Will a full system rstore with my system restore cd's remove a virus and effect/damage of a virus?

Question

Not sure what that heck is wrong computer makes a somewhat loud noise and freezes on a dime. Is this a virus? If it is will system restore cure this as my virus prgrams did nothing.

Answer 1

Sure, it will, but are you sure you are willing to loose all of your
files? I would recommend trying a anti-virus program to cure
your problem first. Formatting your hard drive should be the
very last resort. It really sucks to install all of the programs
and updates programs that didn't come originally with your
computer.

Answer 2

No!
I had viruses and they infect immediately.
Only the combination of separate programs can detect the newer problems. Don't forget to run the updates at least 2 x per month to get the latest they have on viruses!

You can download these free from microsoft or their own sites.
Do you have these 3 separate virus detectors:
Ad-aware and
SpywareBlaster and
Spybot Search and Destroy?

I had one program that began with the name Norton anti-crap (that's what it was just crap) that never told me it did not update anything older than 2 years computer and my computer was 3 years old, not 2....so it never was updating anything on my computer with new virus information although it said it was updating!!!.
So becuse my computer was over their limit, they never told me but the computer would download constantly, but it did nothing.
I made them give me back my renewal fees for 2 years, and because I reported this to the STATE's attorney general's office, they gave me my two (2) years subscriptions back!!!

Good luck and your freezing means that it already has control.
Try to get the anti-virus programs listed above and scrub your computer before you do restores.

By the way, System REstore is in your Windows Control Panel, under Performance and Maintenance, and then it's on the left column, and just click on it and pick a day, or the previous month!
...don't use the cd yet!!!

Answer 3

That's a pretty serious measure to get rid of a virus. I would try all other options first .. research the problem on microsoft newsgroups.

A system restore would be your LAST resort ... and keep in mind that if you do this, everything you have stored or downloaded to your pc since you've bought it will be lost... All docs, all files, all pics, all music, everything.

If you've exhausted every other option than you could try to restore the pc back to a last saved restore point ... for example if this problem has been happening this week, but everything was fine prior to that , you could restore the pc back to 14 days ago or something to see if you get rid of it that way. Then you will only lose the things you've done in the past 14 days vs. everything.

Answer 4

This may be virus - it may not.

A full restore will help sort out which.

To start I suggest you have a look at the Ultimate Boot CD as this has tools to check your PC over and may be more useful. Booting from this lets you check over your hardware (see below or your PC manual for how to get the PC to boot from CD if it doesn't already)

To restore:

Firstly, make sure you copy to CD / floppy / USB any data that is important.

Second - and I suggest checking the manual for your specific PC first, reboot your PC and change the BIOS so that your PC will boot from CD (depending on your PC you may have to press the "del" "F3" or some other key. Read the screen carefully before windows starts to load to check.

Third - reboot your PC from the restore CD. This gets rid of 99% of known nasties as you are completely reinstalling your machine.

If you get the same problem when you have restored you probably have another fault.

Answer 5

Yeaaaaa

a full system rstore will remove virus and clean up ur computer, but the disadvantage is that u will lose every downloaded file or software. or if u have dell, u can restore it a point.( if u think that ur com. is not working well since yesterday, set ur restore point the day before yesterday.)

Answer 6

you problem cud be with low memmory or with virus.. Yes u can use the installation cd to restore the system back to normal

Answer 7

Possibly, if the virus hasn't blocked your restore feature.

Answer 8

First you need to understand that not all problems with computers are due to Virus/Spyware infections. Loud noises could be caused by fans and the HD. The freezing is often caused by outdate Video drivers. Go to your Computer Mfgr. site or the care mfgr site(s) for the latest (non-beta) drivers.

What you are considering is not a Restore. It is a Reformat. This will remove 99.9% of Malware infections. There are new Rootkit infections that cannot be removed in this manner. This will not solve the problem if it is due to equipment or outdated driver problems.

Reformatting should be the very last thing you try if you are infected. There are many very good programs that will remove the infection if the proper scan and removal procedure is used.

Don't be fooled by the name of this procedure. You can use any AntiVirus and AntiSpyware program. I recommend these two because both are very good. Try it with these programs and any you choose. See if it helps you.

Trojan Removal Procedure.

Removing infections from your computer is never as easy as aquiring them. Malware infections are not meant to be removed, so, it takes TIME and PATIENCE to get rid of them. ONLY RESORT TO A REFORMAT AFTER ALL ELSE FAILS TO REMOVE THE INFECTION.

This procedure works for all Malware. Replace the Ewido and AdAware SE programs with any AntiVirus or AntiSpy program you choose.


Download and Update Ewido (now called the AVG Antispyware). Do not run:

http://www.ewido.net/en/download/...

Download AdAware SE and update. Do the setup. Do not run:

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ad-aware/

AdAware SE Setup:

1. Select "use custom scanning options" then select "customize". Make sure the following options are enabled: "scan within archives," "scan active processes," "scan registry," "deep scan registry," "scan my IE favorites for banned URLs," "scan my Hosts file."

2. Select the "tweak" option. Under "scanning engine," make sure "unload recognized processes and modules during scan" is enabled. Enable "scan registry for all users instead of current users."

3. Under "cleaning engine" turn on "always try to unload modules…," "during removal unload explorer and IE if necessary," "let windows remove files in use at next restart," and "delete quarantined items after restoring."

4. Use the "select drives and folders to scan" option to ensure that your entire hard drive is scanned (if you have more than one hard drive, scan all of them (of course, do not include floppy and CD/DVD).


TEMPORARILY SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS.

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2. Click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options.

3. On the View tab, under Hidden files and folders, click "Show hidden files and folders", and clear(uncheck) the "Hide protected operating system files" check box.

IMPORTANT: Files are hidden by Windows for a very good reason. It is not wise to experiment with these files. Unfortunately, to successfully remove modern spyware we must turn this protection off temporarily. Please turn the protection back on when you have finished cleaning your system.


EMPTY INTERNET EXPLORER BROWSER CACHE:

1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options.

2. On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete Files button. Select the Delete all offline content check box in the confirmation dialogue box that appears, click OK. Click OK again.

RESTART IN SAFE MODE:

To do this you need to hold down or repeatedly tap the F8 key while the computer is booting (when the computer is displaying a black screen with white text). When the boot menu appears, use your keyboard arrows to select "Safe Mode."

Safe Mode can look quite ugly. The color may look bad, and all of your desktop icons will be very large. This is normal.



START THE SCAN WITH ADAWARE SE. THEN DO IT WITH EWIDO.

NOTE: Let AdAware complete its scan. Sometimes AdAware will be unable to remove everything that it finds and will prompt to be allowed to try again after restarting. If that happens, when the scan finishes restart immediately and allow the scan to finish.


When the scan and removal are completed REBOOT COMPUTER. This will restart you in normal mode. DON'T FORGET TO RESET HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS.


NEW RESTORE POINT:

The RESTORE POINTS may be infected with the Malware and cannot be used.

HERE'S HOW:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2. Click Performance and Maintenance, click System, and then click on the System Restore tab.

3. Select the Turn Off System Restore check box, click Apply, then restart your computer.

4. Return to the System Restore Tab and turn System Restore back on.


TO SET A NEW RESTORE POINT:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Point to Programs, then navigate to Accessories, then System Tools, then click System Restore.

3. Choose Create a restore point, and then click Next.

4. In the Restore point description box, type a name for your restore point, and then click Next.

5. Click OK.

NOTE: If you are using Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and are unable to access the Internet after removing Malware, there is a command that may fix the problem. It works by resetting the winsock catalogue. Click on Start, then Run and type CMD in the box. Click OK. Type "netsh winsock reset" (no quotes)into the DOS window that appears.


ADDITION INFORMATION ABOUT TROJANS:

There are Trojans that fall into the Smitfraud family. These require the use of a specialized program for removal. Here are two sites that specialize in removing these:

http://www.internetinspiration.co.uk/rog...

http://siri.urz.free.fr/fix/smitfraudfix...

Answer 9

it kinda sounds like ur hard drive might be thrashing, and very well might need to be replaced, reloading files would have no effect if this true.