Re: have i picked up a virus?
- From: Malke <notreally@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 04:52:25 -0800
BrentC wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> I am actually asking this on behalf of of technologically challenged
> in-laws who have asked me to see whats wrong with their computer.
>
> It's running WinXP and i think it has picked up a virus. Sometimes it
> will take about 10 goes to get windows to boot. While running the bios
> you often get a messages saying that it can't find the boot disk etc.
> When we finally got in to WinXP the computer name had changed, and had
> a strange suffix attached to the end of it. Also the PC itself just
> seems to be running so much slower than normal (when we can actually
> get WINXP to run). And the ADSL connection no longer works.
>
> We have virus checked it using NOrtons latest virus definitions but no
> joy at this stage. Please help.
>
Ah, family tech support. One of our favorites. :-o It actually doesn't
sound like software. The box is failing before Windows is ever booted.
If this is a really old machine - lots of people are still using
ancient (in computer-years) boxen running Win98 - they should probably
just buy a new computer instead of trying to repair it. The not being
able to boot except after multiple tries is a classic symptom of a
failing power supply. However, the rest of your symptoms may indicate
far more widespread failure - like the hard drive, RAM, or motherboard
itself. Here are some general hardware troubleshooting steps:
1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.
2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an hour or two - unless errors are
seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.
3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Download
the file and make a bootable floppy or cd with it. Boot with the media
and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical errors, replace it.
4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power supply can be faulty.
5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.
Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA).
Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
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