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Help. Slow laptop after playing CD.

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erb
erb Posts: 547 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
I have done a search on this forum but can't find an answer to this one.

My daughters laptop has suddenly started going realy slow after she played a Sony CD in it. For instance I have just run the antivirus check and it took nearly 3 hours to run whereas it use to take about 30 minutes max. Also, it now takes ages to boot up.

She insists the only thing different she has done is play the CD.

Can this be the cause and if so is there anything I can do about it.

I have already done:
virus scan
spyware scan
disc cleanup
defrag disc (took best part of a day to do)
reduced start up programs.

The laptop is 9 months old HP with 1GB RAM using windows XP.
Regards
erb :)
«1

Comments

  • Asus_Mobo
    Asus_Mobo Posts: 271 Forumite
    What was the CD? I mean is it an original or something burned that may of had a nasty on it.?
  • albertross_2
    albertross_2 Posts: 8,932 Forumite
    http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/



    Natasha Bedingfield ?
    Ever get the feeling you are wasting your time? :rolleyes:
  • Cumbrian_Male
    Cumbrian_Male Posts: 1,513 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    With it being a Sony CD will this have installed some DRM software unbeknown to you?

    I seem to remember Sony did this a while back and got slated for it. Basics were when you played the CD it put Digital Rights Management software on your system to snoop for pirated music.


    See these


    I have a cunning plan!
    Proud to be dealing with my debts.

  • With it being a Sony CD will this have installed some DRM software unbeknown to you?

    I seem to remember Sony did this a while back and got slated for it. Basics were when you played the CD it put Digital Rights Management software on your system to snoop for pirated music.


    See these



    If I remember correctly, it wasn't just DRM, but a Rootkit (Hackers tools) added as well to hide the DRM.

    You really don't want a Rootkit installed on your system, it allows Hackers to do as they please without you finding out.

    I can't say for certain this is the case here, its just strange a Sony CD was used.

    I would follow the steps on this page http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/RootkitRevealer.mspx

    If you search the net you'll find many complaints about Sony's methods with DRM.
    Beware of Martin Lewis - or any man who offers you "great" deals. :T :beer: :rolleyes:
  • Cumbrian_Male
    Cumbrian_Male Posts: 1,513 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Some people filed class action lawsuits against Sony BMG because of it.
    I have a cunning plan!
    Proud to be dealing with my debts.

  • erb
    erb Posts: 547 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    The CD was Evanescence - The Open door.

    I have checked the CD and the laptop for indications of the DRM but no indications that this is installed.

    Also I read on one of the links posted that 'Microsoft to Zap Sony DRM 'Rootkit' and this was to be done through the Malicious software removal tool that we download as part of the monthly updates so looks like if the Sony DRM was installed we should have removed it and that is probably why I can't find any trace of it now.
    Regards
    erb :)
  • albertross_2
    albertross_2 Posts: 8,932 Forumite
    so have you scanned the laptop for rootkits?
    Ever get the feeling you are wasting your time? :rolleyes:
  • erb wrote: »
    Also I read on one of the links posted that 'Microsoft to Zap Sony DRM 'Rootkit' and this was to be done through the Malicious software removal tool that we download as part of the monthly updates so looks like if the Sony DRM was installed we should have removed it and that is probably why I can't find any trace of it now.

    If I had a rootkit on my system, the only fix (IMO) is a complete reinstall.
    Beware of Martin Lewis - or any man who offers you "great" deals. :T :beer: :rolleyes:
  • Cricri
    Cricri Posts: 579 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Sony propose a tool to either update or remove their rootkit:
    http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/updates.html

    I'd suggest you remove it :p

    Funny how if I developed a software half as bad and purposedly installed it on people computer without their knowledge and consent, I would have been jailed, yet a big corporation like Sony didn't even get tapped on the fingers.

    At the end of the day, their software hurt genuine buyers, while illegal downloads do not contain the rootkit. Note that I don't care, nowadays there's no music that I deem of sufficient quality to justify their purchase (especially at the current prices!).
  • erb
    erb Posts: 547 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    albertross wrote: »
    so have you scanned the laptop for rootkits?

    Not exactly. As suggested on one of the links I ran 'services.msc' and then looked for the 'xcp cd proxy' service as this would indicate if the DRM rootkit was present. As the service was not present this suggests it may not be the problem.


    Also, the CD was bought last November by which time Sony had stopped using this DRM softaware so perhaps the DRM is a red herring in this case and it is something else causing the problem.
    Regards
    erb :)
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