BleepingComputer.com: No memory

My PC comes up with a low on memory message and wont open most things on the computer, including logging on to the internet. I deleted some files to give me more memory but this then mysteriously disappeared. Can anybody advise on how to solve this problem. I presume it is caused by a virus!.
CAE







{Moderator~~~Moved to XP ,pending posting of Malware logs~~boopme}

This post has been edited by boopme: 19 June 2009 - 02:38 PM

Welcome to BC CAE.

CAE, on Jun 15 2009, 11:41 AM, said:

It would help you you gave us a little more info. Which operating system are you using Win95/Win98/WinME.

How much memory do you have installed? Right-click on My Computer and select Properties at the bottom and read the info at the bottom.

Start your computer up and close everything so you can see your desktop only. Do a Ctrl+Alt+Del and make a note of everything that is running in Task Manager and post them back here.

Don't you have a virus checker installed?

CAE, on Jun 15 2009, 05:41 AM, said:

1st, deleting files will gain you nothing in memory. Deleting files will gain you more space on your hard drive. Deleting programs without properly uninstalling them will screw up your system and give you errors.

2nd, what is the exact "low on memory" message? Is it Virtual memory is low and telling you to increase your virtual memory?

3rd, you say "but this then mysteriously disappeared". What disappeared? The files you deleted or the memory message.

4th, what version of Windows are you running and how much memory do you have installed? (You can find out both of these by right clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop or by clicking Start and then right clicking on My Computer. Click on Properties in the pop up menu. The version of Windows and the amount of memory will be shown in the window that opens).

5th, do you have any antivirus or antispyware programs installed that you could scan for a virus? If so, use them and post what you find out.

Those are just a few things that need to be addressed before the proper help can be given.

EDIT: Sorry, Keith. You posted while I was typing.

This post has been edited by possumbarnes: 15 June 2009 - 06:30 AM

possumbarnes, on Jun 15 2009, 12:24 PM, said:

Thats ok it happens to me sometimes.

How many programs to have running in the background?

I am running Windows XP Pro 2002 The message actually says Youare running low on disc space on System C:\ It gives me an option to click to do something about it but nothing happens.

CPU usage is about 50% most of the time and the PF usage is around 260 mb. I have 1Gig of RAM and should have lots of memory on my C drive, but it is showing 232Gigabites used 0Gig available. No programmes running in the background.

This post has been edited by CAE: 15 June 2009 - 11:47 AM

Keith,

Sorry about delay - just got home. Operating system is Windows XP Pro 2002 1 Gig of RAM
Having re-read the message it says You are running low on disc space System C:\

I have checked the C drive and it shows 232 GB of space use and 0 Gig available.

I run the free version of AVG with automatic daily updates. However because of the memory problems I can't get into my own Outlook profile and the one created shows: 'Your current security settings put your computer at risk. Click here to change your security settings. Needless to say when I try nothing happens.
I also got a message saying a programme on your computer has corrupted your default settings ... for the internet.

Hope this helps.

C.

This post has been edited by CAE: 15 June 2009 - 11:45 AM

You need to understand the difference between memory and hard disc space. You have 1GB of ram running XP pro. You have 4 times the required memory for XP. (Not sure why you posted this question in the Windows 95/98/ME forum if you have XP Pro).

The system is telling you that your hard drive is full. You have a 250GB hard drive and there is NO room left on it. That creates a big problem with a computer.

The first thing you need to do is go find what's taking up all your hard drive space. It is most likely one of these four things: pictures, videos, music, or games.
- If you have a lot of old games on your PC that you don't play anymore, go to START - CONTROL PANEL - ADD / REMOVE PROGRAMS and look thru the list of installed programs that comes up. Uninstall any old games that you don't play anymore.
- If you have a lot of videos, music, or pictures, either delete them by highlighting them and hitting SHIFT + Delete so they don't just go into the Recycle Bin. Or, remove them from your hard drive by copying them over to a few CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, a USB thumb drive, or an external hard drive. If you're going to save them by removing them, be sure you have a large enough external hard drive or thumb drive so that you can make a dent in the available space on your hard drive. At least a 16GB, if not a 32GB thumb drive, or a 60GB or better external drive.

Once you've freed up some disc space, say at least 10-20GB, then go here and download CCleaner. CCleaner is one of many free programs that will clean lots of junk from your hard drive. Just a gut feeling tells me that CCleaner will probably free up another 3 to 5 GB. Install CCleaner and open the program. Click the RUN CLEANER button in the bottom right of the main screen. This will clean out everything listed to the left on the main screen, which can be a lot for older computers that have never been cleaned.

Once you've ran CCleaner, you need to run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.
Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop from here.

Double-click on mbam-setup.exe to install the application. When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings. When the installation has finished, leave both of these checked:
Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Click the Finish button.

MBAM should start and you will be asked to update the program before performing a scan.

From the scanner tab, select a QUICK SCAN and click the Scan button.

After the scan finishes, click on the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found. Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected. When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad. This log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.

MBAM may tell you to reboot your computer to complete the process. If so, then reboot and post the contents of the log afterwards.

IF MBAM FINDS ANYTHING AT ALL, DO NOT POST THE RESULTS IN THIS FORUM.
You will need to open a new topic in the Am I Infected? What do I do?. Copy and paste the MBAM log in that new topic to get the best help for an infected PC.

You may want to post back here so that a Bleeping Computer Moderator can come along and either close this thread or move it to the proper forum.

This post has been edited by possumbarnes: 15 June 2009 - 02:07 PM

CAE, on Jun 15 2009, 05:44 PM, said:

I thought that when you didn't state your os. It will still come down to the additional crap that's running and using resources.

I'm surprised it hasn't been moved to WinXP.

This post has been edited by Keithuk: 16 June 2009 - 06:32 AM