My computer is jacked

Thanks for iPhones. Without it I would be completely helpless right now.

My computer randomly bonked today. I can get it in safe mode. Ran norton 360. Couldn't fix it.

I tried googling but it is really hard to find what i need on this phone. Is there another tool that I can run that will potentially find the issue?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

The Ultimate Boot CD might help.

What's jacked mean? What happens when you try it in normal mode?

Back up important files while in safe mode. Repartition, reformat, and reinstall Windows from a completely fresh installation (preferably from an actual Windows disk and not a restore disk or manufacturer's proprietary install disk). I do this about once a year with any Microsoft computer.

Yuri_Rage said:

Back up important files while in safe mode. Repartition, reformat, and reinstall Windows from a completely fresh installation (preferably from an actual Windows disk and not a restore disk or manufacturer's proprietary install disk). I do this about once a year with any Microsoft computer.

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Yep. I use SugarSync to backup important files and keep folders sync'd between various PCs. It's pretty cool as all my files are in the cloud as well and accessible from anywhere and it even has an iPhone app.

They give you 5 gig for free and if you sign up with the link below, you will get 500 MB more (and so will I, so thanks in advance )

https://www.sugarsync.com/referral?rf=faobtxxayi5x

It's saved my bacon several times.

EdWort said:

The Ultimate Boot CD might help.

What's jacked mean? What happens when you try it in normal mode?

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Every single application takes about five minutes to load and will say "not responding" and the computer will freeze for thirty to sixty seconds at a time. It is not a functioning computer.

As far as i know, we do not have any system discs. Would it be worth my effort to try a different restore point?

Try the earliest restore point if you can.

You may have a virus at which I recommend FDISK MBR, Format, then complete OS reinstall.

Windows needs to be toasted and reinstalled every 6-9 months anyway to keep things running fresh IMHO. I use imaging software to take a snapshot of a fresh install, updated, with Office updated and my every day use apps. I also keep all my data on a different partition or USB drive (plus backed up to SugarSync and other PCs). This way, I can restore a fresh install in about 10 minutes instead of half a day waiting for a gig of updates to download from MS.

the only word I that comes to mind is UBUNTU
http://www.ubuntu.com/

EdWort said:

Try the earliest restore point if you can.

You may have a virus at which I recommend FDISK MBR, Format, then complete OS reinstall.

Windows needs to be toasted and reinstalled every 6-9 months anyway to keep things running fresh IMHO. I use imaging software to take a snapshot of a fresh install, updated, with Office updated and my every day use apps. I also keep all my data on a different partition or USB drive (plus backed up to SugarSync and other PCs). This way, I can restore a fresh install in about 10 minutes instead of half a day waiting for a gig of updates to download from MS.

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What is fdisk? Is that something that may determine the issue?

Also my friends and family would like to thank you for the recipes! We have literally drank gallons upon gallons of your delicious beer and wine.

certaut said:

the only word I that comes to mind is UBUNTU
http://www.ubuntu.com/

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While you and I may love Linux, it's not for everyone. The average Windows user can easily migrate to a user friendly Linux distro and surf the net, but I've found that the average Windows user also gets easily frustrated by the lack of compatibility for the types of files and applications they are used to using. I know all about Open Office, Gimp, Inkscape, Samba, etc, etc, but it takes a lot of tinkering to make a Linux computer work like a Windows user expects. IMHO, this option is more troublesome than a fresh Windows install (unless the OP is quite adventurous and more than a little techno-savvy).

Yuri_Rage said:

While you and I may love Linux, it's not for everyone. The average Windows user can easily migrate to a user friendly Linux distro and surf the net, but I've found that the average Windows user also gets easily frustrated by the lack of compatibility for the types of files and applications they are used to using. I know all about Open Office, Gimp, Inkscape, Samba, etc, etc, but it takes a lot of tinkering to make a Linux computer work like a Windows user expects. IMHO, this option is more troublesome than a fresh Windows install (unless the OP is quite adventurous and more than a little techno-savvy).

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I tried yellow dog on my ps3. I couldn't figure out the most basic commands. And still have no idea what the root is. Lol

I gave up because I couldn't get it to just work (and that was my spare). I can't imagine that frustration on our primary machine. Although this current issue is more than troublesome.

I believe that most people can get good use out of a re-install every once in a while. I never do it myself, because I don't have any problems (Called smart surfing...)

It's much more work to try and clean most spyware stuff these days than to make a back up and re-install. If you do this, try a boot CD of your favorite flavor, or place Hard Disk in another computer and copy files. THEN re-install. I always delete partitions and recreate while I'm doing it, and a fresh full format.

Before you do all of this though, try and run Magic Jellybean, to get the Windows Reg Codes. This is in case you forget about them and realize later that you need them...

Your computer may have a restore partition, which would be easiest if you don't have an install CD. But this method also usually installs all of the Branded Crap Software that you probably don't want. A plain Windows install is best.

And you "may" want to look up a good imaging software when you are all back and running. To make this super easy next time.

Homercidal said:

Your computer may have a restore partition, which would be easiest if you don't have an install CD. But this method also usually installs all of the Branded Crap Software that you probably don't want. A plain Windows install is best.

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My wife's brand new multi-core laptop with several GB of RAM was almost completely useless with Dell's Vista installation (Vista + bloatware = painfully SLOW). I gave up on Dell and paid for a copy of Windows 7. After a fresh install, the laptop works exactly as it should.

New computer...sounds like maybe the disk is bad (the hard drive). In my experience if they are going to crap out, they do so early in their life. Problems appear to be inconsistent...if it is new and you don't frequent "shady" sites, then you may want to start there.

If you have some kind of rootkit installed or infecting your computer it can be difficult if not impossible to install something that will show what might be infecting your computer. Superantispywaresweeper has worked well for me (we have a nasty trojan that was infecting a computer in our office this year). You can run it for free, but you can't run a boot scan without buying it.

Either way, no fun. But, beer usually helps

No, it was 100% Dell's crappy bloatware loaded Vista install. The issue was common to that make/model (Inspiron 1721).

Several attempts at reinstalling the OEM Vista system resulted in the same slow/buggy behavior (with no additional software added and no "shady" internet surfing). A Linux install was lightning fast and showed no signs of disk failure. The Windows 7 install was difficult (SATA/RAID drivers), but once I got it sorted out, the computer worked great and satisfied the wife's desire for a familiar platform (I ALMOST had her convinced to use Linux permanently...almost...).

Pretty much any computer purchased off the shelf is loaded with bloatware. User habits tend to compound problems rather quickly if steps aren't taken.

Time for a Mac!

I went to Mac last summer and haven't looked back.

Your best bet is to take it to a professional who can troubleshoot the issue. Based on your description, the issue could be almost anything and most of the advice giving to you on this forum isn't very good. And whatever you do, don't take it to the Geek squad. They generally don't have a clue.

etan212 said:

Your best bet is to take it to a professional who can troubleshoot the issue. Based on your description, the issue could be almost anything and most of the advice giving to you on this forum isn't very good. And whatever you do, don't take it to the Geek squad. They generally don't have a clue.

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+1 Geeks quad will do no better than the most basic young kid from school and charge you an arm and a leg.

And if you have Vista, dump it.

Not sure how to go about getting it, but try and get a lead on a reputable technician in the area, even if it's high school kid. Reloading is not hard for someone with basic computer skills, but you have to know how to perform a backup of your data, and there may be problems that prevent the average user from having an easy time.

At any rate, it could take several hours to perform a backup/restore, so it might cost a few coins.

BTW I am a MCDST <Microsoft certified desktop support technician... You are following my directions of your own free will. I am not responsible for anything that gets lost, stolen or broken, please remember that. I have never had any issue in the past.

If you can get into the machine and it is running slower than dirt it sounds like a virus or other malicious program. Restoring to an earlier point will probably do nothing as most of the time it is these files that are corrupted/comprised 1st.

STEP 1: I would get CCleaner downloaded and ran, it is free (or you can buy the upgrade) I use the free version all the time. Direct link: http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner .Click the green arrow located in the upper right side of the page.

It is very straight forward to use. keep clicking the run cleaner button until "0 bytes removed" is displayed. Then run the registry cleaner. I would not save when it asks you to because it will most likely be garbage anyways. Then click on the fix all issues/yes option. repeat until no issues are found.

Step 2: Download, install, update and run MBAM also free, found here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php then rerun ccleaner.

Step 3: Repeat step 2 with Spybot S&D free found here:http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html then rerun ccleaner.

Step 4: Defragment your hard drive. Most of the time you can right click on it and the option will be there.
.
FYI "The Geek Squad" runs spybot and declares it fixed for the $50 you pay them. They only guarantee the system for 48 hours so when it comes back, and it will because they are not computer techs., you will need to bring it back and pay again...

What I need to assist beyond the suggestions above, from you, is a bit more info.

-What operating system (other than windows) are you running? xp home/ xp pro/ vista/ 7 ect.
-How long has this been happening?
-Is there something you can think of that was done (clicked on a pop up, went to a file share site?)
-what web browser do you use? IE/Firefox/Chrome/other?

Hope this helps!

Yuri_Rage said:

My wife's brand new multi-core laptop with several GB of RAM was almost completely useless with Dell's Vista installation (Vista + bloatware = painfully SLOW). I gave up on Dell and paid for a copy of Windows 7. After a fresh install, the laptop works exactly as it should.

Click to expand...

Did the same for my daughter and wife. Picked up 3 user version of Home Premium for cheap at Amazon.com.

I reinstalled Vista for a neighbor, and it took almost all day with about 1.5 gig of updates being downloaded. XP is almost as bad, even with the latest service pack slip streamed into the install CD.

Win7 installs much faster, but still is getting longer to do because of updates to download.

Zamail knows what he is talking about. Much better advise than using fdisk and reinstalling windows.

etan212 said:

Zamail knows what he is talking about. Much better advise than using fdisk and reinstalling windows.

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LOL I would suggest using DBAN, then fdisk and reinstall as a last resort. I just think that there are a few things to try out that cost nothing but time 1st. Trust me, I have lost a few OS installs but very few.

I try to help when I can.

Here are a few "Pro Tips" :

- Internet Explorer is a virus disguised as a web browser. Use Firefox with a few addins like flash block and adblock plus. IE allows for direct virus injection with no interaction required by the end user. The ONLY time I use IE is to get updates from microsoft.

- Install the suggested software in my other post BEFORE you have any issues! and use it once every few weeks.

- Use spybot's tea timer. This gives you a notification window when something wants to change your registry. It gives you the chance to save your data by not allowing the change.

- Never, EVER click on a pop up window anywhere. They are 1 giant button (yes including the red [x] in the upper right corner.) Try using ALT+F4 instead of clicking. (That will close the closest window to you. OR if it is one of those irritating windows on a page that wants you to do something that blocks your view as you scroll, try refreshing the page, I have had great success with these tactics.

- When you get a pop up that reads "click here to update java or adobe product" do not click on it, instead go to the site yourself and see if you need the latest version. If I was going to trick you into clicking on a window BET I would make it look like one of these...

- defrag your machine

- back up your data!!!!

- The window key (located between the Ctrl and the ALT buttons) also has nifty functions most people do not know of. My personal favorites or Windows + M, that will minimize all open windows to the task bar and Windows + L will instantly lock the computer. These are great when your boss or someone else walks into your work area and you do not want them to know what it is you were or were not doing...

BeerWars said:

Every single application takes about five minutes to load and will say "not responding" and the computer will freeze for thirty to sixty seconds at a time. It is not a functioning computer.

As far as i know, we do not have any system discs. Would it be worth my effort to try a different restore point?

Click to expand...

What you describe is a malware infection. It may or may not be a 'virus' so much as some application got installed on the machine and is probably turned it into a spam mail server.

I would leave it unplugged from the internet, as your internet provider my start blocking your access because the activity from the machine will be highly suspicous to them.

this actually happened to me...some (porn) site hit me with something, and while I didn't notice a slowdown on the PC, my ISP shut me off until I cleansed the system.

have you tried Spybot while in Safe Mode?

First off, which version of Windows do you have? Second, run malwarebytes, and the portable verison of SuperAntiSpyware. If it really comes down to it you may need to use combofix, but it is aggressive and you can mess up your machine if you use it wrong. But it will fix issues and can even remove rootkits.

I got it working again. Took a few days but it is running fine now.

Thanks for the suggestions especially when it came to scanning software!

What a pain. There were some disc errors - it took 48 hours to fix all the errors on the drive, some registry errors, and some tracking cookies. Back to normal now. It was the first computer trouble I have had in 15+ years - and strange how it was working perfectly fine one minute and was completely useless the next.

Still not sure of the exact cause - but it works now...

Glad it happened because I realized how cavalier I was with stuff like digital photos of my son (it was the only thing that I felt I had to recover - and spent most of my effort early on retrieving them). They are now backed up on USB, removable harddrive and online.

Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!