Wow. So glad I posted. I didn't even realize the rootkit thing was a big issue (and I'm not sure that's what I saw). Avast was scanning - and it didn't even come up with the usual alarming "found something" screen. It just seemed to pause and said this had to be stopped/removed first. It never even showed up as an infected file. So it seems I have to deal with this rootkit issue first - before the possible device driver issue - or system restore. Is it possible that this rootkit issue is the only one going on? Thank you for the caution about not using my password. I didn't do any online purchases. The only password I would have entered was for my gmail account. Luckily I don't use that password for my commerce, banking, etc accounts. So I want to be sure the order of things: update and run malwarebytes first? then do the LzD removal? I'm not sure if that's an online scan program - or is there actually a company I will be asking assistance from? Don't know if this is related. Earlier today when I was using the computer (my main PC) do look at emails, it logged me out and said my gmail was locked and would be inactive due to too much activity (from pop accounts) - or browser compatibility issues (I have Firefox and have had some gmail/Firefox issues from time to time). As it happens, I can still access my gmail account from my laptop. I didn't try again from my PC - and itseems that I shouldn't for now. Now I had also used my gmail from my laptop, my daughter's pc and my smartphone - all just today. I assumed that's why I got logged off. But could this be a result of my gmail account getting hijacked (or whatever it would be?). Thanks everyone for your timely responses. I didn't realize it was quite this serious when I first posted - just that my PC said it was serious. Lynn. PS - used2bsane - I am not that knowledgeable so your instructions above were great and much needed. It seems that I have to address the rootkit issue first, however. I'll be posting back with my progress.

PolarPrincess - If you have a USB port, buy an external hard drive that connects to the USB port and copy ALL of your data (pictures and other personal files) to it. Then your data is safe and you can clean up the rest of the system. If not, burn them to CD for safety. THEN: 1 - Empty the Trash 2 - Search for files on the entire system, using this search pattern" *.bak (those are temporary files that can be deleted) 3 - Delete all of those files. 4 - Empty the trash again. 5 - Search for all *.tmp files and delete them 6 - Empty the trash again. 7 - Run the Windows XP "check disk" utility as described here: http://www.updatexp.com/windows-xp-chkdsk.html It may take quite a while ... 8 - Then try running the defragmentation program.

that is the problem with having windows 7 on the netbooks and mini's they just do not have the RAM memory to be able to run it and keep up for any time. My guess is that is what has happened to yours. Best you can go is go into your programs list and get rid of anything at all that you do not need do a purge on it and make sure there is not a bunch of stuff loading at startup that should not be. You can use startup lite to help with that. Be sure you do empty your recycle bin. Move any large files like videos,music and pictures to some other pc or thumbdrives. StartUpLite speeds Windows' startup You are updating malwarebytes prior to running your scans? You might consider changing from AVG to MSE I think it is a little less resource hungry. But it is really the nature of the beast with those little ones. That is why I only wanted xp on my Acer netbook I knew with the amount of memory on board widows 7 would have a hard time and those little processors are not made for that kind of work.

A telemarketer is a telemarketer is a telemarketer. They prey on people to get money. These scams have adapted over the years from car warranties to phone service (remember "slamming"?) to other assorted BS. They bank on people wanting to believe that Bill Gates will pay you to spam people, and they use powerful motivators. They appeal to peoples' greed and/or peoples' fears. A Nigerian General wants to share millions with you. I'll send you a check for $5,000.00, you send me your car and a money order for $3,000.00, your grandson will go to jail for 20 years in a foreign country, you'll lose your house, be burglarized and so on. Here's a pretty good recording of this scam. It's over 1/2 hour long but you can skip through it for the entertainment, but it also has some good info in it to educate people on how they work. Once they get you to download one of the programs, they can get into your computer and you will have problems. They use essentially illusions to look credible and the non-skeptical will often swallow it hook, line and sinker. I always told my clients that if it comes to you in an email, assume it's false until proven true. And when they call you on the phone, it's not much different. The sad part is people WANT to believe scams. And they want to be the first to share this secret with people so they send it on to everyone they know. Anyone can challenge/dispute any charge, just like anyone can sue anyone for anything, however it takes proof to prevail. The banks have no liability to reimburse someone for being a sucker. The easy dispute process was tightened up on many years ago because people would buy something, then have buyer's remorse and dispute the charge. There are rules with a rescission period requirement on large purchases but on smaller purchases when you authorize a charge, you're basically on the hook for it. And to get a refund, you have to go through the proper procedures. People think a credit card protects them because if they drop the TV down a flight of steps, or leave the cake out in the rain, and they can just dispute it and get the money back. You can't challenge a charge because another store put the jacket on sale two weeks after you purchased it. Doesn't work that way. It's similar to people thinking they can buy something with a check and stop payment on the check with no ramifications or even to put them in a better bargaining position. Not always so. You can have issues with criminal charges against you for defrauding an innkeeper for one thing. Attempting to evade payment of a debt is a criminal charge in many places. For instance, writing a check on a closed account. Sadly there are some cards who will sometimes indemnify suckers and that costs everyone money. They'll do it for "customer service" I suppose but again, ever since the changes in the credit laws a number of years ago they aren't as friendly about it. Most of these telemarketers are educated, at least more than a lot of the people they call. I'd suspect the caller did not say they were with Microsoft. They probably said "tech support" or something and babble something about Microsoft certification or something and people who don't know better or don't pay attention assume something different. One of the collection agencies out of Canada operate under a name similar to a law office to gain credibility and scare people into paying up, even on debts they don't owe. People need to be educated and at least learn more than the telemarketers to protect themselves or they're destined to lose.