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IE error message repeatedly in WinXP

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A user brought in their laptop, but not until adware/malware/spyware/trojans had it to the point that nothing showed up in the Hardware Settings so he was physically no longer able to connect with his modem. (don’t you love that?)

After my co-worker played with this for a few hours, it got handed off to me (should have been in the first place) because I am the one that deals with security and issues like this.

Laptop, an IBM thinkpad,t30 I believe. PII400 running winXP.

After a day and a half of scanning and cleaning, I got the system to “work”. (No, I was not allowed to just give it the wipe it needed yet.)

The main problem that persists, is a dialog box pops up about every five minutes saying:

————————————-
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
If you were in the middle of somthing, the information you were working on might be lost.
OK
———————————–

You click on the “ok” and the box goes away.

This error message appears even when nothing is running and no one is working on the system.

In the [b]Event logger[/b] I get the following message.

——————————–
Source: Application Error
Category: None
Type: Error
Event ID: 1000

Description:
Faulting application htupro32.exe, version 0.0.0.0, faulting module, version 0.0.0.0, fault address 0x00000000.
—————————–

Looked in ipconfig under the startup for anything that is starting that shouldn’t be, found nothing.
Looked in Services but didn’t see anything that looked suspicious.

(NOTE: Server/Network guy, not an XP pro so take the nothing suspicious as I didn’t SEE anything. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.)

I had applied SP2, as well as all the updates to that point. (sp2 patch took about 5 hours, what fun)

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Crack open the harddrive you should find that it is almost not there, the stuff is gone!

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I “SHOULD” find is is “almost not there” or I “WOULD” find it is “almost not there”?

Does this mean you DO have a sence of humor after all?

(my Cartman quote was funnier) = )

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Data is trying to be read from memory that no longer exists…….try installing IE on top of itself or even a clean install if that does not work….otherwise, I have found that only a total wipe was left.

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http://news.zdnet.com/2036-2_22-5798690.html?tag=wbemail (The entire URL must be placed in the address line of your browser for this video to play) follow this link, because I think it?s a confirmation of existence of rootkits. After I see this video I search with Google and I find the free download link for F-Secure Blacklight antirootkit program. You can download this from following link http://www.f-secure.com/exclude/blacklight/index.shtml

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good links, good ideas. Thanks!

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i just move to the land of confustion myself. nice climate. just hard to get around…
anyhow, you need to update all your apps for sp2 betcha. i can’t tell what app is barfing, googling htupro32.exe doesn’t shed any light. scanners, antivirus, disk utillites, cd burner software all for sure need to get latest updates to play nice with xp sp2.
does it do it in safe mode?

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About hard to get around, why would you want to GO anywhere else?

No devices other than a printer, and all software is updated.

Must be a bug or a part of a bug I missed.

Thanks!

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Message does not pop up in safe mode.
Only device connected to laptop is a printer, no burners or scanners.
AV (Symantec) 10.01 for the SP2 patch.
All other software (that I know of) is consistant with the other 50 XPsp2 systems we have.

Tried to search for the htpro but found nothing with any of the search engines.

Looked in the registry to try to find what is calling it, but no luck there either.

(Hard to get around in Land of Confusion? Where would I go?)
=)

Reply To: IE error message repeatedly in WinXP

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The possibility of a registry key being deleted or that remnents still exist in the registry
If you have not tried Webroot Spy Sweeper try it to scan system and it possibly will catch this problem and fix it.
Then again if this does not work you have toconsider what you dread doing and that is wiping the drive and starting over,backup files before proceeding..

Reply To: IE error message repeatedly in WinXP

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probably a bug or part of a bug left over.

Will try these ideas IF I ever get my hands on that laptop again!

= )

Reply To: IE error message repeatedly in WinXP

In reply to IE error message repeatedly in WinXP

dmiles, I don’t dread doing a wipe and reload, I wasn’t ALLOWED to.

As soon as I saw what it was doing I WANTED to give it a clean install. Runs better ALWAYS and if the systems run better, I look better.

Even not able to connect to the internet, the user wouldn’t have LET me keep the system over night even if my boss hadn’t stepped in.

Will try looking for root kits and the registry scan.

Reply To: IE error message repeatedly in WinXP

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Yea it must be fun working on a pII400 w/ XP on it! lol…my apoligies just for that…
Personally I would pull out that hard drive, scan it in your machine or in another machine as slave with Ad-Aware (custom scan, and select drive), Microsoft Anti-Spyware (select drive), CA PestPatrol, and Spyware Doctor and I scan for viruses using CA Anti-Virus. In 9 out of 10 times the CA for me has always found viruses when symantec said there was none. And I dont mean just one virus, multiple viruses. That is just a suggestion though.
If you do a Ctrl + Alt + Del do you see the htupro32 process?? If so, what is it’s process ID?
Other than that, since you already scanned the registry, I would make sure that you can veiw all files and folder, and scan the hard drive for the file itself. If you haven’t already check these two registy keys on startup:
Hkey_local_machine/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run (also /runservices)
and
Hkey_Current_User/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run (also /runservices)
The htupro32 may not be starting as that filename, look for anything that look out of the ordinary, if you like you can post back everything you find up here and i can reply with recommendations.
After checking the registry, I would check your msconfig, and then startup tab. Once again look for things that are not necessary to start with your machine or unlikely to be tied to anything legit.

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didn’t see the process, but didn’t think to look in the /run of the registry either (DOH!)

did the msconfig and about everything else except for throwing it into a wall.

thanks for the ideas!

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Guess I’ll add my two cents (or whatever currency you like).

According to MS at http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmd_stp_ccgm.asp this is either a hardware or service/app problem. I?m assuming that it is not hardware (since you didn?t mention that anything else is wrong). This seems to narrow it down to the file htupro32.exe (Google and Yahoo searches turned up zilch). Since you can?t reinstall (what it really needs), try stopping each running service (one at a time) to find which one is calling for this file (probably it is not even on the system, but if you haven?t, you might search for it). If located, you can permanently leave that service stopped (hopefully it is not an important one).

I hope someone else can come up with a less time consuming answer.

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gives me something to look at, thanks.

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Well because I’m a nasty SOB I wouldn’t bother even attempting to fix this problem as you are not allowed to do the job properly just hand it back with a note that his DATA needs to be saved and the NB reloaded as the only proper fix for the problems that the user has induced into the system.

I’m guessing that after about 2 -3 days of attempting to work with the mess that he has made he’ll be only too willing to have the job done properly as that is really the only sensible solution to your problem. 😀

Col ]:)

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if you only knew Col!

This user has had the laptop like this for three weeks now and is in no rush to get it back to me!

This is the same rep that ran into the building because he “forgot to hit the brake pedel”!

This is the same rep that took a half hour on the phone to determine the “problem” with his printer was that he was out of yellow ink!

He would have kept it not even connecting to the network if my boss wouldn’t have stepped in.

Woe always me…….

Reply To: IE error message repeatedly in WinXP

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JD I think you still have an infection of some kind there as MS Knowledge Base doesn’t recognize the “htupro32.exe” and it isn’t on any of 10 units that I’ve just done a search on here either.

Sorry I didn’t realize that you had such a bright spark there but you have to admit that walls make excellent brakes don’t they. 😀

Anyway back to your problem I would grab one of the other NB’s and run a scan or search on one of them for that “EXE” to see if it exists on any of them that way you at least work out if it is an isolated thing or a group thing that should be there. If it shouldn’t be there you could always try manually removing the file in Safe Mode and see what happens.

Just be glad that this guy isn’t ringing you and insisting that you tell him how to type in his password some really are almost that bad, or the better ones will change their passwords forget them and then insist that you fix their computer over the phone as it is your fault that they have forgotten their Passwords. Sounds like a Government Department that I used to do some work for what you have there. I wish you all the best in your endeavors in fixing the problem that is of course if you can actually get your hands on the NB again. Most company people feel naked without their NB’s and it doesn’t matter if they use them or not they just have to have one at all times. One of my customers brought a Compaq and the HDD failed within the first few months so while I was waiting for a replacement HDD he carried it around and made out he was important even though the NB had no hope of actually working but on the + side it did have a very long battery life. The NB and Digital Camera where necessary to this guy even though he never actually knew how to take a photo let alone how to get it out of the camera onto the NB when it was running. 😀

Col

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did I mention this wasn’t the ONLY time he “forgot” to hit the brakes? Gone through three company cars in the last five years (totaled).

Yeah, will go back and check this stuff out. Thanks!

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I searched for “HTU Pro” w/o the 32 on the end & see this:

http://www.tummy.com/journals/entries/jafo_20050406_234200

It’s not your model- but refers to a Thinkpad (2373-HTU). I wonder if that is referring to some sort of IBM utility or such? Google “htu pro thinkpad”- there are more hits like that one. Nothing specific- but it’s enough to point to it being something running from IBM.

Instead of a total wipe, why not just do a repair install? That might just repair whatever has been corrupted with this file?

Tracy

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Thanks, gives me something to follow up on.

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Make sure you do all of your spyware scans in safe mode. Look at the hosts file to make sure it isn’t hacked. Make it read-only. Empty all temp folders.

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of course I ran in safe mode, but thanks for saying it anyways. would rather hear something I already know twice than to miss something.

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Hello,

Found something on htpro32.exe:

http://www.bookcase.com/library/software/win9x.network.util.html

Summary: HTML editor with tables, forms, frames (Demo version)
Download: htpro32.exe (Apr 26 1997, 2M)

This is the file that seems to cause the error and probably should not even be on the machine as it is not a Microsoft program.

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this looks promising!

Thanks!

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