Windows Vista Taskbar issue/possible malware?

  • Thread starter Thread starter The Shadow
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T

The Shadow

Guest
My network, volume control, and power meter icons randomly dissappeared
from my taskbar. I went into "taskbar and start menu properties" to enable
these icons, but the only icon that my computer would allow me to turn back
on, under the "notification area" tab was the network icon. I hope this is
not due to malware. I just got this computer in late may. I had Mcfee which
did not find anything (now my trial has expired), CA antivirus, anti-spy...
did not find anything other than a few low risk spyware cookies. Anyway, the
reason I am going into this whole virus thing is because I have also had some
issues with my display "Z order". And, when I start up my computer, CA tells
me that someone is trying to access my computer. Am I being paranoid?
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

"The Shadow" <TheShadow@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:CDE36DAE-3A84-4470-9726-F2697255157F@microsoft.com...
> My network, volume control, and power meter icons randomly dissappeared
> from my taskbar. I went into "taskbar and start menu properties" to enable
> these icons, but the only icon that my computer would allow me to turn
> back
> on, under the "notification area" tab was the network icon. I hope this is
> not due to malware. I just got this computer in late may. I had Mcfee
> which
> did not find anything (now my trial has expired), CA antivirus,
> anti-spy...
> did not find anything other than a few low risk spyware cookies. Anyway,
> the
> reason I am going into this whole virus thing is because I have also had
> some
> issues with my display "Z order". And, when I start up my computer, CA
> tells
> me that someone is trying to access my computer. Am I being paranoid?

Some system tray icons do not reappear after explorer.exe crashes. In my
experience, explorer.exe crashes quite a lot in Vista, whereas this is a
very rare thing in XP. Check Event Viewer to see if explorer.exe has been
crashing.

Try this online scan if you want to check for malware:
http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

You might have to run IE7 without Protected Mode on, or run as Admin.

ss.
 
RE: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

By the way, I have tried restarting - same problems.
P.S. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to take the time to write
I wrote:

> My network, volume control, and power meter icons randomly dissappeared
> from my taskbar. I went into "taskbar and start menu properties" to enable
> these icons, but the only icon that my computer would allow me to turn back
> on, under the "notification area" tab was the network icon. I hope this is
> not due to malware. I just got this computer in late may. I had Mcfee which
> did not find anything (now my trial has expired), CA antivirus, anti-spy...
> did not find anything other than a few low risk spyware cookies. Anyway, the
> reason I am going into this whole virus thing is because I have also had some
> issues with my display "Z order". And, when I start up my computer, CA tells
> me that someone is trying to access my computer. Am I being paranoid?
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:56:22 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
<synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:

>Some system tray icons do not reappear after explorer.exe crashes. In my
>experience, explorer.exe crashes quite a lot in Vista, whereas this is a
>very rare thing in XP. Check Event Viewer to see if explorer.exe has been
>crashing.

You have something wrong. I have only had Vista on this machine for
almost three months, but I've never had an explorer crash that I can
remember. It's not a cutting-edge system by any stretch of the
imagination, but it's rock solid stable.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

"Nonny" <nonnymoose@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:iuil84l0lk90hle0uq6a1oj934b8bt4c7q@4ax.com...
>
>>Some system tray icons do not reappear after explorer.exe crashes. In my
>>experience, explorer.exe crashes quite a lot in Vista, whereas this is a
>>very rare thing in XP. Check Event Viewer to see if explorer.exe has been
>>crashing.
>
> You have something wrong. I have only had Vista on this machine for
> almost three months, but I've never had an explorer crash that I can
> remember. It's not a cutting-edge system by any stretch of the
> imagination, but it's rock solid stable.

I had been using Vista since August 2006 (RC1), but I transferred my Vista
Ultimate License to my HTPC instead in August 2007, and have only been using
it for that since then.

Explorer.exe used to crash a lot, on a fresh install, so there was nothing
wrong with my system. I suspect SP1 has improved things a lot, but in any
case, I don't give too much credit to what you say. Aren't you the guy who
says he runs Outlook 2000 on Vista without any issues? LOL.

In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml file.
Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again. I bet you there are
explorer.exe crashes.

ss.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:14:42 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
<synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:

>"Nonny" <nonnymoose@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:iuil84l0lk90hle0uq6a1oj934b8bt4c7q@4ax.com...
>>
>>>Some system tray icons do not reappear after explorer.exe crashes. In my
>>>experience, explorer.exe crashes quite a lot in Vista, whereas this is a
>>>very rare thing in XP. Check Event Viewer to see if explorer.exe has been
>>>crashing.
>>
>> You have something wrong. I have only had Vista on this machine for
>> almost three months, but I've never had an explorer crash that I can
>> remember. It's not a cutting-edge system by any stretch of the
>> imagination, but it's rock solid stable.
>
>I had been using Vista since August 2006 (RC1), but I transferred my Vista
>Ultimate License to my HTPC instead in August 2007, and have only been using
>it for that since then.
>
>Explorer.exe used to crash a lot, on a fresh install, so there was nothing
>wrong with my system. I suspect SP1 has improved things a lot, but in any
>case, I don't give too much credit to what you say. Aren't you the guy who
>says he runs Outlook 2000 on Vista without any issues? LOL.

Nope. Outlook 2003. I have Office 2000 installed but not Outlook 2000.
>In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml
file.
>Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again. I bet you there are
>explorer.exe crashes.

Sorry, I don't have any crashes. I would load XP back if that were
the case (I have a saved image). I only put Vista on this machine so
I'd know what some friends are looking at when they call me with
problems. I liked it so much, I abandoned XP after about 3 weeks.

When I first installed it, I had XP on "D" and Vista on "C" and used
the BIOS for dual-booting (you can use Google Groups to check that
out). I even have "C" and "D" on removable trays in case I wanted to
use that setup for dual booting.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:14:42 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
<synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:

>In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml file.
>Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again. I bet you there are
>explorer.exe crashes.

I have no idea where to find that.

Clue me in.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:14:42 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
<synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:

>In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml file.
>Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again. I bet you there are
>explorer.exe crashes.

Found it.

Had three crashes in 30 days... no wonder I didn't remember them.

One was ugly... Explorer, Outlook, True Image, and Firefox were
involved so I'll call that a system crash.

Another involved explorer, Download Accelerator Plus (have stopped
using that) and irfanView.

Only one was truly traceable just to explorer.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

"Nonny" <nonnymoose@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:6ekl84dqvkird5sh34tipnnhp7b2kbq01v@4ax.com...
>
>>In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml file.
>>Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again. I bet you there are
>>explorer.exe crashes.
>
> I have no idea where to find that.
>
> Clue me in.

http://www.superwasp.net/weblog/upl...eliability_and_Performance_Monitor-774841.Png

I can't remember where the option to save the .xml file is. I thought it
was on the right hand pane, but it could be in the menus as well.

ss.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

"Nonny" <nonnymoose@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:tnkl84tct9gcta2t7dd24ol74609buj6js@4ax.com...
>
>>In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml file.
>>Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again. I bet you there are
>>explorer.exe crashes.
>
> Found it.
>
> Had three crashes in 30 days... no wonder I didn't remember them.
>
> One was ugly... Explorer, Outlook, True Image, and Firefox were
> involved so I'll call that a system crash.
>
> Another involved explorer, Download Accelerator Plus (have stopped
> using that) and irfanView.
>
> Only one was truly traceable just to explorer.
>

I bet you there are more. Where's the file?

ss.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:38:44 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
<synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:

>"Nonny" <nonnymoose@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:1sjl8451dhpafnuq04t6sg0pt1684d90j3@4ax.com...
>>> Aren't you the guy who
>>>says he runs Outlook 2000 on Vista without any issues? LOL.
>>
>> Nope. Outlook 2003. I have Office 2000 installed but not Outlook 2000.
>
>That's not what you said here:
>http://groups.google.co.uk:80/group...8b64961a0c52921c?hl=en&lnk=st&q=nonny+outlook
>
>ss.

The OP in that thread was talking about Office 2003 and that must have
stuck in my head.

The post from DL that I replied to... I clearly missed the "pre-"2003.

No wonder you got so fried at me and called me a liar. I may be many
things, but I am NOT a liar.

I have never used Outlook 2000, even though it's available to me.
Heck, I even have Outlook 97 somewhere.

I only picked up Outlook 2003 because pre-release reviewers raved
about it's spam-catching ability. They were right.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:39:52 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
<synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:

>"Nonny" <nonnymoose@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:6ekl84dqvkird5sh34tipnnhp7b2kbq01v@4ax.com...
>>
>>>In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml file.
>>>Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again. I bet you there are
>>>explorer.exe crashes.
>>
>> I have no idea where to find that.
>>
>> Clue me in.
>
>http://www.superwasp.net/weblog/upl...eliability_and_Performance_Monitor-774841.Png
>
>I can't remember where the option to save the .xml file is. I thought it
>was on the right hand pane, but it could be in the menus as well.

The only save option is as perfmon.msc.

Besides, I never attach files to a Usenet message. You want it that
badly, send me your snaily.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:44:57 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
<synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:

>I bet you there are more. Where's the file?

You are one suspicious bastard. You will see.

In a later message I told you to send your snaily... I meant your
email addie. I use "snaily" a lot in another forum where we send
things to one another (cigars).
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:51:00 -0500, Nonny <nonnymoose@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:44:57 +0100, "Synapse Syndrome"
><synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:
>
>>I bet you there are more. Where's the file?
>
>You are one suspicious bastard. You will see.
>
>In a later message I told you to send your snaily... I meant your
>email addie. I use "snaily" a lot in another forum where we send
>things to one another (cigars).

perfmon.msc is in the mail and on its way to the addie you use here.

After you have viewed it and verified it shows exactly what I said
hereI would expect that you tell everyone that you were wrong when you
called me a liar.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Jul 26, 2:44 am, "Synapse Syndrome" <syna...@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk>
wrote:
> "Nonny" <nonnymo...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

> > Had three  crashes in 30 days... no wonder I didn't remember them.
>
> > One was ugly... Explorer, Outlook, True Image, and Firefox were
> > involved so I'll call that a system crash.
>
> > Another involved explorer, Download Accelerator Plus (have stopped
> > using that) and irfanView.
>
> > Only one was truly traceable just to explorer.
>
> I bet you there are more.  Where's the file?

You have it. And I looked again... the ONE that I said was only
traceable to explorer was actually an IE crash, so I have NO crashes
with explorer alone. None. Nada.
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

I know that explorer crashed a few times before I got SP1, but it has not
since. What will turning off protected mode do for me? I turned off UAC if
that is what you meant by running it as an administrator. When I did that the
computer blocked everything but the battery icon, and clock; even though I
got my network icon to work before I turned off the UAC. Now that I turned
the UAC back on, I have no power meter icon, and my Z order is giving me
issues again. This is getting extremely disturbing. I want to be polite, but
I need real help so please do not chat on my post any more. It makes finding
any real help extremely difficult.

"Synapse Syndrome" wrote:

>
> Some system tray icons do not reappear after explorer.exe crashes. In my
> experience, explorer.exe crashes quite a lot in Vista, whereas this is a
> very rare thing in XP. Check Event Viewer to see if explorer.exe has been
> crashing.
>
> Try this online scan if you want to check for malware:
> http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/
>
> You might have to run IE7 without Protected Mode on, or run as Admin.
>
> ss.
>
>
>
 
Re: Taskbar issue/possible malware?

On Jul 26, 2:14 am, "Synapse Syndrome" <syna...@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk>
wrote:
> "Nonny" <nonnymo...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

> > You have something wrong.  I have only had Vista on this machine for
> > almost three months, but I've never had an explorer crash that I can
> > remember.  It's not a cutting-edge system by any stretch of the
> > imagination, but it's rock solid stable.

[snip]

> In your Reliability Monitor, there is an option to save the .xml file.
> Attach it here and let's see if you are lying again.  I bet you there are
> explorer.exe crashes.

Where, oh WHERE has SS gone!?

I sent him the file attached to an email that proved my claim of
having only two crashes (actually, freezes) involving Win Explorer
(and several other programs at the same time - so it would be
difficult to blame it on Win Explorer), and haven't heard boo from him
since. He posted twice in other threads today, but nothing here.

I'm waiting for his apology for calling me a liar (I had a simple
explanation for his earlier claim that I was a liar: it was a mistake
on my part).
 
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