Registry Problem

FPH

Joined
Apr 23, 1999
Messages
199
I have a file in the startup folder that will not go away. It is listed as DW4 which is an entry from The Weather Channels desktop weather which I removed because it was unstable. I have deactivated in with msconfig. I have removed the registry and startup entries with Ace Utilities and cleaned the registry with Registry Mechanic. I have even removed the entries by hand with regedit. It keeps coming back.

Any ideas from our super-techs.

Thanks
 
Start your PC in Safe Mode. (This is very important!!!)

Start> Search

Type in The Weather Channel and hit enter.

Delete all Weather Channel related entries.

Start a new search and type in DWHeartbeat.exe

Delete all DWHeartbeat.exe entries.

Restart PC.

Run another search for the above. They should not be found.

The problem with applications such as these is that they are such a pain in the ass to remove because of they way they are written. Applications that run in the toolbar are the worst offenders. Weather Bug is another POS application that is difficult to remove as well. Not only are the hard to remove they are laden with spyware and adware.

Hope this helps. :)
 
Thanks, Ken
Unfortunately this does not solve the problem. I have tried your suggestions and all the permutations I can think of including DW4 which is part of the software. I find nothing doing a search in safe mode. I can remove the startup file and hand clean all references in the registry in safe mode. Run a completely clean scan and as soon as I reboot the startup entry is back. They must have a file or registry entry with a name that does not include weather, heartbeat, heart, beat, DW4 or twc.
Thanks for the effort, I think I will email The Weather Channel a nasty-gram.
 
The new MS anti spyware beta includes a utility for removing startup items although it is limited and doesn't find everything. You could try that.
 
It sounds as if that thing reinstalls itself every time you start your computer. What i would do if i were you is the following:

1: determine what the application name is using Task Manager (processes tab); just kill the most likely targets one by one and check when your offending application dissapears from the toolbar (or whereever you can see it running)

2: look up any files that might contain text string including filename of offending application (DWHeartbeat.exe or whatever its name is, as determined in step 1)

3: check whether those files are mentioend in registry (= the executable files that contain the string found in step 1) and remove those references to prevent the software from being reinstalled

4: delete both application files (the one found in step 1 with accompanying libraries and help files and whatnot that are likely to be stored in same directory) and file(s) from which it reinstalls itself (foudn in step 2)

If any of the files refuse to be deleted in step 4 use ProcessXP (free for download online, look it up with Google) to locate the processes that keep that particular file open, repeat steps 1, 3 and 4 for these newfound processes as well (to kill them, prevent them from being restarted in vain once they're deleted and then to actually delete them) and then close the file handle in ProcessXP (right click on filename in bottom window and select CLose handle - this will close the handle and allow you to delete the file afterwards).

It sounds a bit complicated but if you know what you're doing it's really straightforward. If you are unsure about any part of these instructions please first before screwing something up :)
 
I find this odd that it is still showing up. I downloaded and installed the program and uninstalled it (for research) and I came up clean following the steps I provided. Something else is going on. Did you unistall it properly by going through the Control Panel using Add/Remove Programs? If you just removed it from the Program Files without doing this that may be were your problem lies. If this is the case you should reinstall the program and uninstall it using the steps I provided. You should do this anyway as you may have deleted the uninstall file.
 
Faramir
Thanks for the thoughts. The problem is the only evidence I have that anything is running is a registry change at boot and the entry when viewing msconfig. I have nothing to track when killing processes in the Task Manager.

Ken,
With the program crashing every few hours the first time I uninstalled I used the program provided in TWC entry in the Start menu. I found a new control panel the software had installed in addition to the start problem. I reinstalled the program and uninstalled using TWC interface which removes the control panel after the program itself. This removed the control panel and all obvious components. Yet the problem continues.

Thanks guys
 
You should never, and I mean never, uninstall a program from that programs uninstall file. You should always go to Start, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs to uninstall a program.

Can you tell me the steps you took to uninstall the program in detail? It may better help me understand how you removed it and I may be able to find a fix for it.


*** Did you run a spyware/adware check after you uninstalled?

*** I found this on the Waether Channel Help Page regarding uninstalling.
16. How do I remove Desktop weather from my desktop?

To remove or uninstall this application from your computer, click on “Start”, followed by “Settings”, then “Control Panel.” Then click on “Add/Remove Programs.” From the list, select “The Weather Channel,” and then click on “Add/Remove.” Follow the prompts to uninstall the application.
 
Ken,
I tried another install/uninstall with the same results. If I do the add or remove programs I still must uninstall the Weather control panel from that panel. I tried repair and found it could not repair the control panel. So that suggested corruption in the control panel installation which probably accounted for the initial instability.

I did manage to beat this one to death. You better love registry hacks to fix this kind of trash. Thanks to a modification of farmir's suggestion I found the answer and have the problem fixed.

The Weather software wrote to my Lavasoft Ad-watch. I had to unilstall Lavasoft to remove the Weather startup. If this was intentional they are very clever to have dropped the code into a program designed to stop infiltration. Or maybe it was just one of those things. I am probably not going to reinstall Lavasoft, I have other layers of protection. Although nothing stopped this little problem.

Thanks for all the help guys
 
Ah! The Ad-Watch has struck again! I don't even bother to turn on Ad-Watch. I'm glad you got this fixed. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what your problem was. I went so far as to call my tech guy!!!
 
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