Date: 10/16/06 (Computer Help)    Keywords: software, virus, microsoft

There are no stupid questions, only stupid people.

My mother runs an older PC. Windows ME, small memory, etc. It’s what you would have expected to get by default six or seven years ago, from big box retailer. I don’t really remember all the specifics of it, and the majority of the paperwork is misplaced.

Despite having to reformat the hard-drive four times over six years, the PC’s been working fine for the last two and a half. Now, the machine reboots on shutdown and has a box that pops up prior to downloading the desktop asking for a password (you can bypass the box by clicking escape).

I reinstalled all her drivers and checked her hard drive for errors, but there was nothing. It’s also virus and spy-ware clean (there’s a possibility I’ve missed some, always). We recently installed DSL. She only uses the Internet, Microsoft Outlook, Firefox, the calculator, and the system tools (like scan disk and disk defrag). She also has software for her camera (so she can format pictures and send then over email), but she doesn’t edit her photos besides reducing them in size.

I’m not against reformatting her hard drive once again, although I’d rather not unless there’s no other way.

Buying a new/used PC isn’t an option. Nor is upgrading to Windows XP (she doesn’t have the memory to support it and I have a feeling that within the next two years, it’ll be completely overtaken by Vista).

Any solution or advice is really welcome. My computer-fu isn’t what it used to be and I really do want to fix it for her.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/computer_help/696654.html