrupt system files, too many startup programs, unnecessary services running, not enough RAM, etc. As your system gets older it becomes filled with more files/programs and has a natural tendency to slow down so regular maintenance is essential. Here are a few things you can do to improve speed and system performance:

For browser problems, see " Its not always malware: How to fix the top 10 Internet Explorer issues" and " How and Why to Clear Your Cache". If your having connectivity issues or errors such as Page cannot be displayed see " Repair/Reset Winsock settings" and " Troubleshooting Internet Connection Problems".

Defrag your system. Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when a file is opened. Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on the hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. This speeds up reading and writing to the disk. Read " The Importance of Disk Defragmentation" for instructions.

Clean up your hard drive by removing unused programs and transferring old data, pictures, music files to a CD or an external hard drive. When you have moved/saved the files you want to keep, run Disk Cleanup and let it scan your system for files to remove. "

As an alternative to Disk Cleanup you can download and scan CCleaner.

• (Starting with v1.27.260, the standard build installs the Yahoo Toolbar as an option which is checkmarked by default during the installation. IF you do NOT want it, remove the checkmark when provided with the option OR download the toolbarfree Basic version instead.)
  • After installation, see the Using and Understanding CCleaner Tutorial.
  • An added benefit of using CCleaner is the "Issues" scan which allows you to clean the registry.
  • Always back up your registry before making any changes.
  • When done using CCleaner's Issues scan, I highly recommend following the steps in PCBruiser/Registry Maintenance.

Check for any unnecessary applications loading at startup when Windows boots with MSConfig. Some startup programs are necessary so be careful what you disable. If you are unsure what any of the startup entries are or if they are safe to disable, then search one of the following Startup Databases:
StartupList Index
Startup Programs Database

Note: MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting utility used to diagnose system configuration issues. Although it works as a basic startup manager which allows you to enable/disable auto-start programs, msconfig should not be used routinely to disable startup programs.

A better alternative is to use a startup manager. If you have have Spybot S&D 1.4 installed, launch it, go to Mode and select Advanced. Then go to Tools, select System Startups. You will be provided with a list of programs that load when Windows starts. If you untick an entry it will no longer run at startup. This will allow you to experiment and see how your system performs with any of them disabled.

Let us know how things are running after that.

That winsock info was for XP. Just disregard that. I'm not sure if AOL still uses their own version of IE, but probably their cache is the same.

As far as your defragging, if you have not tried defrag in Safemode, please try that. If that does not work, you could try this, but please read the README info first!:
http://www.blueorbsoft.com/scandefrag/index.html

For now, let's clean up your log.

Please launch HijackThis and place a checkmark next to these:

O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {4982D40A-C53B-4615-B15B-B5B5E98D167C} - (no file)
O9 - Extra button: Related - {c95fe080-8f5d-11d2-a20b-00aa003c157a} - C:\WINDOWS\web\related.htm
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Show &Related Links - {c95fe080-8f5d-11d2-a20b-00aa003c157a} - C:\WINDOWS\web\related.htm

Optional to fix:
This loads components of office at Startup even if you are not using Office. It uses a lot of resources. Fixing it here will not prevent you from opening Office manually as needed.

O4 - Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE

Close all windows except HijackThis and click "Fix Checked".

Reboot.

Please post a fresh HijackThis log and let me know how things are running.

We must have posted at the same time.

I have the same problem with logins if I use IE. You NEED anti-virus!! Yes, you need Java as well. That is one of the problems with running an older operating system/older computer. The current applications require more resources and space than older machines may be able to handle.

I can't advise you on AOL. I do not use it and usually try to talk people out of it because it uses a lot of resources as well as adding many files to your computer.

You might want to take a look at AVG Anti-virus (Free Version). It is user friendly and uses less resources than what AOL offers.
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/
Before installing it, however, be sure that the remnants of all prior anti-virus software have been removed.
If you need support for AVG, their forum is located here: http://forum.grisoft.cz/freeforum/

Avast also has a free version for home users but I think it may use slightly more resources than AVG:
http://www.avast.com/eng/programs.html


For the Java:
Please follow these steps to remove older version Java components and update.

Updating Java:

• Download the latest version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6.
• Scroll down to where it says "The J2SE Runtime Environment (JRE) allows end-users to run Java applications".
• Click the "Download" button to the right.
• Check the box that says: "Accept License Agreement".
• The page will refresh.
• Click on the link to download Windows Offline Installation with or without Multi-language and save to your desktop.
• Close any programs you may have running - especially your web browser.
• Go to Start > Control Panel double-click on Add/Remove programs and remove all older versions of Java.
• Check any item with Java Runtime Environment (JRE or J2SE) in the name.
• Click the Remove or Change/Remove button.
• Repeat as many times as necessary to remove each Java versions.
• Reboot your computer once all Java components are removed.
• Then from your desktop double-click on jre-6-windows-i586.exe to install the newest version.

Official JAVA Installation Instructions if needed.

Message Edited by Bugbatter on 01-06-200710:21 PM

I use AVG and used it on Win98 with no problems. I tried Avast once, but it seemed to be trying to autoupdate when I didn't want it to, and at the time, I could not configure it for manual updates. I'm sure there is a way, but I was accustomed to having better control with AVG, so I went back to that. As far as protection, both are good. There are no two anti-virus programs that are exactly the same.

Message Edited by jason586 on 01-09-200711:45 AM

That sounds very odd. Perhaps it would be good to post that on Grisoft's forum for AVG Free (link was posted above).

Did you try saving the setup to a CD using a faster computer and then installing it on the slow computer that way so you don't need to rely on the combination of dialup and a slow computer for the download? That's how I had to download and install everything when I had an old Win98 on dialup.