Slow Performance, Unwanted Browser Redirect & Prolonged Floppy Drive Operation

[ajdisciple]

Thank you for taking time to consider diagnosing a condition affecting my computer's speed, browser performance and floppy drive operation.

Please find the requested "DDS" file and the zipped "attach" file below. In mid-February, system startup, shutdown and general performance became much slower. Around that same time, I had problems with my Mozilla Firefox home page. Opening a new browser tab or new window showed an internet search website I had never heard of. The site was marked with a link to ClientConnect Ltd with web address "info.trovi.com". An internet search for information on this address revealed that it was associated with a redirect of the same name which matched the unfamiliar search website. Following recommendations from malwarebytes.com on removal, I reviewed my Add or Remove Programs listing and removed the Conduit Search application. I also made changes to the browser home page settings to remove the conduit information. The symptoms persisted, so I ran the McAfee anti-virus full system scan, MalwareBytes and CCleaner. McAfee produced no significant scan results. MalwareBytes and CCleaner both found numerous issues, but I neglected to keep logs of the changes that I then made. Regardless, the problem continued.

An internet article on the issue recommended registry modification. Once I saw the pattern of removing entries with the word "Conduit" in them, I went beyond the internet discussion's recommendations. I did a registry search for the word "Conduit" and I deleted most of the entries, only sparing ones that merely had the conduit website address. Instead of deleting these, I replaced the conduit website address with "www.google.com". The browser problem still continued, so I backed up my important documents with a couple different utilities. While doing so, another symptom came up on an irregular basis: prolonged 3.5" floppy drive operation without a disk in the drive.

After the typical system startup check for a boot disk and once a user account is selected, the floppy drive begins running. The drive light remains lit for periods of 6 minutes while it runs noisily without a disk in the drive and without explanation. A pause of about 1 to 2 minutes was followed by another 6 minutes of noisy drive operation. Today, I permitted the system to continue running rather than restarting the computer. After an hour and a half of this "2 minute off/ 6 minute on" pattern, the sound changed to a slightly higher pitch. After an additional half hour, Windows produced the message as shown below and the floppy drive operation stopped.

"Windows - No Disk
Exception Processing Message c0000013 Parameters 75b6bf7c 75b6bf7c 75b6bf7c
[Cancel] [Try Again] [Continue]"

Selecting "Try Again" merely produced the same error box.
Selecting "Continue" brought back the noisy floppy drive operation, but only for a moment. Even so, I shut down the computer since it began to run a number of processes which I gave up on identifying for now. During the shut down process, mcuicnt.exe gave a "DLL Initialization Failed" error and then the floppy drive resumed the previous noisy pattern until the system finished the shut down process. On the restart, there was little-to-no floppy drive operation.

The attached files are a few months old. The computer has been disconnected from all internet use and has been off since the data was taken, so it is current.

Where should I start?

Thank you.

[LiquidTension]

Hello ajdisciple,

My username is LiquidTension, but you can call me Adam. I will be assisting you with your malware-related problems.
If you would allow me to call you by your first name I would prefer that. :)

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Important: I have laid out some "ground rules" I would very much appreciate you follow. Please read through the points below, to ensure this process moves as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Please read through my instructions thoroughly, and ensure you carry out each step in the order specified.
Please do not post logs using the CODE, QUOTE or ATTACHMENT format. Logs should be posted directly in plain text. If you receive an error whilst posting, please break the log in half and use multiple posts.
Please do not run any tools or take any steps other than those I provide for you. Independent efforts may make matters worse, and will affect my ability in ascertaining the current situation & providing the best set of instructions for you.
Ensure you are subscribed to this topic to receive instant email notifications of my responses.
Please attempt to backup important documents before proceeding with my instructions.
If you come across any issues whilst following my instructions, please stop and inform me of the issue in as much detail as possible. Please do not hesitate to ask before you run anything.
Topics are locked if no response is made after 5 days. Please inform me if you will require additional time to complete my instructions.

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Please be advised that I am currently in training. My responses will need to be approved by one of our experts before I post them. This is only to ensure you are receiving accurate instructions. I will return as soon as possible.

[LiquidTension]

Hello ajdisciple,

Thank you for your detailed description. Before I can proceed with instructions, I must first ensure you are aware that your computer is running an unsupported Operating System. On April 8th 2014, Microsoft officially declared Windows XP as unsupported, and consequently ceased the production and release of Windows XP Updates and Security Patches. Please read the following articles:


End Of Support For Windows XP SP3 is April 8, 2014 (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/496246/end-of-support-for-windows-xp-sp3-is-april-8-2014/)
With XP ending, what are your alternatives? (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/527392/with-xp-ending-what-are-your-alternatives/)

Without Windows Updates, your computer will be continuously susceptible to malware infection. In the past, vulnerabilities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulnerability_(computing)) found in the Windows XP software were patched shortly after by Microsoft issuing an Update. Now that XP is no long supported with Updates, once a vulnerability is discovered, it will not be patched, allowing malware authors to freely distribute their exploit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploit_(computer_security)) in the knowledge the vulnerability will not be patched.

If you want to stand a chance at avoiding reinfection, I strongly advise you update your Operating System (to Windows 7/8), or switch to a different make (eg. Linux).



http://i.imgur.com/goGMWSt.gifMultiple Anti-Virus Software Warning

------------------------------

It is inadvisable to have more than one anti-virus software installed on your computer at the same time. Doing so may:


Cause conflicts, negatively impacting the effectiveness of each anti-virus installed.
Trigger false-positives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivirus_software#Problems_caused_by_false_positives).
Cause system instability/performance issues. Your system may lock up or slow down due to both products attempting to access the same file.

Please remove all but one anti-virus software from your computer. Press the Windows Key http://i.imgur.com/pdKOQKY.png + r on your keyboard at the same time. Type appwiz.cpl and click OK. Search for and uninstall all but one of the programmes listed below


Microsoft Security Essentials
McAfee Anti-Virus



STEP 1
http://i.imgur.com/xlK5Hdb.png Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST) Scan

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (x32) (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/farbar-recovery-scan-tool/dl/81/) and save the file to your desktop.
Double-click FRST.exe to run the installer.
Click Yes to the disclaimer.
Ensure the Addition.txt box is checked.
Click the Scan button and let the programme run.
Upon completion, click OK, then OK on the Addition.txt pop up screen.
Two logs (FRST.txt & Addition.txt) will now be open on your desktop. Copy the contents of both logs and paste in your next reply.


STEP 2
http://i.imgur.com/iAdP9bf.png Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit (MBAR)

Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/malwarebytes-anti-rootkit/dl/133/) and save the file to your desktop.
Double-click MBAR.exe to run the installer.
Select a convenient location to extract the contents and click OK.Navigate to the location you selected.
Double-click MBAR.exe to run the programme.
Follow the prompts to update the programme and scan your computer.
Upon completion, click Cleanup*and reboot your computer.
After the reboot, rerun the programme to verify no threats remain. If threats are still detected, click the Cleanup button once more.
Upon completion, two logs (mbar-log.txt and system-log.txt) will be created.*Copy the contents of both logs and paste in your next reply.
Note: Both logs can be found in the MBAR folder.


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STEP 3
http://i.imgur.com/pfNZP4A.png Logs
In your next reply please include the following logs. Please be sure to copy and paste the requested logs, as well as provide information on any questions I may have asked.

FRST.txt
Addition.txt
mbar-log.txt
system-log.txt

[ajdisciple]

Greetings Adam. My name is Andrew.

Look for a response later this week with the requested scan information. In the meantime, would it help, per the ground rules, if I inserted the previously-attached log information?

As for the XP problem, I am looking forward to exploring Ubuntu and other distributions. More information soon.

[LiquidTension]

Hello Andrew,

Posting the attached logs is unnecessary. I have drawn all useful information from the logs attached.

At this stage, the only information I require are the 4 logs requested and confirmation you have uninstalled one of your installed anti-virus software. I will look out for your post later this week. :)

[LiquidTension]

Hello Andrew,

How are we getting on? Do you require additional time to complete my instructions? There is no problem waiting until next week. :)

Please let me know.
Thank you.

[Dakeyras]

Due to the lack of feedback this Topic is closed.

If it has been three days or more since your last post, and the helper assisting you posted a response to that post to which you did not reply, your topic will not be reopened. At that point, if you still require help, please start a new topic and include a fresh set of DDS logs and a link to your previous thread.

If it has been less than three days since your last response and you need the thread re-opened, please send a private message (pm). A valid, working link to the closed topic is required.