ok - Dread, it sounds like you have a trojan or spyware of some sort pound you. I will assume you are running WIndows XP, since you don't mention Vista. I recommend you download and install Spybot S&D (
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html ) and Javacool's Spywareblaster (
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html ) - don't install "teatime" when you are installing Spybot S&D.
But do run them both and enable the highest level of protection they offer.
The AutoRuns program from SysInternals is a free program that controls auto-started programs. It is small, safe program from a reliable source. No installation is needed, you can run autoruns.exe from removable media.
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/autoruns.shtml - see if this can disable the bad file from loading
Check the "hosts" file and if it has any entries other than 127.0.0.1, comment them out with "#"
The hosts files is located here in Windows XP:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
It doesn't have a file extension, so don't allow Notepad or Wordpad to add an extension.
It may be a malware BHO (browser helper object). For this, I suggest BHODemon from Definitive Solutions (
http://pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,23611,00.asp ). Unfortunately development of BHODemon has been discontinued. :-( Windows XP SP2 has the IE Add-On manager. However, BHODemon could run off removable media without being installed to Windows, works with all versions of Windows and offers opinions about the BHOs, making it the far better choice. Deleting BHOs can be tricky because they are active if either Windows Explorer or IE is running.
If you have not already done so - update to IE 7 - this will make disabling and deleting BHOs much easier.
You may need to boot to safe mode to delete anything you find that is bad. You can get into safe mode by tapping the F8 key during boot up. If you miss it, just keep rebooting and tapping F8 until the boot-up option menu appears.
Make it a point to read and learn as much as you can about spyware, trojans, and BHOs at
http://cexx.org/ - this site taught me the first things I ever knew about dealing with web-cooties, so I am confident it can help you.
Don't be surprised if you have a cootie that isn't detected by McAfees, Norton's, or any other Anti-Virus. Some of them are sneaky and take time to get discovered by the Anti-Virus companies. Do make an effort to update your Virus definitions from the Anti-virus company of your choice. If you don't have an AV programme, I suggest downloading the 30-day free trial of Kaspersky and clean your system.
http://www.kaspersky.com/Now - Object workshop can be a beastly thing. When it crashes, do a control+alt+delete and check to make sure SimPE is ended. If you have had a number of crashes, you may find a simpe for each crash hung up in the background. End them all, and then make sure you update .NET from the Microsoft Windows Update (
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ ) - also update DirectX (
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/ ) - there was a major tweak to the DirectX files released on 2 February 2007.
Once you are sure you have the latest updates to .NET 1 and .NET 2, as well as the latest updates to DirectX, make sure you have install the nVidia DDS Utilities:
http://developer.nvidia.com/object/nv_texture_tools.htmlSo to recap - get rid of you cootie, update the basic files needed by SimPE, then meet me in the meshing help forum :lol: