Posted on 05/30/2011 9:08:08 AM PDT by Outlaw Woman
Harddrive Failure Start up menu is empty (No outlook express, no list of program files) but still has My Computer on it.
OS XP Home Pentium R D 2 80GHz
If any one has links to a good system scan-diagnostic program I would appreciate it if you could post. I don't trust searching for one online right now.
Sounds like you got a virus.
Shut down and reboot. While rebooting hit the F8 key. Start Windows in "Safe mode with networking"
Down load and install Malwarebytes" and run it.
This works best if you sign into an account other than the one you use. If you have only one account on the PC then it's harder. You will probably have to run it from a flash drive.
Unplug it and wait till the light goes out in back try again happened to me once that worked
this has worked for me several times; take out hard drive, place in zip lock and throw in the freezer for 20 minutes, place back in computer and boot it up. If this works you won’t much time so get every thing off you can.
Go work in the garden, drink some tea on the porch swing with neighbors ...grieve, prepare for burial, it is Memorial Day.
Reboot. Then Boot up in “Safe Mode” by hitting F8 during start up. Select “Safe Mode with Networking” and see if your stuff is there. Try a restore in Safe mode.
If your system is up, and it sounds like it is, it could be something else. You say everything is missing. Maybe it has been hidden. I've seen malware do this.
You can try going to the control panel, folder options, click the View tab, make sure the dot is checked for Show Hidden Files.
This may reveal something. Let me know what happens and we can go to the next step.
Just curious. What do your neighbors on your swing think of you sitting there with that laptop on your lap?
8^O
Laptop? Take out battery, hold down power key for one minute, replace battery. Sometimes that works.
I agree also with F8/Safe Mode with Networking/Malwarebytes also.
>> System shuts down about every 10 minutes
Open up the case and make sure all the fans are working. Your CPU fan or case fan may have gone south and the computer shutting down from overheating.
Sounds exactly like a virus going around...
After running Malwarebytes, you may still not see your files, as this virus may hide them. Right click on “My Computer”, select “Properties” and uncheck the “Hidden” box.
You may need to “find a friend”, nearby who has a working PC, preferably with the same OS as you have. Using their PC, download some utilities (anti-virus and diagnostic), and create a clean boot disk (CD or DVD) or a boot USB drive. Then using that boot cd or boot drive, reboot your computer and run the utilities. This is one reason why I have multiple computers - all running the same OS.
Does any visible illumination appear on the screen?
Just got back online
Error Message
Hard Drive Failure:
“The system has detected a problem with one or more installed IDE/SATA hard disks. It is recommended that you restart the system” (which has been done numersous times)
I’ve done a ‘search’ and it lists documents, and pictures so they look to be there (haven’t opened any documents but did see pics)
Yea sounds like a virus. To be sure, go to the hardrive MFG website and download their disk diagnostic program. If it passes the check, you’ll need malwarebyte, and or superantispyware. You should also download hitmanpro 3.5. What antivirus program are you using. Depending on your skill level, it may be easier to delete the partition and reinstall.
You will need to start in Safe Mode with Networking. Clean it up with Combofix and Malwarebytes.
Virus scan was performed this morning around 4:00 Nothing detected.
Now it’s telling me that RAM is critically low
Thats a good point. I had a machine that did that until I opened it up and blew out several years accumulation of dust from around the fan.
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