My Turn to use the tech

[ThankQ]

Yeah, I'm usually whining around here, "too much tech, not enough science"... well, now I need computer help.

Dell Dimension E310 PC, Windows XP

Was watching TV eps at a no-no site (Something "Iwatchbostonlegal.com" like that). Anyway, a pop up ad got me, one of the ones where it keeps telling you to use its virus scan, pop-up cascade happened, comp froze, alt ctrl del restart...

Now I get the initial black screen that gives me the options "F2 and F12" then it goes to black screen with flashy cursor in the top left, and it goes no futher than that.

So... what do I do next?

 

[Jadzia]

Now I get the initial black screen that gives me the options "F2 and F12" then it goes to black screen with flashy cursor in the top left, and it goes no futher than that.

When computers hang at that point, it is because they have no further instructions.

Most likely the File Allocation Table on your hard disk has been damaged. The rest of my post will be based on this assumption.

It may be
(i) caused by malware;
(ii) a symptom of ctrl-alt-del-ing your computer while the OS still had stuff to write to the hard disk;
(iii) a sign that your hard disk is not reliable;
(iv) unrelated to any of the above, and is just coincidental.

Damage may be limited to the windows folder, or it may have affected many of your files and folders, which is likely.

The first step is to run CHKDSK from your windows install cd, (or from a FreeDos CD). If my guess is correct, it will find many file fragments, which it will convert to files like file0001.chk).

Second step is to attempt to repair the installation, which is an option on the install cd. Depending how much damage is done, it may or may not be able to repair it. It may not even be able to find any evidence of windows to go about repairing it.

If it won't repair, you'll have to reinstall. If you choose to reinstall, you may want to do that in two stages:

Reinstall the OS once, so you can salvage files from the hard disk burning them to dvd or usb flash disk. Most of it will be useless debris (eg program files directory) that won't work with the new installation. You may want to scan through the chk files to see if any valuables are among them, but it can be tedious.

Once you're done, then reformat to get rid of the debris and reinstall properly.

As you can probably tell, I've suffered this myself. A new hard disk is a nice thing to buy at this time, to compensate for your suffering.

 

[Irishman]

Yeah, I'm usually whining around here, "too much tech, not enough science"... well, now I need computer help.

Dell Dimension E310 PC, Windows XP

Was watching TV eps at a no-no site (Something "Iwatchbostonlegal.com" like that). Anyway, a pop up ad got me, one of the ones where it keeps telling you to use its virus scan, pop-up cascade happened, comp froze, alt ctrl del restart...

Now I get the initial black screen that gives me the options "F2 and F12" then it goes to black screen with flashy cursor in the top left, and it goes no futher than that.

So... what do I do next?

Get a Mac!!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Follow Jadzia's advice. Something broke your Windows installation, so you'll have to repair/replace it. A parallel installation (just running the install process but storing it somewhere other than "c:\windows") would also work.

 

[Deks]

Given how all of this happened after clicking on the ad (which was not exactly a clever thing to do btw), there is a degree of probability it was caused by malware of sorts.
Other possibilities exist as well, but malware just sticks as the most likely thing given what transpired.

Anyway... if your Windows XP was kept up-to-date (meaning it's on SP3 and has the latest patches) then it's possible you could try with System Restore (provided you can reach Windows Safe Mode).
You could do that by powering up your computer and immediately keep pressing continuously the F8 key.
A list of options should appear, and if it does, choose Safe Mode.
If the computer successfully reaches it, an automatic option for choosing System Restore should appear.
If it does, then use it to restore Windows to an earlier state (before this problem happened).
If it's successful, then Windows could return to their prior state and operational.

If not, then Jadzia's solution for repairing the Windows installation would be prudent, and if that doesn't work, the a full reinstall will be required.

A tip for the future: Install either of the following antivirus programs (just 1):
MSE, Avira or Avast (all are free, fast, lightweight and on par with paid programs).
Another program of use is Malwarebytes (excellent for removal of pests the AV might not be able to remove - no program is perfect).

Finally... if you want a configuration which won't erase all of your data/stored files by doing a clean install, repartition your HDD so you have C and D partitions.
C would be used for OS and programs, while the D for storage.

That way if you have something fatal happening to you OS, you can do a clean install without losing your data.

 

[scotthm]

...Dell Dimension E310 PC, Windows XP...

So... what do I do next?

Get a new PC and stay off the internet?

The problem with getting your current PC back up and running using the methods listed above is that you're likely to run into the same problem again unless you change your Internet habits.

Having software that will allow you to create a system image and a recovery CD would be helpful if you wish to continue visiting dubious web sites.

---------------

 

[Deks]

That's one of the reasons I suggested the poster uses a quality free AV like MSE, Avira or Avast.

Also... using the computer as a non-administrator would be better in terms of protection if you don't want to go the AV route.
That way, applications won't have administrative access and there's less chance of an infection.
It's not fool-proof of course, but people managed to steer clear of viruses like that for a while.

Though if you need administrative privileges like I do, you can still be without an AV and not pick up a virus, though MSE has a small footprint and integrates into Windows seamlessly.

 

[Jadzia]

Not having administrative access can be such a pain though.

Even if you've not needed administrative access for weeks, you can guarantee that once you've set yourself up with a regular account, you'll be needing it within the hour

You have to weigh up the relative merits of having your computer being crippled by malware, vs crippling (inconveniencing) yourself by using a regular account.

 

[Deks]

Crippling a computer with malware under administrative privileges has never really happened to me.
The worst case scenario was of a malware that crept into the system, but I was able to get it out before it did anything.

Worst case scenarios though happened mostly to others.
I never has issues, or rarely stumbled upon a rare irritation... then again, most users are general computer users and don't really dig too deep inside the system.