hdd lock-up error. . .

[bridgeofjedge]

(dell xps with two hdds, running 98se, with only C: having this problem. . . my second hdd, partitioned into two separates, one for downloads, one for backups, etc., but each volume is still accessible by these programs. . .)
i have run Norton 2001 systemworks since its intro, and have never had any issues until a little over a week ago. . . now, when i attempt to run disk utility speeddisk (a defrag program) on primary/ boot hdd, an error message pops up reading "unable to access C:/ as it is either in use by another application, or is not a compatible file type". . . the same applies when retrieving my C: recycle bin (which is Norton protected. . .). . . other symptoms of error readings ("this utility cannot access C: as it is locked by or in use by another disk utility. please finish with utility and retry.")include the attempted use of windows scandisk, or defrag, etc. . . (still only on c:). . . i have closed applications on "quittask", and still no luck. . . i have shut her down several times, with no luck. the problem remains, and i am more frustrated by the hour now! nor any closer to a solution.

any changes that day include d-loading Axcrypt (stable release) encrypter, and running Spybot SD; nothing further i recall. . . please help if experience here. . . (ps: in meantime, ive also uninstalled axcrypt and spybot SD, with no luck resulting; have since reinstalled both. . .). . .
any help is appreciated,
j.edge.

[Budfred]

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif

Two things I would suggest that you can do. First, download and run Hijack This (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/index.html) and then copy and paste the log here. Also look at the Hijack This tutorial. (http://tomcoyote.org/forums/)

The second thing is that you could probably run your utilities in Safe Mode, but I would find out what is running background and blocking the normal use of the utilities.

[Whyzman]

I'd add one more suggestion...I'd get the HDD diagnostic utility and see if you can run that...

[bridgeofjedge]

thankyou gentlemen for yr time and advice. . . ive picked up a copy of "hijack this", and will utilize the application once determining the process. . . also picked up "startup list", which certainly looks effective. . . any further advisings are welcome; i am new to this field, though entirely consumed by interest in how the whole process works: software, hardware, networks, programming. . . want to thank all the participants of the pc guide forum: just reading through the threads is a profound education. . .

j.edge.

[bridgeofjedge]

i just generated this log being still unabel to determine problem, nor perform basic disk utilities. . .


Logfile of HijackThis v1.95.1
Scan saved at 12:34:46 PM, on 7/26/03
Platform: Windows 98 SE (Win9x 4.10.2222A)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\SYMANTEC SHARED\SYMTRAY.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSTASK.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NORTON SYSTEMWORKS\NORTON CLEANSWEEP\CSINJECT.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mmtask.tsk
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TASKMON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAY.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MS HARDWARE\POINT32.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\VOYETRA\AUDIOSTATION 32\VTRAY.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PELMICED.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\AHEAD\INCD\INCD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSWHEEL.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\EARTHLINK\FASTLANE\ARMON32.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NORTON SYSTEMWORKS\NORTON ANTIVIRUS\NAVAPW32.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT MONEY\SYSTEM\REMINDER.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\MICROSOFT SHARED\WORKS SHARED\WKCALREM.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NORTON SYSTEMWORKS\NORTON CLEANSWEEP\CSINSM32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDHELP.EXE
C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton CleanSweep\Monwow.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WMIEXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TAPISRV.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ZONE LABS\ZONEALARM\ZONEALARM.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ZONELABS\VSMON.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\PROCESS VIEWER\PRCVIEW.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NORTON SYSTEMWORKS\NORTON UTILITIES\NPROTECT.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\EARTHLINK TOTALACCESS\TASKPANL.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RNAAPP.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\EARTHLINK TOTALACCESS\FASTLANE\IPCLIENT.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\INTERNET EXPLORER\IEXPLORE.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\WINZIP\WINZIP32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\HIJACKTHIS.EXE

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://www.earthlink.net/partner/more/msie/button/search.html
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://nytimes.com/
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://start.earthlink.net
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://www.earthlink.net/partner/more/msie/button/search.html
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Window Title = Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by Brunswick Computer Center
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = c:\windows\SYSTEM\blank.htm
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADOBE\ACROBAT 5.0\READER\ACTIVEX\ACROIEHELPER.OCX
O2 - BHO: NAV Helper - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - c:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {EA7F9A52-0A05-11D2-98C5-00104B7229C2} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\WAVETOP\BIN\WAVEIE.DLL
O2 - BHO: EarthLink Popup Blocker - {4B5F2E08-6F39-479a-B547-B2026E4C7EDF} - C:\Program Files\EarthLink TotalAccess\PnEL.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Norton AntiVirus - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - c:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Pop-Up Blocker - {D7F30B62-8269-41AF-9539-B2697FA7D77E} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\EARTHLINK TOTALACCESS\PNEL.DLL
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSDXM.OCX
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ScanRegistry] c:\windows\scanregw.exe /autorun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TaskMonitor] c:\windows\taskmon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [POINTER] C:\PROGRA~1\MSHARD~1\point32.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VoyetraTray] C:\PROGRAM FILES\VOYETRA\AUDIOSTATION 32\VTRAY.EXE /s
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NPROTECT] c:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Utilities\NPROTECT.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Mouse Suite 98 Daemon] PELMICED.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [InCD] C:\Program Files\Ahead\InCD\InCD.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AccessRampMonitor] "C:\Program Files\EarthLink\FastLane\ARMon32.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\QTTASK.EXE" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NAV Agent] c:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\NORTON~2\NAVAPW32.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [bpcpost.exe] c:\windows\SYSTEM\bpcpost.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [WorksFUD] c:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\wkfud.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Microsoft Works Update Detection] c:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\WkDetect.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [ScriptBlocking] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Script Blocking\SBServ.exe" -reg
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [SymTray - Norton SystemWorks] c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SymTray.exe "Norton SystemWorks"
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [SchedulingAgent] mstask.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [NPROTECT] c:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Utilities\NPROTECT.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [CSINJECT.EXE] c:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton CleanSweep\CSINJECT.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Reminder] C:\Program Files\Microsoft Money\System\reminder.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [NETZIP SMARTDOWNLOADER] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\npnzdad.exe /t
O4 - Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
O4 - Startup: Microsoft Works Calendar Reminders.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared\wkcalrem.exe
O4 - Startup: CleanSweep Smart Sweep-Internet Sweep.lnk = C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton CleanSweep\csinsm32.exe
O6 - HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel present
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Define - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Reference 2001\A\ERS_DEF.HTM
O8 - Extra context menu item: Look Up in &Encyclopedia - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Reference 2001\A\ERS_ENC.HTM
O9 - Extra button: Related (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Show &Related Links (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Encarta Encyclopedia (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Encarta Encyclopedia (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Define (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Define (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: MSN Messenger Service (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Dell Home (HKCU)
O12 - Plugin for .hpb: C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\PLUGINS\nphpipb.dll
O12 - Plugin for .spop: C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\Plugins\NPDocBox.dll
O12 - Plugin for .bcf: C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\Plugins\NPBelv32.dll
O16 - DPF: {0713E8D2-850A-101B-AFC0-4210102A8DA7} (Microsoft ProgressBar Control, version 5.0 (SP2)) - http://clinicdownload.mcafee.com/molbin/Shared/ComCtl32.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {81361155-FAF9-11D3-B0D3-00C04F612FF1} (MSN Chat Control 3.0) - http://fdl.msn.com/public/chat/msnchat3.cab
O16 - DPF: {11260943-421B-11D0-8EAC-0000C07D88CF} (iPIX ActiveX Control) - http://www.ipix.com/viewers/ipixx.cab
O16 - DPF: {74D05D43-3236-11D4-BDCD-00C04F9A3B61} (HouseCall Control) - http://a840.g.akamai.net/7/840/537/20000008/housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/xscan53.cab
O16 - DPF: {56336BCB-3D8A-11D6-A00B-0050DA18DE71} (RdxIE Class) - http://207.188.7.150/246314fe0ff34e90b202/netzip/RdxIE601.cab
O16 - DPF: {9F1C11AA-197B-4942-BA54-47A8489BB47F} (Update Class) - http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/CAB/x86/ansi/iuctl.CAB?37748.3502083333
O16 - DPF: {02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B} (QuickTime Object) - http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab
O16 - DPF: {90A29DA5-D020-4B18-8660-6689520C7CD7} (DmiReader Class) - http://support.dell.com/us/en/systemprofiler/SysProfLCD.CAB
O16 - DPF: {E77C0D62-882A-456F-AD8F-7C6C9569B8C7} (ActiveDataObj Class) - https://www-secure.symantec.com/techsupp/activedata/ActiveData.cab

thanks again.
j.edge.

[mjc]

Ok, there are too many threads about this issue.....I am locking the others and linking to them here.

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23828

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23906

[bridgeofjedge]

and enter ms-dos command line and entered ndd.exe and received the error/ diagnosis that several directories were invalid or incorrect and was a working period of twenty minutes and finally ndd.exe showed a clean bill-of-health and then powered down and booted into windows and was abruptly and finally able to access c:, the recycling folder, scandisk, defrag, norton speed disk, ndd, et cetera. . . thank you for yr help and apologies on monopolizing several threads but was desperate and new this was the forum of endless wisdom and tech-brilliance and
i am proud to say that over the course of one month my c: was only fragmented at 87%!

did delete several applications in process but lost nothing but a huge problem. . .
a good day to all,
j.edge.