Stupid "ScamWare" problem

Caporegime
Joined
17 Feb 2006
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29,263
Location
Cornwall
Not sure what the official name for this kind of app is, but we're talking programs that have ads on websites that say "speed up your PC! download now!"

Anyway, a family member downloaded UniBlue's "Registry Booster" and installed it. When I noticed it I said "you ought not to install this kind of junk" and removed it. Nothing good normally comes from this kind of program, I said.

Ever since uninstalling it, however, USB devices are not recognised. You can plug them in but nothing happens. Devices are known good because the XP machine downstairs still works with them.

Interestingly, the USB kb/mouse still work. Just not the camera, etc.

Tried to delete various FinePix (camera) entries in HKLM/.../current control set/, to no avail. Some of them (in /enum/) can't be deleted with admin privilege anyhow. Have to mess around with group policy to get the rights to delete them, and I didn't have time.

Meanwhile, I'm taking the flak for "deleting something vital" that "I shouldn't have messed about with". My status of being the person in family to come to for tech advice is in jeopardy over some stupid scamware thing that fubared the registry, maybe :/

Any similar experiences, and or fix?
 
adware

these things can get annoying to remove. i find doing a system restore to before the original install works quite well plus might sort out the stuff you deleted!
 
adware

these things can get annoying to remove. i find doing a system restore to before the original install works quite well plus might sort out the stuff you deleted!

I've never used it. Interestingly, I just fired it up on my own win7 computer and found there is only one restore point - just before the last automatic update was installed. ("show more" option does nothing).

I'm guessing since it's exactly the same OS on the target machine, that it might also be lacking in viable restore points...

Seems a bit useless if it only goes back to the last auto-update, considering the frequency win7 downloads updates.
 
Have you tried uninstalling the USB root hubs from device manager and rebooting to let windows re-install them?
 
I've never used it. Interestingly, I just fired it up on my own win7 computer and found there is only one restore point - just before the last automatic update was installed. ("show more" option does nothing).

I'm guessing since it's exactly the same OS on the target machine, that it might also be lacking in viable restore points...

Seems a bit useless if it only goes back to the last auto-update, considering the frequency win7 downloads updates.

It will probably be different on each pc as the restore points are created when you install software, updates etc
 
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