My friend's computer has a restarting problem. I tried to figure it out. The only thing I can think of, is that she has a virus. I need your opinion and how to resolve this issue. Please help. Thanks.
2006-06-25 19:27:57 · 25 answers · asked by Homer 4 in Computers & Internet ➔ Security
Could be a virus or could be hard drive failure.The thing to do here is process of elimination.
Boot up in safe mode and then run your antivirus program.Go to www.housecall.trendmicro.com and run their free online antivirus scan it is excellent, if the computer restarts during the scan(it should not in safe mode) then you would want to check the HD first.
Go to gateway.com and download the gwscan program its free. You should do this from a different computer.Make a bootable disc with the gwscan it will tell you how. Go to your friends computer and insert the bootable gwscan disc into the cd and reboot.(check the boot order in the cmos table to make sure it boots to cd first)once rebooted the program will come up and you can check the smart drive and the rest of the hard drive,if it fails you know you need to replace the hard drive and reload all operating systems and programs.
Sounds like a boot virus in the windows registry but could be the HD so I offered solutions that will either find and delete the virus or allow you to scan the HD for failure.Good Luck.
P.S. you don't need to spend money on ghost software.And the FBI does not use ghost software to clean a hard drive.You can use the zero out (full) on the gwscan I told you to download and make bootable for free. You write to zero 3x's and it will delete all information totaly,no trace of any kind. It simply writes to zero every hit on the magnetic points in the hard drive which is how the drive actually records and stores information,its more complicated process but thats the simple version .The point is zero out 3x's zero's out all three layers on the drive and yes that would return the drive to blank condition,when you would have to reload all software including ops systems again. Try the antivirus in safe mode first ,and if that does'nt do it scan the hard drive for failure second,if it fails no need to zero out and reload because the drive is no good and will only fail again.
2006-06-25 19:47:38 · answer #1 · answered by Mad_Dawg 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is not necessarily a virus. It could easily be a heat related problem. Make sure the CPU fan is working. Take some canned air, remove the case and blow out any dust. Make sure there is open area around the outside of the computer case. These are, at least a couple things to try before going through the trouble of a re-install.
2006-06-26 02:36:43 · answer #2 · answered by happyharrytick 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy a program called ghost 2005 I think
one of the feature I love about it that it has the powwer to wipe everything off of the hard drive. this is the program that the FBI use
goverment use on there computers it leaves nothing behind
do a diskwipe of 8 times on the hard drive that wipes out anything and all on the hard drive then reload xp or 98 then xp
the instruction book will tell you how to wipe the hard drive and custim wipes this is a 100% cure but not to cheap the cheap route and may not work is a spyware program around$20.00
if the computer still does that shutting down then the computer is bad! or another thing try replacing the cmos battery
2006-06-26 02:39:59 · answer #3 · answered by Paul G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I is most likely a virus. To solve this go to download.com and download AVG Anti-Virus. Scan with this and remove any viruses detected. Then do a Disk Cleanup and if it still doesn't work do a system restore or system recovery. But don't do a system restore right away save that for last if the virus scan doesn't work.
Best Wishes
Zeo 7
2006-06-26 15:48:58 · answer #4 · answered by zeo7 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This happened to me with my laptop. At first I thought that my fan was going and it was just overheating but I have come to the conclusion it was a virus.
The way I fixed it was just by doing a system restore but, as previously stated, back up any files you want on a disk because your computer will be restored to all the origional factory settings.
http://pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp
is a site you can go to that will scan your computer for problems, hope that helps!
2006-06-26 02:35:15 · answer #5 · answered by Karma 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its a virus, try to go into safe mode, if it still restarts there, well then the only way out of this is a full system reinstall... a clean reinstall, but if u can, try to search for stull that u didnt installed, delete that, do a spyware virus scan, a virus scan, restart, if it works, good, get a good antivirus now, if not, try to get a reg cleaner, but i say u do a clean reinstall, its easier and its less probable ull mess something up :D
2006-06-26 02:34:16 · answer #6 · answered by membrane killa :D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It has to be a virus. Get it scanned through a latest anti-virus software. Another possibility is that she might have changed her power saving settings. So check that out too.
Take Care
2006-06-26 02:32:13 · answer #7 · answered by viper4in 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the most likelly thing is that you have a hardware problem , meaning : -the cpu fan not working
-atx power plug not firmly inserted
-a device that draws to much curent
check the first two, and then disconect all devices except the harddrive and video board.problem should stop, and by reinserting and testing for each device you could fint the faulty one.
hope this helps
2006-06-26 07:30:08 · answer #8 · answered by Rhade 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there is no "blue screen of death" then you are probably correct that it is a virus. You might need to boot up with a cd or dvd with a virus checker on it to remove it.
Good luck !
2006-06-26 02:31:25 · answer #9 · answered by Jim G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
computer have some virus. Inorder to avoid the virus, u format the system & reinstall all the things what u have now.
2006-06-26 02:32:49 · answer #10 · answered by Suryaa p 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋