BleepingComputer.com: System Hangs After User Account Is Selected

Hello,

We began having network connectivity issues with our PC following a trojan/malware infection. I believe the main culprit was a "Virus Response Lab 2009". McAfee was in use but apparently not effective. After some wrangling using Malwarebytes, to clear some initial infections, and recently Kaspersky, I believe I have the system cleaned off (McAfee removed, also). However, we still have log in / network connectivity issues. Here are the current modes of operation:

--Try to use computer normally (XP Home, Normal mode, network cable plugged in): in this situation, I select one of our user accounts and the system hangs and gets no further in the log in process.

--Use the computer off the network (XP Home, Normal mode, network cable NOT plugged in): in this situation, when I select one of the user accounts the system boots up normally. All of the applications (word, excel, etc.) function normally. IF I then plug in the network cable and try to open internet explorer, the application hangs trying to establish a connection. I typically have to close it using task manager.

--Use the computer in Safe Mode with Networking (XP Home, Safe Mode with Networking, network cable plugged in): in this situation, I select the administrator user account and the system boots up normally, though in safe mode. We have internet connectivity, but all of the restrictions of safe mode, of course.

Does anyone have some ideas on how I can get normal mode log on to work correctly again? Our network and ISP seem to be normal, as I am able to function and use this forum normally on a different computer.

System and OS specs:

Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition
Version 2002
Service Pack 3

Dell Dimension DIM4600
Intel Pentium 4 CPU; 2.60 GHz
512 MB of RAM
(I, know, nothing to brag about, but it has worked fine for us until now)

Thank You in Advance!

Log on as an administrator, go Start > Run and type: "cmd". In the window that appears type: "netsh winsock reset". When the program is finished, you will receive the message: "Successfully reset the Winsock Catalog. You must restart the machine in order to complete the reset." Close the command box and reboot your computer.

Go Start > Run > type: "cmd" In the window that appears type: "ipconfig /flushdns". Close the command box.

Go Start > Control Panel > Network Connections. Right click on your default connection, usually Local Area Connection or Dial-up Connection if you are using Dial-up, and and choose Properties. Double-click on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) item. Select the radio button that says "Obtain DNS servers automatically". Reboot. Warning: Some Internet Service Providers need specific DNS settings. You need to make sure that you know if such DNS settings are required before you make this change.

Mr. Budapest,

Thank you for the reply. I am not yet out of the woods on this one. Here is what I have tried using your suggestions:

--Started with the computer off the network (XP Home, Normal mode, network cable NOT plugged in). Performed your steps and each of them executed as you stated they would. Completed your steps, shut down the computer, plugged in the network cable and rebooted. When I selected a user account, it still hung like I described in my original posting.

--Started the computer in Safe Mode with Networking (XP Home, Safe Mode with Networking, network cable plugged in). Performed your steps, each executed, shut down the computer and rebooted in normal mode. When I selected a user account, it still hung like I described in my original posting.

--Tried again with the computer off the network (XP Home, Normal mode, network cable NOT plugged in). Selected a user account, which booted normally, and then plugged in the network cable. When I performed your first step, the cmd window hangs on the "netsh winsock reset" command...it never completes, though task manager says it's running. I gave it about 10 minutes before I killed it. I tried internet explorer and it hung like I described in my original posting. I have noticed that when I go to shut down in this mode, I usually get one of those "End Program" messages as windows is trying to shut down. I consistently get this for a "msmsgs.exe" application. I went to windows explorer to search the C: drive for this application to try an learn more about it. When I pressed the "search" button in windows explorer, it hung up?! It hung up each time I tried. I am not sure any of these last two items are relevant to my larger issue, but I figured I would mention them in case there are others that can make sense of it.

Thank you for your advice and patience.

Try running this scan:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic131299.html

I ran the scan. The report did say it found two trojans. However, unfortunately, I am still having the issue with system hanging upon user account selection when running in normal mode with the network cable plugged in. Any more thoughts? Time to punt and reinstall windows, I suppose. Any major dos and don'ts for that?

Thanks for your help

You could try reinstalling the driver for the network card:

How to update a Windows hardware driver

Have you tried creating a new account and seeing if it behaves the same way?