hour glass always flashing

Question

Is it normal in XP for the hour glass to constantly flash next to the pointer? If not, what might I do to correct it? Thanks.

RoHe · Answer

Not normal. Scanned for viruses and spyware lately?

Something is trying to run in the background. If not malware, it could be Windows Indexing Service which indexes the HD for faster searches, antivrial scans, or any number of things trying to 'phone home' for updates.

Assuming the system is free of malware,
click start>run
type in: msconfig
click ok

Click STARTUP tab. You can uncheck just about everything on this list. Do NOT uncheck anything related to your firewall, antiviral software, mouse, video card.

You can uncheck things related to Sonic (sgtray), Acrobat, DVDLauncher, RealPlayer, Quicktime, jusched (java updater), printer updater etc.

When you reboot you'll get message about running in selective startup or diagnostics mode. Just check the "don't bug me" box and click ok. If you change your mind you can always run msconfig again and check any program you really must run every time the PC boots.

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 01-26-2006 01:18 PM

Nzomniak · Answer

I'm having the same exact problem. I just got my pc yesterday and have been busy with installing, updating, and customizing. Obviously it didn't do this at first, it only started after I updated Corel Photo Album and turned on McAfee Privacy Service.

I tried your suggestion about msconfig, but the problem still persists. I'm running McAfee virus / firewall / privacy / spamkiller. And have no viruses nor anything else "bad". What do you suggest for spyware? I used to use Spybot and Adaware. Is this still up-to-snuff? Or is there something better?

Thanks for your help! :)

Charlene

EDIT: lmfao ... right after I posted this, McAfee Privacy Service updated and that stopped the flashing hourglass. But I'll still leave the question open if anyone wants to answer, what do you recommend to combat spyware?

TIA

Message Edited by Nzomniak on 01-29-2006 02:24 AM

Nzomniak · Answer

Thanks for the info.  Guess I'll stick with Adaware and Spybot, and find that MS program too.  Thanks again!

RoHe · Answer

Lots of people use Spybot and Adaware, mainly because they're free, but they do a reasonable job. That said, no one package (free or otherwise) is 100% effective at finding/removing malware so it's advisable to run more than one, and always make sure they're up to date. There was a review in PCWorld ~2-3 issues back on various free and paid apps and they found +'s and -'s to all of them.

If you get the XP updates every month, they include MS's malicious software removal tool that runs once and removes whateved it can find, so that's another one to use consistently.

Also have a good firewall running all the time too.

Ron

ravi_kumar_bits · Answer

Hi,   Even i also found the same problem, after installing the Piracy Service - hour glass is flashing. This time around i will use msconfig.

Windows General

hour glass always flashing

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