totally ot. XP

Totally off topic but here goes...I have Windows XP (home) on my pc but its doing strange things. It will work fine most times then suddenly the mouse might freeze or it will start opening programs I'm not using, and if I have explorer or outlook open the page will 'jump up' then after 30secs or so it will be all normal again. I have run Norton internet security and spybot search and destroy but they dont pick anything up. Is it safe to reinstall xp over whats there now without losing everything or has anyone got any ideas? Thanks Richard

Reply to
Richard
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Richard vaguely muttered something like ...

Yup, sounds like a Trojan or Virus ..

Re-installing XP is easy.

Insert XP or Recovery CD, at the prompt don't select 'repair', select the 'clean install'. This will preserve all documents etc, but it might be necessary to re-install all applications. Obviously it re-writes the Registry, so apps need to 're-register' .. This is the only drawback that I can find. ;)

Reply to
Paul - xxx

On or around Mon, 13 Dec 2004 16:53:44 GMT, "Richard" enlightened us thusly:

the only install I've seen of XP home was utter crap. XP pro SP1 here by contrast is quite reliable, considering its origins.

the word is that XP pro or 2000 are the windows-to-have ATM.

so if I were you I'd get a copy of XP pro from somewhere.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Problem with a reinstall is that all your original files are still there... If you want to be really sure you get rid of a virus you need to reformat the disk.

If Norton is up to date and not finding it, I'd try another virus checker. You can get a free copy of Grisoft wotsit and try that.

Have you tried a new mouse? I've got a slghtly defective one which does odd stuff on certain surfaces. Also my XP (Pro) has issues when the folders are not set to Classic view - it seems to work so hard making previews of the files in there that it can't be arsed to move the mouse properly. Symptoms are not much different to what you describe.

FWIW I don't think you will actually turn out to have a virus...

Reply to
Tim Hobbs

Have a try with this:

Disable System Restore (right-click My Computer - System Restore tab). Do a Disk Cleanup (Accessories - System Tools). Go to

formatting link
, set to automatically fix errors andrun the check.

I would consider a re-installation as the last option, as it messes up your old settings, etc.

Good luck, Uli

Reply to
Uli

formatting link

snip>>

Reply to
Uli

almost forgot:

once you have run the anti-virus test, re-enable the system restore mode and restart your system.

Reply to
Uli

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