AAAGGHH, Remote Procedure Call (RPC) problem!

[CyberKev]

Hi All,

There does appear to be a few Tech types who frequent this forum, so you may be able to assist with my problem.

For several days I was unable to access the Internet, ut after constantly uninstalling and reinstalling my modem, I finally got back on last night.

Unfortunately, whenever I accessed a web page, a box came-up on the screen saying NT RPC error and the machine would automatically shutdown within a minute!

Frustrated beyond imagination, I accessed the RPC mechanism in my XP Administration tools and (rather stupidly, as it turns out) disabled the function.

This has only made matters worse, as now it takes a year for the computer to start-up and I can do stuff all when it does start-up because (absurdly) I keep getting told that I have insufficient memory???!!!

Given that I have 70gig of hard drive free and am running 512meg RAM I know that this is bullshit, but I haven't been able to rectify the problem. I thought I could fix it by enabling the RPC again, but it just sits dead when I try and do this.

Would my best bet be to uninstall and reinstall Windows XP and, if I do this, will it unduly affect other programs and files held on my hard drive?

Thanks for any thoughts you may be able to offer.

CyberKev

 

[Dean Moriarty]

Sounds like the Blaster worm or the Welcher worm - I had them last year. I got rid of it by enabling the XP firewall (which buys you some time) and then getting the worm removal tool from Symantec.

 

[MysteryGirl]

I would go with it being the worm as well. There is a patch - I will see if I can find it for you and give you the link.

Does the computer close down on itself continuously?

 

[MysteryGirl]

OK:
Here's the site to read more
http://groups.msn.com/communityfeedback/general.msnw?action=get_message&ID_Message=487082

And here is a general post to get you started:

My suggestion (although everyone should keep their computer updated) is that Windows 2000 and XP users that haven't been to the windows update site since prior to July 17th, should get there now and get updated.

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/default.htm

For the reasons see:

http://msn.com.com/2251-1110-5062637.html?part=msn&subj=ns&tag=ab

 

[MysteryGirl]

Sorry - Just one more link:

http://groups.msn.com/CommunityFeedback/general.msnw?action=get_message&ID_Message=538150

 

[Mr Angry]

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is need by the Windows OS to communicate with other PCs/Servers etc.
Removing this service has rendered your PC to a stand alone only type. Basically the IP stack will keep crashing.
I would attempt the patching of the OS as listed above, however at this stage that will probably will not help.
You can run the XP setup and choose the Repair option, which will attempt to fix any fundamental flaws in the OS (such as the RPC service). This may be successful and will not affect any of applications.
If that is unsuccessful, I would intall, XP into a alternative directory to the original. (c:\windows) say (c:\windowsxp)
This ensures all the data on the hard drive remains in tact, however many applications will need to be reinstalled.
Last resort is to format the hard drive and reinstall from stratch.
Good luck

 

[CyberKev]

Many thanks to everyone who offered support above.

I appreciate the kind advice provided and now have several plans of attack to utilise.

Great stuff!

 

[MysteryGirl]

Hope it helps!
Sounds like a mess though. Wish I had a better answer.

ONCE YOU DO GET IT FIXED HOWEVER....GET AND RUN AN ANTI VIRUS SOFTWARE PROGRAM AND ALSO KEEP YOUR WINDOWS XP UPDATES HAPPENING AUTOMATICALLY!