Question:
Laptop problems after virus attack HELP!?
Dee R.
2012-09-22 20:21:55 UTC
Ok so a few months back I aquired a virus on my laptop HP Pavillion dv2000. First thing I noticed was that I would get re directed to ther websites. Then in my computer the partition was lost, cd/dvd rom does not show up on there either when I insert a cd I hear it spinning but nothing pops up. Also to type all U,I,O,P,J,K,L,M,0. I have to press fn if not i get / that for 0, back for u,nothing for i,* p,. I have scanned with multiple antiviruses by installing one scanning then uninstalling it when it finds nothing.Then looking for another installing scanning and still finds nothis wrong with my laptop. I tried the sfc/scannow and only scans to 96% then it freezes. If I leave my laptop alone for a minute it freezes. When I try to shut down it manages to just restart it self. I have to put it in hibernate for it to turn off. At times after a few minutes a blue screen pops up does a scan then it shuts off. The blue screen states error message DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE. Also microsoft office does not work. Folders in my start menue are empty. What shall I do to fix it? I have tried several things with no avail I am computer savy and if anyone can help me step by step that would be great. Thanx in advance.
Five answers:
Tony RB
2012-09-22 20:51:49 UTC
You don't say how old your laptop is, but old computers eventually fail.



Also, over a long time dust accumulates inside the laptop. This dust forms a blanket that traps heat on the chips and the chips begin erratic operations. When the chips work wrong the computer might corrupt a lot of data on the hard drive.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_cooling#Generators_of_unwanted_heat

Look at the picture on the right of the dust buildup.



Remove the bottom of your laptop and see if there is a dust buildup. You can remove the dust with canned air, do this outside as a big cloud of dust could appear. Don't use a vacuum cleaner because static electricity is created when air moves through the hose and it could cause damage to the chips.



Once cleaned, try the computer again. This won't correct data corrupted on the hard drive. You just want to make sure the keys work, etc.



=====



You can try another hard drive in the computer. Remove the current hard drive, install a replacement hard drive, and then install the operating system on the hard drive. If the installation goes well, you have a working computer. If it doesn't, you might have to get a new computer.



You don't have to install Windows. You can install Ubuntu or other version of Linux from a CD, the goal is to see if your computer works predictably.



Otherwise, plan on getting another laptop. And get an adapter called a USB-to-harddrive adapter, that way you can use the old drive and access its data from another computer. These usually cost 40 dollars or less.



About that virus, there are several ways to fix your problem.



1. Get a new computer and start over fresh. All your data that has not been corrupted is still on the other computer's harddrive. This is the fastest way.



2. Replace the harddrive in your computer with a new one, install the factory software, and start over. All your data that has not been corrupted is still on the old harddrive. This is the second fastest way.



3. Use software to fully erase the harddrive in your computer, install the factory software, and start over. All your data is gone. This is the third fastest way because fully erasing that harddrive could take several hours.



All of these suggestions are faster than picking away at a failing system. A USB-to-harddrive adapter allows you to access the data on the old drive without getting a virus infection as long as you don't copy any programs and try to install them or run them.



What about paid software like Microsoft Office ? Contact Microsoft about transferring the license from the old computer (or old harddrive) to the new computer (or harddrive).
anonymous
2016-09-21 05:48:47 UTC
You can use a telephone quantity which you'll be able to get from any laptop keep IE Comet.PC World and so on. Tell them your trouble and make of Laptop. Ask them for an internet fix quantity.They will deliver you a telephone quantity in your make and mannequin. You talk to truly persons they usually train you what to do. It expenditures £nine.ninety nine and in the event that they can not remedy your trouble then you'll be refunded right away. Used this a few instances and it is very handy.Saves messing going into procedures that you can recognise not anything approximately to your laptop,possibly making concerns paintings.Hope this is helping X
anonymous
2012-09-23 03:26:42 UTC
I have to admit, I've never before heard of your specific set of symptoms, so I'm not sure what to think. I'll go on the assumption that it IS an infection of some kind.



Try this:



Firstly, boot your computer to the Safe Mode menu screen. You do this by repeatedly pressing F8 as soon as you boot up. Once there, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode with Networking. Continue to boot from there, by pressing Enter. You will now see some drivers being loaded. There will be a pause at some point. This usually lasts for no more than 30 seconds.



If that’s successful, open your browser, copy and paste this link into the address bar and press Enter. It's a direct download for RKill. Save it to your desktop, then run it. When it's running, your desktop icons will vanish for a few seconds. When the notepad report is displayed, just close it. You may now delete RKill if you wish:



http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/grinler/rkill.exe



RKill SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THE INFECTION FROM RUNNING, BUT IT WON'T HAVE REMOVED IT.



Now open your browser and download TDSSKiller.exe from Kaspersky Lab. It's tiny, and takes just a minute to run. It hunts down and kills a specific family of rootkits.



http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208280684



Now open your browser and copy and paste this link into the address bar, and press Enter. It's a direct download for the free version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (MBAM). Install it, get updates and run a full scan (still in Safe Mode):



http://www.myantispyware.com/mbam



Now open your browser and copy and paste this link into the address bar, and press Enter. It's a direct download for unhide.exe. Save it to your desktop, then run it. It should restore your icons and missing files. You may now delete Unhide.exe if you wish



http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/grinler/unhide.exe



After this, try rebooting normally. If that's successful, I recommend you run another full scan with MBAM. It will detect malware that wasn't running in Safe Mode.



You should now delete TDSSKiller.exe, as updated versions are often made available. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware can be easily uninstalled, should you wish to do so, but it may prove to be beneficial in the future.



Hope this helps.
Aizaz
2012-09-22 20:26:30 UTC
Try doing a system restore. not sure why you waited a few months, so let's hope your computer has a restore point from before you got a virus.



If you have Windows 7, search for System Restore and select a restore point from before you got the virus.



If you have an earlier version of windows, try finding System Restore or System Recovery in the control panel.



Make sure to backup all your documents and pictures.
anonymous
2012-09-22 20:24:26 UTC
The hard drive is possibly going out.



Reinstall your OS. After a nice soothing format.



Fill the drive with zeros. Then install the OS.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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