Right...I now have a thumb drive with today's versions of .exe files for Firefox, MWBAM, SuperAS, CCleaner, Avast, Avast Uninstaller, CCleaner, Win Patrol and Revo. It'll be 2 weeks before I can do this computer clean-up. Doing this all off-line, should I uninstall old Revo first, then install current Revo and use that to uninstall other programs one by one? And run new CCleaner after each uninstall? Any flaws in this plan? Appreciate any advice! Regards, Shax

if it is his regular pc it is windows 2000 I do believe. Shax can you get to safe mode at all? if so you can run malwarebytes in safe mode, it sounds like it could be something from that update that did not agree with your system. I just don't know much about windows 2000. You could try to get a linux live cd and stick it in the cd drive and see if it will boot to the live cd and using it you could at least see your windows partition and save your files. Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer Geek to Live: Rescue files with a boot CD oh yes you were using a registry cleaner??? hum well that could definitely cause some issues, do you happen to know if that one you used created a back up of your registry? Not that it will help very much if you can not get to boot.

If you feel comfortable with your security settings while you are at the computer then you are equally protected when you walk away. I never leave a browser open but my email is always iconised and set to look for emails every 5 minutes. This is a throw back to my dialup days when my wife and daughters would get excited if the girls could not get through on the phone because the old fool was on that new fangled internet thing again wasting his time. Well, I don't know if I am comfortable with my security settings, though they may very well be sufficient. I keep feeling like I have to hurry up and finish what I'm doing on the computer so I can go offline. That's a throw back to my dial-up days where I always felt rushed to get my internet stuff done so I could free up our one and only phone line !! :-D Also, I always felt (or was under the impression) that if anything happened while I was at the computer (i.e. if there was a sudden virus attack, spyware attack, attempt to download something I didn't request, etc.) I was right there and could stop it if it somehow got by my security software. But if things are all "hooked up" while I'm away from the computer, I worry (paranoid as I am) that something could get through w/o my being there to stop it. (I even unplug the DSL line when I go offline !!) Perhaps I need high-speed therapy or something. :-) Thanks for the comments, owbist ! Scott

Laptop (work)...Hibernate & unplug...it takes too long to restart it...no patience I guess! LOL! I do try to shut it down at least once a week or so to clear the memory...or if there are updates to be installed...or if it starts to run too slowly. Main home computer...just leave it on unless same as above (too slow, updates). It does shut down the monitor after a certain amount of time (don't remember what we have it set at) We do put the cable modem on "Standby" when not home or in bed...cuts the outside link.