Total Nightmare!
by It all started with an overabundance of adware/spyware continually downloading itself onto my pc...and me initially being too cheap to buy anti-virus software and/or anti-spyware software.
At first I tried all the free stuff like Spybot Search & Destroy Ad-Aware ect. a few others.
All the above mentioned for a while and then one day not so much =(
So a few weeks ago I finally broke down and invested in this eTrust Internet Security suite (Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Spam the works (and yes @ this point I was patting myself on the back).
Problem instead of being able to immediately sweep the pc for various hazards it required an update...well since my pc at this point was really slow and acting crazy for any # of reasons the update failed =(
Fast forward to this past Saturday (which was already crazy w/out this) I turn on the pc and it says "Error reading disk press cntrl alt del to restart". Mind you there were no disks (cd or floppy in either drive). I'm not completely clueless however, I choose to believe that my hard drive has NOT been completely wiped clean. What to do? What to do? Oh, that is the question.
Ez msg me or txt me*
Thanx
AI Summary
37 Comments
One thing that I always keep handy for things like this is a Live Linux cd (Even for non-techs it's pretty easy. It boots a full graphical interface)... It'll let you get all the files you need off your computer that you need before doing the inevitable Windows Reinstall ; )
Mandrivia has a decent one:
http://www.mandriva.com/en/downloads/mirrors/mandrivaoneiso
oooooooooo, maybe =) thanx
is it fixed yet? Did u reinstall windows? Are your files missing? Update?
No it is definately not fixed...and I'm REALLY REALLY crazy busy especially as of the last two/three months so this couldn't have happened @ a worst time.
Still don't have my pc up and running =(
let me work on it... ill have it up and running inside of 2 hrs.
Wait...seriously???
yep.... gimmmie a call...
when he says up and running, he means "if you feed him, he'll be happy"
only taco bell tho
wutever, I'm am fully amenable to this... not like I see you offering anywayze.
I've temporarily got access to another computer in the household but, naturally it's not the same.
Okay, so I only use free stuff to and I don't want this problem!!
Lance Fischer is good at computer stuff, Livy. Do you know him?
No, be so kind as to point me in his general direction.
Hmm..I don't know if he's still working on his own business or not but I will ask him.
This sounds like a job for THE LAPKO
btw, you are not alone, livy
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1945808,00.asp
maybe an MBR infection. You can fix it..
Kill the MONKEYS
funny thing, my internet explorer shut down when I was reading that article
btw I am at work where I MUST use ie
who told you to BUY stuff? man that's never good, first thing i say is "put your money back in your pocket, or give me half, but don't buy software!"
do you have your important files saved somewhere? please say yes.
No and I'm really pissed if I lost new lyrics/poems =(
safe mode
chkdsk
diagnostics
remove virus
restart.
WHAMMY
new pc
i would actually do things in a similar order
safe mode
spybot
avg antivirus
backup files to cd or usb key drive
reinstall windows if necessary
True or false reinstalling windows will not bring back my files???
the files are either still or on your hard drive, safely. or, they have been corrupted by a hard drive failure or virus.
most likely, your files are fine. a computer expert can retrieve your files for you regardless of the current state of your computer.
*sighs* w/ relief
wow. that sucks. you need to take the computer to a specialist (or a computer nerd friend that actually REALLY knows what they're doing).
i'm afraid that it may be beyond just a quick fix at this point. reinstalling the operating system (windows) is probably the best way to go about fixing it.
after your computer is fixed up, the first thing you should do (after Service Pack 2 is installed), is to install Firefox and make it your default browser. www.getfirefox.com
AVG is also a really good free spyware/virus protection program, for after your computer is fixed.
it could be the hard drive itself too that has the problem, might need to be replaced
Hmmm well I have many nerd friends are any of you volunteering...I can promise Taco Bell.
PROTIP: Look, if you're looking for a smart nerd, you're not going to find him offering Taco Bell. Taco Bell does not offer brain food. It offers cancer, though...
haha this is totally a veiled jab at mikey joe
todd is SUCHA jerk to me when he is sick! lol
wow, like a chick?
lol, IAN's the one saying it applies to you!
I'm just saying Taco Bell is not healthy.