computer has 'lost it'...

[candles]

^^ I too am not sure whether this is relevant to my loss of internet connection.

If i double click the exlamation mark, a box pops up.

In the general tab, it says:
Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the driver is still in memory (code 38)

 

[candles]

if there is a problem with the network rather than with my computer, where do I go on the client computer to try and fix it/ see if there are any obvious problems??

ta

 

[candles]

hmmmm....Usually, i can play the music on my computer, through this computer.

If i try to do that now, it says "chris\mymusic is not accessible"

"the network path was not found"

 

[rossored]

Forget the network issues for the moment - is it still doing the dissapearing/re-appearing icons trick etc?

Have you run the various spyware/virus programs, and if so did they find anything? Network connectivity can often be interrupted by spyware so you should make that your first port of call.

 

[ale]

Candles,
As Rossored indicates, treat the broken pc as a stand alone.
Get it running on its own before trying to sort the network issues.
Run it off line and clean it up ie Adaware, Spybot, virus scan. Do a Windows Diskclean first (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools) to get rid of temp files etc.
What version of Windows is on that machine?

 

[candles]

It isn't doing its dissapearing icons trick at the moment.
That seemed to stop after I done a vius scan using something called "virSCAN" which found 1 trojan i think, which it deleted and i also done a 'system restore' thingy. Not sure which of the two fixed that particular problem.

The broken computer is window XP.

I am gonna run the disk cleanup thing in a minute and also a spybot search.

 

[ale]

What happened next?

 

[oatman]

Did you do System Restore before or after you cleaned the troj?
You must disable System Restore to clean out viruses.
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/security/advisories/win_me_clean.htm
If you stay online now, try theses scans
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp
http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm
Also what firewall are you running?

 

[candles]

What happened next: Spybot couldn't find any problems and I still cant get online.
Oatman: I really am a computer moron...I think I ran the virus program. Let it delete the trojan it said it had found. And then I asked my computer to startup using the settings it had a few days ago when the system was working.....i think.... I dont really know what im doing though!

Think I might just have to wait a few months until 'the man who can' get back from holiday .

 

[rossored]

What happened next: Spybot couldn't find any problems and I still cant get online.
Oatman: I really am a computer moron...I think I ran the virus program. Let it delete the trojan it said it had found. And then I asked my computer to startup using the settings it had a few days ago when the system was working.....i think.... I dont really know what im doing though!

Think I might just have to wait a few months until 'the man who can' get back from holiday .

This is a problem!

If you deleted the trojan, then ran system restore - you'll have put the trojan back .

Can't you back up what you can and format the damn thing? That's what I would have done by now for sure!

 

[ale]

Candles,
Don't format the drive - I am fairly pc literate and have always avoided this.
Formatting is a last resort but only if you know what you are doing and you have all the installation disks etc.
Even then, you will be back at square one and need to re-register software or at the very least get updates etc.

Follow Oatman's suggestion - disable System Restore, run virus scan and then re-enable it.
Then recheck for yellow ! in Device Manager.

Just a thought, if you have a working machine is it possible to take the broken one and swap the connection? If it then works you have a cabling / connection / router problem. If it doesn't work at least you know it's definitely the pc.

 

[candles]

Well...thanks for the advice guys but....we have a problem. My computer is losing brain cells by the minute and it wont even log on now! Start to boot up, gets the the 'Windows XP home edition' black screen and then starts all over again.

On a lighter note, my brother has just informed me that he's got a PC whizz friend of his coming over at the weekend to fix his laptop, so i'll ask the fella if he can fix mine or, at least, recommend a good skip!

 

[ale]

This sounds suspiciously like you have been infected with W32/IRCbot.worm!MS05-039.
This is a new variant of a worm that came out a few days ago.
If your system does not have the latest Windows update patch then it will keep rebooting.
Go to mcafee.co.uk and download the Stinger (obviously onto the working machine) to enable its removal.
Good Luck!