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My Computer Has a Virus---Turns off by itself! (Can someone help)
Personal ^ | 1-22-05 | Me

Posted on 01/22/2005 3:45:24 PM PST by zoobee

Can anyone help me? I have a computer here (My brothers actually) that constantly turns on and off by itself. Sometimes it doesn't even let you boot up until the 4th or 5th self-rebooting....it tries and then starts over and over again.

I remember not too long ago a virus did this and was hoping someone in here could tell me what virus did that....and how I can fix it? It won't let you get online either.....

No...he did not have a firewall and let Norton expire......I yelled at him already.... :)


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: dontpushtheoffbutton; help; iamsonotloggedin; microsoft; spyware; virus; windows
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To: iconoclast
THanks.....I am going to sign off of here --after printing out all your suggestions --and hook up the broken xp and see if I can use some of your suggestions to try to fix it. I'll be back on later with updates. I appreciate everyones help! BBL!
61 posted on 01/22/2005 4:09:02 PM PST by zoobee (http://www.mycathatesyou.com)
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To: zoobee

You can go to a command prompt and type in 'shutdown help' and it should give you a list of switches for that command.


62 posted on 01/22/2005 4:10:07 PM PST by Middle-O-Road (In favor of blowing all terrorists to China, via other hotter places where they'll linger a while.)
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To: zoobee

You might want to get into the BIOS to see PC Health , will tell the temp of the processor...
The AMD Athlon processors run hot, and can also be a cause of the rebooting problems....

Just be methodical and see if you can eliminate the various Hardware problems before you go to the more major efforts regarding software and malware........

Not sure how you elimanate the power supply problems other than perhaps disconnecting some components, how much is in the machine and can you tell the rating of the powersupply? ..

Would need to open the box and look at the label on the side of the power supply ( hmm...if it is failing that won't help you much. ) Is this a Brand name box, HP, Dell, ?


63 posted on 01/22/2005 4:16:21 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (A Proud member of Free Republic ~~The New Face of the Fourth Estate since 1996.)
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To: zoobee

Zoobie if you're running Windows XP you can enable a built in Firewall that already comes with XP, If you can boot up in normal mode I'd strongly suggest you go to SYMANTEC.COM ( That's Norton Anti Virus' web page ) and you can download the program I use Norton Internet Security,

You can run it for free for 15 day's and after that you might consider buying it,

I further suggest you run the Anti Virus Program in "SAFE MODE" on your Comp ,

If you need any further help feel free to Mail me



64 posted on 01/22/2005 4:40:38 PM PST by Robert Warren Linville (So proud of Free Republic that I use my real name)
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To: zoobee

I echo what others are saying about the power supply. They ain't too pricey, either.


65 posted on 01/22/2005 4:47:22 PM PST by Sloth (Al Franken is a racist.)
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To: All

Oh no....see # 61 above....he's NOT LOGGED ON ANYMORE! OH, THE DESTRUCTION, MAYHEM, AND SUFFERING THAT WILL OCCUR NOW......


66 posted on 01/22/2005 5:01:08 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: WestCoastGal

Bird Abuse! PING(WEN)


67 posted on 01/22/2005 5:03:42 PM PST by ChefKeith (Apply here to be added to the NASCAR Ping List, Daytona is comming soon...)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; All
I'm back.....

WEll....when i started her up I noticed TONS of processes running...so I quickly shut down all the ones that I thot were junk....and I was able to stay on for awhile.....about an hour! I installed system mechanic, AOL 9.0 security and checked out as much as I could. I found a program in the startup folder called: REBOOT.EXE.

I laughed at that...and deleted it for good. After several reboots it was still gone....HOWEVER.....after awhile....in fact whenever I tried to clean out the registry...it died and rebooted. I figured there might be somehting in there that didn't want to be touched and it shut me down? Just guessing. So every time it rebooted, I shut down as many processes as possible since it was going crazy! It would jump the CPU usage from 3% to 88% back and forth jumping all over the place ....is that normal?? Anyway, after a couple more instant reboots I was not able to get in at all....and while unplugging stuff I noticed that a lot of HOT air is coming out of it. The fan is running, but its HOT. I never noticed how hot MY computer gets...but since you mentioned this, I will bet it's part or ALL? of the problem.
HOw do I fix that? JUSt save what I can and tell him to buy a new computer? They just want their documents and pics.....and they have the CDWrite thank God.
Guess it's just time for a new computer?

68 posted on 01/22/2005 7:06:45 PM PST by zoobee (http://www.mycathatesyou.com)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; All
Also....it would not let me online for anything. It says it made the connection but died out at the next step. I can't figure that one out. I searched for the CONNECTIONS as someone suggested and my dial up was NOT listed.....

ANother thing....only 256 RAM. ..could also be part of the problem?

69 posted on 01/22/2005 7:10:09 PM PST by zoobee (http://www.mycathatesyou.com)
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To: anniegetyourgun
Psssssst.......

I'm a SHE.....

70 posted on 01/22/2005 7:12:28 PM PST by zoobee (http://www.mycathatesyou.com)
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To: zoobee
Go here Or take the tower to Best Buy for the patch.
71 posted on 01/22/2005 7:21:18 PM PST by Gazoo
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To: Gazoo

Thanks...it sure does sound like that is the problem.


72 posted on 01/22/2005 7:32:29 PM PST by zoobee (http://www.mycathatesyou.com)
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To: zoobee
McAfee Stinger (http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/) may be of use; it's small enough to be run from a floppy.
73 posted on 01/22/2005 7:37:48 PM PST by holymoly (About:Blank)
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To: zoobee

My son's computer was doing the same thing. He took the case off and he had so much dust inside. Cleaned it all out and it works fine now.


74 posted on 01/22/2005 7:38:57 PM PST by Vicki (Truth and Reality)
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To: zoobee

Do you have Roadrunner or other cable modem access? I ran across this problem being caused by Motorolla cable modems without Windows XP compatible drivers. Time Warner/Roadrunner were actually installing these bad drivers and blamed the problem on the computer. Sometimes the computer would go to the blue screen of death, but more often than not it would spontaneously reboot. There was nothing in the system log that indicated any problem. Virus checks showed nothing.

If you're using a Motorolla cable modem, go to the Motorolla website and download the latest driver for the cable modem.


75 posted on 01/22/2005 7:42:47 PM PST by DaGman
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To: Middle-O-Road
".. Go to Start> Run and type "shutdown -r" "

Heh, you know that's the command for shut down and restart? The poster might have been sarcastic. The -a switch aborts a shutdown.

This is likely a power supply issue. The restarting is the clue. The BIOS will be in the Run state and will restart the system if set do so, which is the default power-loss setting in most systems.

The power supply can be tested by booting into BIOS and waiting to see if the computer shuts down.

76 posted on 01/22/2005 8:17:54 PM PST by Justa (Politically Correct is morally wrong.)
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To: zoobee

That "virus" has a name....and its name is SATAN! The devil has taken command of your heathen computer and is using it for his evil purposes! Douse it with holy water and call a priest. Then buy a new one since the holy water will ruin it.


77 posted on 01/22/2005 8:50:15 PM PST by Free and Armed
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To: zoobee

Are you logged on?


78 posted on 01/22/2005 8:51:35 PM PST by freedumb2003 (Don't bring a moped to a car fight)
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To: zoobee

It sounds to me like a bad power supply. Been there, done that. One morning I pushed the button and nothing happened.


79 posted on 01/22/2005 8:54:39 PM PST by Petronski (Alles klar, Herr Kommissar?)
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To: zoobee
If you are on Windows make sure it's fully updated via Winblows update. Also make sure your antivirus is updated.

It's also possible, like another poster said, that you could have a power supply going bad. This can also happen on some systems when the cooling fan stops working.
80 posted on 01/22/2005 9:01:34 PM PST by KoRn
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