Registry problems

[FinnishSaint]

Hi there

I'm facing problems with my PC. It's freezing all the time and I'm really getting fed up with it. Those freezes appear when launching certain programs like XFire(gaming communication software), Firefox(freezes sometimes, not always, quite rare) and sometimes without any specific reason. It even froze up when using uTorrent and Avira Scan(Luke Filewalker) at the same time. I took a look at the system log and here's what I found:

"Could not load npkcrypt.dll. Path not found." or something liike that. It appears every time my Windows freezes.

And about those freezes...

1)When the freezing appears, I first lose control to the computer. Everything just stands still, mouse and keyboard not working.

2.a.) Usually soon after that the screen goes dark(monitor stays on, it doesn't enter the power save. The screen remains dark until I hard boot from the power switch.

2.b.) But sometimes it enters the power save even if I'm using the computer. Monitor reports that PC isn't sending picture but PC stays on.

3) I have to hard boot the computer by holding down the power switch. After that Windows loads as ussual, but who knows, does it freeze again?

So could it be because of the registry or something else. Urgent help needed!

<FS>

[exile360]

Greetings FinnishSaint

It sounds like a driver conflict. npkcrypt.sys is a driver for nProtect Keycrypt, and anti-keylogger tool. The first thing I'd do is try uninstalling that if it is installed, reboot, then test for a while to see if it's resolved.

Let me know if that fixes it, if not we'll did deeper with another tool and I'll have you disable that driver with it as that should fix it.

Please post back with your results.

Thanks

[FinnishSaint]

So should the NProtect Keycrypt program appear in the "add/remove program"-tool?

Or where should I be able to detect (and remove) the installation?

Ps. I do have the npcrypt.dll file in my C:/Windows/System32/ directory and didn't find any malware etc in it at online scans.

Ps2. I usually have time for my PC only on weekends from fri to sun.

And many many thanks for your help, I really appreciate it

<FS>

[exile360]

Yes, it should appear in Add/Remove Programs. If it does not, then look for a program folder for it under C:\Program Files and if found, look inside of its folder for an uninstaller and run it if found. If you can't find the program folder or an Add/Remove entry for it then please do the following:

• Please copy and paste the following text exactly as written into notepad (not wordpad or any other text editor):
  

  @color 48
  @echo off
  dir "%programfiles%\" /a /b>"%userprofile%\desktop\Programs.txt"
  "%userprofile%\desktop\Programs.txt"
  del /f /q "%userprofile%\desktop\Programs.txt"
  del /f /q %0

  Once you've done that click on File and select Save As...
  

• In the Save dialogue box click on the drop down menu next to Save as type and select All Files
  
• Name the file Progs.bat (the .bat extension is very important)
  
• Save the file to your desktop and double click it to run it.
  
• Once it finishes it will open the file it created in notepad, please copy and paste the file's contents into your next reply.
  

Thanks

[FinnishSaint]

Thanks for the possible reasons, but I'm already aware of them

Does someone here know a good (free) programs for fixing the registry?

[exile360]

I never recommend any sort of registry fixing tools because they're usually pretty bad at what they try to do and often delete entries they shouldn't. A much safer method is using a tool to specifically locate exactly what's corrupted or needs removing and fixing it manually or with the tool. If you were unable to locate the program then I can guide you on using Autoruns to remove the startup entry for the driver, this will prevent it from causing further problems.

Please post the log I requested in this post and then do the following:

Create an Autoruns Log:

• Please download Sysinternals Autoruns from here and save it to your desktop.
  
  • Note: If using Windows Vista or Windows 7 then you also need to do the following:
    
    1. Right-click on Autoruns.exe and select Properties
       
    2. Click on the Compatibility tab
       
    3. Under Privilege Level check the box next to Run this program as an administrator
       
    4. Click on Apply then click OK
       

  [*]Double-click Autoruns.exe to run it.

  [*]Once it starts, please press the Esc key on your keyboard.

  [*]Now that scanning is stopped, click on the Options button at the top of the program and select Verify Code Signatures

  [*]Once that's done press the F5 key on your keyboard, this will start the scan again, this time let it finish.

  [*]When it's finished, please click on the File button at the top of the program and select Save and save the Autoruns.arn file to your desktop and close Autoruns.

  [*]Right click on the Autoruns.arn file on your desktop and hover your mouse over Send To and select Compressed (zipped) Folder

  [*]Attach the Autoruns.zip folder you just created to your next reply

Thanks

[wildman424]

Thanks for the possible reasons, but I'm already aware of them

Does someone here know a good (free) programs for fixing the registry?

**as you know improperly modifying the Windows Registry could damage the system leave it unstable or even unusable**

**its not advisable to modify the registry unless you know what you are doing**

if you do have to modify the registry make a backup of it before you start you also should also use your system restore to make a backup point to restore from if you have to later on, any good program that works on registry issues should in include a backup option, there are a lot of programs out there that swear up n down there the greatest thing ever don't fall for there advertisement tricks do your research,know what you are using,I also recommend looking through Microsoft's Knowledge Base Articles for references about the registry and modifying it properly

Windows registry information

How To Backup And Restore The Windows Registry

( these are just a couple of the articles )

I've had fairly good results using CCleaner's registry tool I use it about once a month or so and I can tell a big difference in performance when I do

Piriform software Ccleaner

Microsoft has an online scanner with a feature that scans for registry errors Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner

***IMPORTANT***

***Before you go modifying the registry or doing anything else by yourself I recommend you follow the instructions left for you by exile360 and post that log here if your getting help from a helper and you go off by yourself doing things on your own it may conflict with what your helper is trying to do for you

Good Luck

[FinnishSaint]

Thanks for the help, I'll send further info and Autoruns log tomorrow

[FinnishSaint]

Here's the AutoRuns log as .rar if it's OK

The Progs.bat didn't create a log file

AutoRuns.rar

[exile360]

Hello again

Delete Autostart Entries Using Autoruns:

Please open Autoruns.exe again and allow it to perform its scan. Once it finishes please proceed with the following:

• Click on the Drivers tab and right click each of the following entries and select Delete:
  
  
  
  
  
  • acpa75bl
    
  • catchme
    
  • cusbohcn
    
  • npkcrypt
    

  [*]Once that is complete, restart your computer.

It's also possible that the issue you're having is caused by PCTools Firewall conflicting with some other software you have installed (for example PeerBlock).

Daemon Tools has also been known to cause such issues from time to time, particularly its driver, spdt.sys but for now, just do what I requested above and make sure that all of your security software is trusted/excluded in PCTools Firewall (that means all of Avira's background processes).

Please post back with how things are running and if the issue still occurs or not.

Thanks

[FinnishSaint]

I just installed PC Tools Firewall and Peer Block so they shouldn't be the reason.

I was wondering if Mbam could cause it because SYSTEM Service Mbamservice.exe hogs a lot of CPU usage(10-50%) for some time after start-up, then stabilizes. The freezes are sometimes related to uTorrent and starting up my external hard drive(which also take a lot of CPU). So could it be because of CPU can't handle the processes, which require a lot of resources, at the same time?

Deleting those Autoruns...

[exile360]

Yes, if you're running several CPU intensive processes then the CPU spiking would be normal, as would a degree of freezing, especially on an older system that has limited resources.

Let me know how things are working after you've removed those entries. Hopefully it will help.

[FinnishSaint]

Well, this is quite old system(bought in 2004 I think...)

Luckily my PC haven't freezed after removing them and rebooting(well, it froze soon after deleting those auto-runs, so that was my "boot"). There's just a good way to handle those freezes: When you start your PC, after loading your profile let the computer be alone for like 10-20 minutes. After that it rarely freezes.

I'll report back after few more start-ups...

[FinnishSaint]

But sometimes after start-up ATI Monitor sends reports that Graphics Accelerator doesn't response to orders or something like that and it has been reseted. Right before receiving that message, my screen goes blank and then returns normal.

[FinnishSaint]

And one more thing...

Is Graphics card temperature on 80 Celsius safe?

[exile360]

80 C might be a bit high, but if it's a 9800XT then those are known for getting pretty hot (I used to have a 9800 Pro and it got pretty toasty too). Just make sure you have good air flow in your case (ie, not dust in your fans, internal cabling is neat and tucked away so that air passes freely) and that you have enough fans and that they're all working properly.

Also, if you've not done so in a while, it's likely a good idea to defrag your hard drive (standard Windows Defrag will do just fine). You should also run a Disk Check to make sure there aren't any hard drive read errors causing these problems:

Run a Disk Check on your C: drive in Windows XP:

• Click Start and open My Computer
  
• Right-click on C: and select Properties
  
• Click on the Tools tab
  
• Under Error-checking click the Check Now... button
  
• Mark the box next to Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
  
• When the message box pops up, click the Schedule disk check button and restart your computer
  
• Once your computer restarts it will check the drive, don't press any keys so that it is allowed to do so
  

[FinnishSaint]

I have defragged it like 5 times in the past month.

And run Defraggler disk check and Live OneCare disk check.

I do have Radeon 9800XT and just cleaned the inside and fans from dust when I changed the other RAM to a betterone.

I don't know if all the fans are working, SpeedFan doesn't show them al...

[exile360]

To check all your fans you'd likely have to have your computer running and the side of the case off then take a look as best you can to see if the fans are turning or not. As I said though, most likely your airflow is fine, those cards just run pretty hot. If you plan to keep it for a long time then you could consider one of the third party GPU coolers to replace the standard cooling on the 9800XT. Newegg and other PC parts stores offer several, Zalman is my personal preference (I've had great performance and longevity out of both their GPU coolers and CPU coolers).