Ah, the industrious squirrels! I've had oak seedlings and pecan seedlings -- very tenacious. After trying mechanical means and failing, I resorted to a more devious method that was quite successful. There is a product called Vinex, which I believe is a brand name for triclopyr. Don't be fooled by the name -- Vinex is a systemic herbicide that kills a lot more than vines. It comes with a little built-in applicator. All you have to do is paint a couple of inches of the stem (or is it already a trunk?), the closer to the ground the better. If you apply as directed, the only thing it kills is the offending seedling. It is a powerful herbicide that should only be used in very small doses. One giant caveat -- whatever you do, don't get it on anything else in the garden, including the ground itself. It would be the equivalent of giving a sniper a machine gun for a weapon. My local nursery carries it, but not all do. Good luck -- and wear gloves when you use it.

Here is the skinny, Get yourself to the site raven suggested. If you are infected with System Check it is important that you do not delete any files from your Temp folder or use any temp file cleaners. This is because when the infection is installed it will delete shortcuts found in various locations and store backups of them in the %Temp%\smtmp folder. It does this so that you when try to launch a program from your start menu, none of your shortcuts will appear and thus making you think that your computer has a serious problem. Therefore, you do not want to delete any of the files in your Temp folder as it will remove the backups that we will use later in the guide to restore your Windows Start Menu. To make matters worse, recent variants of this family have been know to install the TDSS or ZeroAccess rootkits as well. These rootkits will attempt to stop you from using security programs that may help you to remove this infection. Good luck. Joe

Thanks Terry. That brought up a folder in the System folder. I don't know exactly what they mean. Not sure if this stp log will help. NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:00:45:980] SFP FirstRun - OS Version Major=4 Minor=90 Build=3000 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:06:54:420] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:06:54:590] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:070] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_949.NLS, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:120] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_949.NLS to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:230] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_936.NLS, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:340] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_936.NLS to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:620] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1258.NLS, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:620] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1258.NLS to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:780] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1256.NLS, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:06:780] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1256.NLS to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:07:000] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1250.NLS, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:07:060] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1250.NLS to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:07:110] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_950.NLS, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:07:170] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_950.NLS to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:42:980] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:42:980] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1252.NLS, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:43:030] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF=C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TBM6351.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:07:43:030] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CP_1252.NLS=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TBM7051.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:31:020] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\MSDOWNLD.TMP\AS00BF34.TMP\ie.cat NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:41:450] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\msdownld.tmp\AS011C73.tmp\mobilepk.cat NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:43:100] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\esenu.dll, version 1998.9.1003.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:43:160] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\msdownld.tmp\AS012736.tmp\advauth.cat NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:43:160] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\esenu.dll to version 1998.9.1003.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:43:710] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\msdownld.tmp\AS012A37.tmp\msident.cat NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:44:090] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COLOR\sRGB Color Space Profile.icm, version 0.0.0.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:44:090] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COLOR\sRGB Color Space Profile.icm to version 0.0.0.0 NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:09:44:200] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\msdownld.tmp\AS012A37.tmp\ie_extra.cat NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:030] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ACTXPRXY.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:200] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\BROWSEUI.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:310] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COMCTL32.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:360] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CORPOL.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:420] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHDOCVW.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:690] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHLWAPI.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:800] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\URLMON.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:26:860] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WININET.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:070] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WEBCHECK.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:180] Invalid entry to delete file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSIDLE.DLL has been written in wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:510] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:790] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:840] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ACTXPRXY.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:840] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\BROWSEUI.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:840] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COMCTL32.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:840] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CORPOL.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:840] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHDOCVW.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:840] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHLWAPI.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:900] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\URLMON.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:900] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WININET.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:900] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WEBCHECK.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:27:900] SFP removed invalid entry NUL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSIDLE.DLL in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:28:010] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF=C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TBMA050.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:11:28:060] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF=C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TBMA051.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:13:24:400] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:13:24:510] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:13:24:560] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF=C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TBMC090.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:13:24:560] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF=C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TBMC091.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:14:54:030] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:14:54:090] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF, version 0.0.0.0 made in wininit.ini. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:14:54:090] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMA.TTF=C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TBMD1E1.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [10/13/2000 17:14:54:090] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TAHOMABD.TTF=C:\WINDOWS\FONTS\TBMD1E2.TMP in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [04/21/2001 09:04:05:400] SFP FirstRun - OS Version Major=4 Minor=90 Build=3000 NORMAL : [11/23/2001 17:32:30:970] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\itircl.dll, version 4.72.7277.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [11/23/2001 17:32:35:960] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\itircl.dll to version 4.72.7277.0 NORMAL : [11/23/2001 17:32:36:950] Invalid file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\itss.dll, version 4.72.8085.0 copied. New file has correct version but invalid hash NORMAL : [11/23/2001 17:32:38:050] SFP restored file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\itss.dll to version 4.72.8085.0 NORMAL : [10/19/2003 18:14:36:550] Invalid entry for file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSVCRT.DLL, version 6.1.8924.0 made in wininit.ini. Correct version is 6.1.8637.0 NORMAL : [10/19/2003 18:14:37:920] SFP removed invalid entry C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSVCRT.DLL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Msvcdf88.rra in the [Rename] section from wininit.ini NORMAL : [02/25/2004 13:41:45:130] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\IXP000.TMP\wdsetupm.cat NORMAL : [02/25/2004 13:42:06:330] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\IXP000.TMP\mdacxpkm.cat NORMAL : [02/25/2004 13:42:55:820] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\IXP000.TMP\sqlnetm.cat NORMAL : [02/25/2004 13:43:02:850] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\IXP000.TMP\sqlodbcm.cat NORMAL : [02/25/2004 13:43:07:300] SFP installed catalog C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\IXP000.TMP\sqloldbm.cat

lol, He installed to see if it would do the same when using it. Which it has not. Yes, does go to that start up mode. Windows would just boot & reboot, but Linux would open. Yesterday after posting this, we checked the connections and cleaned. Was surprise how much dust was in there from a cleaning done 2 weeks ago.... After that we had to wait for the battery to reset, the computer was on but nothing showed on screen. Today-deleted master boot record, recreated the partition table, repartitioned the drive & reinstalled windows. Haven't done any updates or installed anything but windows is working at the moment...Not sure if symptoms are going to reappear. Holding off on the updates and will begin installing that & programs one at a time. Well, will keep updated. Feel free to chime in or comment on anything at anytime. Juanita