My laptop needs your help

[Wretched]

I already asked Strong Bad for help since he is good with computers, but he doesn't know what to do.

So, lemme give you the downlow. Last night, I was browsing smash boards, when all of the sudden, an execution window suddenly flashes onto the screen with the file designation svchost. My computer instantly slows down. I manage to close firefox after about a minute. I get to task manager after it takes another minute to load. I look at my cpu usage, and it is at 100%. After 2-3 minutes, I cannot physically do anything. I can move my mouse, but nothing will respond. I cannot click.

My only option at this point is to hard shut down, turn my laptop back on, and try to find the source of this issue. Within a minute of booting up, the execution begins and my CPU usage hits 100%, disabling me from doing anything. The most I've been able to do is remove a program which I thought may be the source of the issue. It was not, apparently.

A friend suggested I try safe mode. I did. It did nothing and the execution still occurred, jacking my CPU usage back up. I tried system restore. That did nothing. I went back an entire week and the execution still appeared.

What do I do? The laptop is pretty old, so I suppose the chance of it being a physical issue is present. I should note, however, that I was researching certain delicate subject matter in the hours preceding the issues.

 

[John2k4]

Can you open task manager, and see which process is spiking the CPU?

 

[Wretched]

When I open task manager and look at processes, nothing is out of the normal. I've looked at all of the processes and I've ended anything suspicious. Nothing has worked. The only process that takes up a significant amount of data is System. It only takes up around 40,000. When I went into safe mode, only 6 or 7 processes were going on. None of them were of any significance, which is why I'm so confused.

I should also mention that my computer is very secure. I've never had any sort of an issue due to the mass amounts of security that I have in addition to my safe internet practices. I mean, some of my programs freak out when I open paint after not using it for a while, so I'm flabbergasted that I could be infected with such a crippling entity and not be aware of it.

 

[Zankoku]

Load up Task Manager ASAP, go to Processes, and sort by CPU usage (not memory usage), then wait until the issue occurs again and hopefully the Task Manager will be able to update you on the culprit.

 

[Wretched]

I am not an idiot when it comes to computers.

I went into safe mode and my computer kept going to 100% cpu and freezing. When I went into safe mode, I went into task manager. None of the processes were out of the ordinary. None of them took up more than 40k. System was the only one that was even remotely close to that, even. The rest were all things that I know were not threats...

Screw it. I'm reinstalling windows.

 

[Zankoku]

What is this "40k" you keep talking about? It certainly can't be the CPU usage, since those are displayed in percentage and should never exceed double digits.

 

[Wretched]

MAYBE I AM A COMPUTER IDIOT.

 

[DSTP]

Ah, svchost, murderer of all things good in Windows. Are you running XP?

 

[Hot_ArmS]

I had svchost problem on my netbook running XP

couldnt fix it lol took out windows and installed lubuntu instead, best decision of my life

 

[Wretched]

Yes, I'm running XP.
So I've been trying to reinstall windows, but for some reason, my computer won't let me boot from the disc. I've done everything correctly, I am sure, because I talked to a tech-savvy guy. It just won't boot from the disc. Its as if the protocol has been eliminated.

Anyways, an update, after Aisight informed me of my silliness, it seems to be that svchost starts the cpu mining. After a little while, it transfers to Tea Timer. TeaTimer.exe, it is called. It isn't a gradual process, either. It goes instantly from 100% cpu usage by svchost to 100% usage by Tea Timer. Eventually, after 30 or 40 more seconds, it moves to System Idle Process. After it starts using that, the computer becomes unusable.

Wat do.

 

[DSTP]

Svchost is notorious for destroying XP computers with large registries. The fatter the registry, the more svchost will recur as a process. When it gets to a certain point, svchost will flat out take up your entire computer memory from repeating itself as a process. Almost destroyed an old computer of mine.

The best you can do right now is to get a registry cleaning program. It will be like a painkiller for the processes; doesn't get rid of the problem, but calms the nerves. I would suggest TweakNow registry cleaner (free stuff, yo).

Apart from that, Harms is a cool dude for using Ubuntu. Super easy to boot, super light OS. If you can get the boot files onto a usb drive, you can boot from a usb port. If DOS refuses to boot from anything but the hard drive like you said, take it into a computer store. Tell them not to fix it, just have them tell you how. They'll usually be glad to, unless they're *******s.

 

[Wretched]

The only problem with getting a registry cleaner is that I can't access the internet...

Or use my computer for more than approximately what has now become 1-2 minutes. I think it froze my computer in a record 17 seconds last time I tried to start it up.

Also, if svchost is the issue, why is teatimer and system idle process ****ing stuff up too?

 

[Zankoku]

Teatimer is a software from Spybot S&D, iirc it just checks processes to make sure malware isn't happening in real-time. Occasionally it'll eat a lot of CPU if it has a lot of things to look at. System Idle Process is just a Windows process that holds idle threads, as it approaches 100% your actual CPU usage should approach 0%.

 

[John2k4]

I don't usually install TeaTimer with Spybot anymore. It just comes across as too much of a resource hog.

 

[Wretched]

Teatimer is a software from Spybot S&D, iirc it just checks processes to make sure malware isn't happening in real-time. Occasionally it'll eat a lot of CPU if it has a lot of things to look at. System Idle Process is just a Windows process that holds idle threads, as it approaches 100% your actual CPU usage should approach 0%.

It has been approaching 100%, and my CPU goes along with it.

 

[DSTP]

It might be time for dat Ubuntu.

 

[Wretched]

Somehow, I physically cannot boot from a disc.

My computer won't do it. I've tried multiple discs and I cannot reinstall windows. This is a malicious entity if ever there was one. I've called a few tech support people and everyone is flabbergasted that I cannot reinstall windows or any other operating system. I even broke out the personal manual to my laptop and none of the boot from disc options work.

 

[DSTP]

Somehow, I physically cannot boot from a disc.

My computer won't do it. I've tried multiple discs and I cannot reinstall windows. This is a malicious entity if ever there was one. I've called a few tech support people and everyone is flabbergasted that I cannot reinstall windows or any other operating system. I even broke out the personal manual to my laptop and none of the boot from disc options work.

Does it give you any other options? I know you say it won't let you boot from disc; what about from USB drives?

 

[Wretched]

Well I don't want to put a usb drive into it because I would fear a spreading of a potential virus.

 

[John2k4]

But does it give you the option of booting from some form of USB device?

In the last ten years of working with all kinds of infected computers, I have only seen one that spread its stuff to a USB drive [some 6 years ago].

If you are just booting from the USB stick, then nothing can really be written to it from the host hard drive anyways.

 

[Wretched]

No, but the fact that it can read discs but it won't boot from a disc is scary, ya' know. It also never presents the option to boot from usb stick. I changed the boot priority and everything, and I went to the instruction manual for my computer and tried all of the options to format the harddrive. None of them worked. It said hold "0" (zero) and I held it, and it freezes before it goes into recovery wizard. f8 and f1 are the only keys that work when booting up.

 

[John2k4]

You said that you changed the boot priority..can you get into the BIOS and reset everything to the default values in there?

 

[Wretched]

Nope. Not that I know of and not any that anyone who has helped can find.

I'm getting a new one. Oh well.

 

[Zankoku]

What in the world kind of BIOS doesn't have a default values setting? Anyway, just to make sure you're actually changing the right thing, try setting the boot priority to not include your hard drive at all. If it really won't check your disc drive like you said, it should stop once it's done booting up and not start any OS's at all. If Windows starts anyway you probably didn't change the right thing.

 

[Wretched]

It won't let me exclude the HDD. I can only change the order.

 

[Rabbi Nevins]

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/

download this application, run it and see if it helps. It will terminate all known malware processes which may running under psuedonames that seem like non suspicious software to you. If this terminates any processes immediately running malwarebytes (free antimalware software) quick scan will do. It sounds like a virus related issue. I work in a repair center and that would be the first thing id try given the symptoms.

the BIOS setup boot priority is very flaky on a lot of machines. It would be better if you found what the keystroke that enables the boot menu is. Probably escape or F9. Older machines are not all able to perform a USB boot by the way. The last resort would be purchasing an external drive. The machine wont boot to a windows reinstall cd correct?

dont be afraid of spreading a virus, if that is a virus (which sounds likely) i can tell you right off the bat its not a very threatening one. Dangerous viruses are much more subtle. Malwarebytes would easily destroy such a virus

 

[Wretched]

I couldn't get on the internet to download that, nor could I even keep the computer on for long enough to plug a USB device in and start malwarebytes up.

Anyways, strangely enough, I left this laptop alone for a day or two. I wanted to try to find a solution one more time. I turn it on and it doesn't freeze at all. It went for 10 minutes before messing up, but it eventually did.

So, I'm brainstorming what I can do in this window that it has given me. I turn the laptop off, back on, and I go into my programs and remove Spybot: Search and Destroy. It had been using TeaTimer and TeaTimer was one of the issues.

After removing Spybot, the computer has yet to go berserk. I dunno why, but removing Spybot seems to have fixed my computer. The laptop is functioning flawlessly now...

 

[Zankoku]

Teatimer was probably killing off your already limited resources.

 

[John2k4]

I'd say re-install Spybot and keep scanning with it every couple weeks..just decline TeaTimer during the install. I stopped installing TeaTimer on computers with Spybot many years ago.

 

[Wretched]

Every time I try to access C:, the computer stops completely and my CPU spikes to 60/70%.

I'm guessing you're right, aysayt. It seems like TeaTimer was constantly accessing C: and therefore crippling my navigation. When I open up my documents, it actually goes into the state that it did before. I can't click anything but I can move my mouse. However, it eventually lets me do stuff. Its just that I have to wait 20 seconds between every action.

 

[Zankoku]

Well, that might be an issue with a slowly deteriorating hard drive, actually. Likely some cracks or something are leading to corrupt sectors, which only grow over time (a spinning disk's cracks keep getting worse, whaddya know). I'd recommend backing up what you can get without freezing up the computer, running "chkdsk /f", and looking into ordering a new hard drive from your laptop manufacturer.

 

[Wretched]

I have nothing precious that I want to back up on this laptop, so I think I'll just let it run its course and get a new one. I was planning on getting one that wasn't made in 2002 anyways...