worm/virus crash, now cannot get to repair console-keyboard freezes

[Guest Pamela G]

My DH was reading his comics on comic.com, when the website closed

unexpectedly and a Windows box came up with a message similar to "Your

connection was lost, Do you want to restore?" and a Yes and No box. sigh. He

clicked on "yes" and all the fun began. The computer started to reboot

itself, and couldn't finish the job. What I observed: on boot up sequence

when it went to the "Scanning IDE Drives" page, a message pops up that "No

drive attached to the Fast Track controller. The bios is not installed",

then it goes to the screen to choose a boot option. No matter which option I

choose, an error message pops up stating that the System32\Drivers\NTFS.sys

file is missing or corrupt, and Windows cannot boot.

 

I got out our original Win XP disks and attempted a repair. It went as far

as the selection screen, where you choose install, repair, or whatever the

third option is. At this point, my mouse and keyboard stopped responding,

and I was unable to choose an option. Since that time I have rebooted a

couple of times, and the keyboard has remained unresponsive.

 

I am assuming we got hit with another worm, despite a good antivirus program

and a firewall, and somehow it corrupted something or everything. If I can

get the computer to recognise the keyboard, I have a chance to repair it.

Any ideas? I would rather try to clean the system myself first, as the last

time we got hit with a nasty worm that snuck past our defenses, it was 3

weeks in the shop and several hundred dollars out our pockets!

 

The pc is a clone, Pentium 2, 2+ Gig processor. 200 MB hard drive. Windows

XP Pro. Has XP firewall and Avast antivirus, all updated regularly. (Got rid

of Norton after the last attack!)

 

Please, any ideas????

 

Pamela

[Guest Kayman]

Re: worm/virus crash, now cannot get to repair console-keyboard freezes

 

On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 22:55:42 -0700, Pamela G wrote:

> My DH was reading his comics on comic.com, when the website closed

> unexpectedly and a Windows box came up with a message similar to "Your

> connection was lost, Do you want to restore?" and a Yes and No box. sigh. He

> clicked on "yes" and all the fun began. The computer started to reboot

> itself, and couldn't finish the job. What I observed: on boot up sequence

> when it went to the "Scanning IDE Drives" page, a message pops up that "No

> drive attached to the Fast Track controller. The bios is not installed",

> then it goes to the screen to choose a boot option. No matter which option I

> choose, an error message pops up stating that the System32\Drivers\NTFS.sys

> file is missing or corrupt, and Windows cannot boot.

>

> I got out our original Win XP disks and attempted a repair. It went as far

> as the selection screen, where you choose install, repair, or whatever the

> third option is. At this point, my mouse and keyboard stopped responding,

> and I was unable to choose an option. Since that time I have rebooted a

> couple of times, and the keyboard has remained unresponsive.

>

> I am assuming we got hit with another worm, despite a good antivirus program

> and a firewall, and somehow it corrupted something or everything. If I can

> get the computer to recognise the keyboard, I have a chance to repair it.

> Any ideas? I would rather try to clean the system myself first, as the last

> time we got hit with a nasty worm that snuck past our defenses, it was 3

> weeks in the shop and several hundred dollars out our pockets!

 

Several hundred $? You've been ripped-off IMO.

> The pc is a clone, Pentium 2, 2+ Gig processor. 200 MB hard drive. Windows

> XP Pro. Has XP firewall and Avast antivirus, all updated regularly.

 

No AV program and firewall in the world would have prevented your DH's

action which caused your predicament, because: "He clicked on "yes""!

> (Got rid of Norton after the last attack!)

 

Wise move.

> Please, any ideas????

 

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What

you will need on-hand

 

Then you should develop and implement some kind of a Security Concept.

 

For Win XP the most dependable defenses are:

1. Do not work as Administrator; For day-to-day work routinely use a

Limited User Account (LUA).

2. Secure (Harden) your operating system.

3. Don't expose services to public networks.

4. Keep your operating (OS) system (and all software on it)updated/patched.

5. Reconsider the usage of IE and OE.

5a.Secure (Harden) Internet Explorer.

6. Review your installed 3rd party software applications/utilities; Remove

clutter, *including* 3rd party software personal (so-called) firewall

application (PFW) - the one which claims: "It can stop/control malicious

outbound traffic".

7. If on dial-up Internet connection, activate the build-in firewall and

configure Windows not to use TCP/IP as transport protocol for NetBIOS,

SMB and RPC, thus leaving TCP/UDP ports 135,137-139 and 445 (the most

exploited Windows networking weak point) closed.

7a.If on high-speed Internet connection use a router.

For the average homeuser it is suggested blocking both TCP and UDP ports

135 ~ 139 and 445 on the router and implement countermeasures against

DNSChanger. (Is the Firmware of your router up-to-date?).

And (just in case) Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) has been superseded by

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).

8. Routinely practice Safe-Hex.

 

Also, ensure you do:

a. Regularly back-up data/files.

b. Familiarize yourself with crash recovery tools and re-installing your

operating system (OS).

c. Utilize a good-quality real-time anti-virus application and some vital

system monitoring utilities/applications.

d. Keep abreast of the latest developments.

 

And finally:

Most computer magazines and/or (computer) specialized websites are *biased*

i.e. heavily weighted towards the (advertisement) dollar almighty!

Therefore:

a. Be cautious selecting software applications touted in publications

relying on advertisement revenue.

b. Do take their *test-results* of various software with a *considerable*

amount of salt!

c. Which also applies to their *investigative* in-depth test reports

related to any software applications.

d. Investigate claims made by software manufacturer *prior* downloading

their software; Subscribing to noncommercial-type publications,

specialized newsgroups and/or fora (to some extend) are a great way to

find out the 'nitty-gritties' and to consider various options.

 

The least preferred defenses are:

Myriads of popular anti-whatever applications and staying ignorant.

 

Good luck :)

[Guest Pamela G]

Re: worm/virus crash, now cannot get to repair console-keyboard freezes

 

Okay, tried a different wired keyboard. It works but, still can't get past

the error messages. Won't recognise the HDs at all. So I went out and bought

a new SATA HD, installed it and tried to get past the corrupted ones so I

could reload/repair Windows. No good. I cannot get my motherboard to even

recognise ANY HDs on the computer. Even after removing the corrupted HDs and

just installing the new HD, apparently the SATA drivers were corrupted as

well. I could add them, but it needs to be on a floppy, and that is

problematic. Why won't XP recognise drivers on a CD? That is dumb! Now I

have to figure out how to put the drivers onto a floppy when the only

computer in my house with a floppy is the one that won't boot up!

 

Pamela

 

"Kayman" <kaymanDeleteThis@operamail.com> wrote in message

news:%2338QVEH%23IHA.3344@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 22:55:42 -0700, Pamela G wrote:

>

>> My DH was reading his comics on comic.com, when the website closed

>> unexpectedly and a Windows box came up with a message similar to "Your

>> connection was lost, Do you want to restore?" and a Yes and No box. sigh.

>> He

>> clicked on "yes" and all the fun began. The computer started to reboot

>> itself, and couldn't finish the job. What I observed: on boot up sequence

>> when it went to the "Scanning IDE Drives" page, a message pops up that

>> "No

>> drive attached to the Fast Track controller. The bios is not installed",

>> then it goes to the screen to choose a boot option. No matter which

>> option I

>> choose, an error message pops up stating that the

>> System32\Drivers\NTFS.sys

>> file is missing or corrupt, and Windows cannot boot.

>>

>> I got out our original Win XP disks and attempted a repair. It went as

>> far

>> as the selection screen, where you choose install, repair, or whatever

>> the

>> third option is. At this point, my mouse and keyboard stopped responding,

>> and I was unable to choose an option. Since that time I have rebooted a

>> couple of times, and the keyboard has remained unresponsive.

>>

>> I am assuming we got hit with another worm, despite a good antivirus

>> program

>> and a firewall, and somehow it corrupted something or everything. If I

>> can

>> get the computer to recognise the keyboard, I have a chance to repair it.

>> Any ideas? I would rather try to clean the system myself first, as the

>> last

>> time we got hit with a nasty worm that snuck past our defenses, it was 3

>> weeks in the shop and several hundred dollars out our pockets!

>

> Several hundred $? You've been ripped-off IMO.

>

>> The pc is a clone, Pentium 2, 2+ Gig processor. 200 MB hard drive.

>> Windows

>> XP Pro. Has XP firewall and Avast antivirus, all updated regularly.

>

> No AV program and firewall in the world would have prevented your DH's

> action which caused your predicament, because: "He clicked on "yes""!

>

>> (Got rid of Norton after the last attack!)

>

> Wise move.

>

>> Please, any ideas????

>

> http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To

> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What

> you will need on-hand

>

> Then you should develop and implement some kind of a Security Concept.

>

> For Win XP the most dependable defenses are:

> 1. Do not work as Administrator; For day-to-day work routinely use a

> Limited User Account (LUA).

> 2. Secure (Harden) your operating system.

> 3. Don't expose services to public networks.

> 4. Keep your operating (OS) system (and all software on

> it)updated/patched.

> 5. Reconsider the usage of IE and OE.

> 5a.Secure (Harden) Internet Explorer.

> 6. Review your installed 3rd party software applications/utilities; Remove

> clutter, *including* 3rd party software personal (so-called) firewall

> application (PFW) - the one which claims: "It can stop/control malicious

> outbound traffic".

> 7. If on dial-up Internet connection, activate the build-in firewall and

> configure Windows not to use TCP/IP as transport protocol for NetBIOS,

> SMB and RPC, thus leaving TCP/UDP ports 135,137-139 and 445 (the most

> exploited Windows networking weak point) closed.

> 7a.If on high-speed Internet connection use a router.

> For the average homeuser it is suggested blocking both TCP and UDP ports

> 135 ~ 139 and 445 on the router and implement countermeasures against

> DNSChanger. (Is the Firmware of your router up-to-date?).

> And (just in case) Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) has been superseded by

> Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).

> 8. Routinely practice Safe-Hex.

>

> Also, ensure you do:

> a. Regularly back-up data/files.

> b. Familiarize yourself with crash recovery tools and re-installing your

> operating system (OS).

> c. Utilize a good-quality real-time anti-virus application and some vital

> system monitoring utilities/applications.

> d. Keep abreast of the latest developments.

>

> And finally:

> Most computer magazines and/or (computer) specialized websites are

> *biased*

> i.e. heavily weighted towards the (advertisement) dollar almighty!

> Therefore:

> a. Be cautious selecting software applications touted in publications

> relying on advertisement revenue.

> b. Do take their *test-results* of various software with a *considerable*

> amount of salt!

> c. Which also applies to their *investigative* in-depth test reports

> related to any software applications.

> d. Investigate claims made by software manufacturer *prior* downloading

> their software; Subscribing to noncommercial-type publications,

> specialized newsgroups and/or fora (to some extend) are a great way to

> find out the 'nitty-gritties' and to consider various options.

>

> The least preferred defenses are:

> Myriads of popular anti-whatever applications and staying ignorant.

>

> Good luck :)

>

>

>

>

>