Posted on 10/23/2012 7:47:47 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe
Why does everyone think they got a virus when their computer starts acting up, especially when It is just one program like Excel?
It is most likely a corrupted Excel, or a buggy worksheet macro, or just a combination of settings you didn’t expect.
I don’t think it’s a virus at all. What happens when you right-click the “mini-icon”?
I run Apples Numbers, which cost about $10 and works with Excel files. You seem to lead a sheltered life.
I can never find a Windows user. They are always on the phone with Indian tech support for Norton Anti-Virus.
Norman Malware Remover didn't, and AVG usually gets these, so I figured while it may be a virus, I'd likely have got it with a scan. Still, you never know.
As for Apples, we often have these computers tied into a net where I work, even though this particular one is personal. The result of having an Apple (whose owner thought they were immune to viruses) tie into a windows based net is often mayhem, and that's a no-no on an oil rig. Apple might run one of the later versions of the software I run, but those are five times the cost of the version I purchased years ago, do little more that I haven't figured out how to do myself, and come with a quarterly tab for an electronic key close to the price I paid for the software when I bought it (annually), 'cause now there's a boom on.
That dog won't hunt, and I've become not only a fair laptop mechanic, but pretty good at scrounging the right part...
If my old Win98SE machine hadn't died in a puddle from a leaking window seal I might be using it yet. (8^D)
(I still have working Win 3.11 and Win95 machines...kept mainly as a curiosity for when the kids complain about these booting up slowly.)
I’ve used the sytem you discribed two or three times.
It’s almost a perfect fix. Pick a restore point as far back as you can, and whem everything is running again install virus protection pronto
True. Tech support for the mac amounts to “buy a new computer”.
Does this only ever happen with Excel? It kind of sounds like you may have a mechanical problem like a stuck key or mouse button or similar. If you eat and drink around your laptop this can happen, and laptop keyboards are naturally more fragile, too. I really doubt that this is malware, though it’s worth running some of the tools folks have suggested.
You might try reinstalling Excel.
Right. Every 10 or 12 years.
Reinstalling Excel was on the list, but I figured I'd check here first. The keyboard is pretty new (about a month old), and I checked for stuck keys (none).
I make it a habit of keeping food and drink at least an arm's length from the computer (laptop) preferably on an unconnected surface, an old habit from the days of drafting geological well logs on velum.
Thanks for proving my point. You’ve never actually used spreadsheets for data management.
Macroviruses used to be the big thing, and Excel was particularly susceptible.
The laptop went into 'isolation' when the glitch was discovered, just because the 9 other computers around here are enough of a headache without 'sharing' problems.
I'm glad the problem appears to have been as you said, just a glitch, but under the circumstances, to not take precautions and assume the worst would be inviting disaster.
No, I use spreadsheets for data management all the time. What do you use them for?
Seriously, you should really take some community college courses on some of the things that have happened in computing in the last five years. It would help you in your career.
Step 1 - support.microsoft.com/fixit/
Step 2 - windows.microsoft.com/mse
Step 3 - update.microsoft.com
“Seriously, you should really take some community college courses on some of the things that have happened in computing in the last five years. It would help you in your career.”
I’ve never considered community college. Is that where you got your training?
How’s that power mac workin’ out for you?
Do they really teach people in community college to use ipads for database management these days? I’m curious where you learned that.
$$$$ You are using a non-supported operating system $$$$
ROTFLOL!!! You just set off my idiot alert.
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