Windows Question...

[n2ize]

A couple days ago my brother dropped off his computer... said he thought it might be infected with a trojan or virus. I fired up the machine and got a "blue death screen". I shut it down, fired it back up into "safe mode". I ran in "safe mode" at the command prompt level and tried running "chkdsk c: /F" but it balked because other processes are accessing the disc. So scheduled it to run on the next boot but it didn't seem to do anything. Then I decided to try a "system restore" back to the last known working configuration. That seemed to work, now windows boots up normally and you can access your accounts again. It seems a bit slow but, since it is not my machine it's hard to tell for certain if that is normal.

In any even it seems to be working, so, for the most part it would appear my job is done.

However, I am not very knowledgeable with Windows system. I am good with Linux and Unix systems but I am in the dark with a lot of Windows stuff. Is there anything else I should be checking BEFORE I return the machine as fixed ? Should I be running some virus scans or testing anything just to make sure ?

Any suggestions appreciated.

[KJ3N]

Is there anything else I should be checking BEFORE I return the machine as fixed ? Should I be running some virus scans or testing anything just to make sure ?

Any suggestions appreciated.
Install, update, and run Malwarebytes. Install, update, and run Spybot Search & Destroy.

If it has Norton, get rid of it. If it has (s)MacAfee, get rid of it.

Install, update and run AVG.

[N1LAF]

AND the links to those programs are on HamIsland website too.

[n2ize]

Right now I'm doing a full disk scan via "Spyware Doctor" which is recommended on the "bleepingcomputer" page. It has so far found quite a few viruses and Trojans, including at least two high risk Trojans. We'll see what happens once the scan is finished and those threats are liquidated.

Now I seem to have another problem. My Dad's computer monitor won't turn on. I hope he has saved the receipt. It should still be under warranty.

[n0iu]

My Dad's computer monitor won't turn on.I just gotta ask...

Is it plugged in?

I have worked in various help desk capacities over the decades and this "problem" comes up fairly frequently. When we ask, "Is it plugged in?", 99 times out of 100 the response is, "Hang on, let me check." and a minute later "OK thanks, I think I see what the problem is. Thanks for your help. Buh-bye!" CLICK

Yeah, I know its your dad and there is no way he would do anything like that, but...

I'm just saying...

[kf0rt]

Might also defrag the hard drive, de-install any unnecessary background tasks, run a registry scan, install any updates and and delete all his pr0n. :snicker:

'Course, if you give it the "full service" job, you know who will be in charge of it from now on.

[WØTKX]

Since your gonna be systems support, a remote desktop capability is useful.

VNC or something. Make sure it's secure.

[N1LAF]

My Dad's computer monitor won't turn on.I just gotta ask...

Is it plugged in?

I have worked in various help desk capacities over the decades and this "problem" comes up fairly frequently. When we ask, "Is it plugged in?", 99 times out of 100 the response is, "Hang on, let me check." and a minute later "OK thanks, I think I see what the problem is. Thanks for your help. Buh-bye!" CLICK

Yeah, I know its your dad and there is no way he would do anything like that, but...

I'm just saying...

[youtube:236gmp6u]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmD_8cBqhW0[/youtube:236gmp6u]

Foamy the Squirrel cartoons... http://www.illwillpress.com/vault.html

[N9FE]

There have been some bad trojans going around. Not condoms either. have fun

[kb2vxa]

Since nobody else has mentioned it, once other problems have been addressed you might want to check and see if it has sufficient RAM to avoid excessive disc caching. Many off the shelf computers have barely above the minimum installed and he may have one of them so it's like the ewe once told me, you can never have too much ram.
(Bad joke, BBBAAAaaa.)

[kf0rt]

Since nobody else has mentioned it, once other problems have been addressed you might want to check and see if it has sufficient RAM to avoid excessive disc caching. Many off the shelf computers have barely above the minimum installed and he may have one of them so it's like the ewe once told me, you can never have too much ram.
(Bad joke, BBBAAAaaa.)

But, don't go over 4 Gig on a 32-bit OS, unless you want to waste some.

And what happened to RAM prices? Stuff was cheap not that long ago!

[KJ3N]

And what happened to RAM prices? Stuff was cheap not that long ago!
Oh, good. I'm not the only one who noticed. :think

[n0iu]

And what happened to RAM prices?
I'm telling you... ticket prices are getting pretty outrageous here in St. Louis!

http://evankessler.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/st-louis-rams-stephen-jackson-794847.jpg?w=347&h=313

At least we got the No. 1 spot in the draft. Coming in dead last place does have its benefits!

EDIT: Oh, I thought he said RAMS prices, sorry! My bad.

[kf0rt]

And what happened to RAM prices? Stuff was cheap not that long ago!
Oh, good. I'm not the only one who noticed. :think

I've got 4Gig of DDR2-800 I've been meaning to put up on eBay. If I get $50 for it, it'll be the first time I've ever made a profit selling a used computer part. Exact same part is going for $100 on newegg -- think I paid $46.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

Computer memory runs in a commodities market, I'm told. Probably all those iPads driving the price up. :shock:

[kf0rt]

And what happened to RAM prices?
I'm telling you... ticket prices are getting pretty outrageous here in St. Louis!

http://evankessler.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/st-louis-rams-stephen-jackson-794847.jpg?w=347&h=313

At least we got the No. 1 spot in the draft. Coming in dead last place does have its benefits!

Oh, goodie! That means the economy is improving! :agree:

Not into sports (at all), but I hope that dood in Dallas recoups the cost of that billion $$$ stadium he built.

[n2ize]

And what happened to RAM prices? Stuff was cheap not that long ago!
Oh, good. I'm not the only one who noticed. :think

Actually I think it is a RAM issue. I cleaned off some trojans and stuff but the machine still runs somewhat slow. I have the same computer and I have issues with it running slow at times.

I recommended he put some extra RAM in the thing but as people here have pointed out...the prices for RAM are quite high,. The thing needs either PC2700 or PC3200 (non ECC) DDR SDRAM and when I last checked the stuff was damned expensive... $60.00+ per module. I'm thinking it might be worth it just to buy a new machine which will be 64 bit (probably dual or quad core) and come with at least 2 - 4 Gigs of RAM.