help performing a system restore!!!

[sean]

Hi I want to perform a system restore. I have done this one time before successfully.

I have a application & driver recovery dvd disc which came with the machine.

I have followed the instructions supplied to perform the system restore but have not been successful. After inserting the disc and switching the machine off, I press the power button to switch on and wait for the prompt to “press any key to boot from disc”, but it does not appear. The machine just boots up as normal.

I beleive that I have a virus problem which is why I am doing the systerm restore, could this be the reason the boot from disc prompt is not appearing?

I have gone into the BIOS settings and checked disc is before HDD in the boot sequence, and it did not work. I then went into the BIOS settings and disabled everything in the boot sequence apart from, from disc, this tme it went to a blank screen with a flashing cursor in the top left hand corner. The light on the dvd/disc drive was also flashing, but nothing happened.

 

I am using an HP Pavilion zd8000 notebook.

 

thanks

[Dalo Harkin]

Ok do you mean a system restore of a system repair - restore you do from windows and repair you do as you described - if doing a repair you need to set the first boot device in the BIOS to CDROM

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Did you Save the settings before exiting the Bios Sean?

 

It's usually F10

[RandyL]

Hi sean;

I think what you mean to say is you are attempting to do a system recovery not a system restore. Either way let's back up a bit and consider what's going on with your system.

 

Can you boot into Windows?

Why do you think you have a virus?

 

What exact series of 8000 do you have? The only series I can find that says 8000 exactly is the HP Pavilion zd8000 CTO Notebook PC. This one has a recovery cd that does not match what you said you are attempting to install from which is a application & driver recovery dvd. Perhaps you are attempting to boot from the wrong disk. Just a guess.

If this is a driver cd then it can only be run after Windows is installed. Either way you need to enable your HDD in the BIOS in order to do anything.

Let us know please.

[sean]

thanks guys

 

i am trying to restore my machine to "as new" for a fresh start, i have saved all files and docs that i want to keep to a removeable HDD and want to completely start over - i have done this one time before following the instructions that came with the machine, using the disc described below, and was successful................ this time, however i am unable to do it.

 

 

i did save the bios settings before exiting, but have now returned them to the way they were.

 

yes, once i returned bios settings to normal i can boot into windows.

 

ref virus, my machine has been running very slowly for a while (30secs to 1minute to open word, for example), also lots of pop up warnings about spyware and the like........ + machine is full of old stuff that i no longer want............. so i decided to save what i wanted and start over.

 

exact series of 8000 - i'm not near it at the mo, but if thats the only model you could find i guess thats it...... was bought early 2005 if that helps? : /

[Dalo Harkin]

Ok steps to reinstall:-

1 -restart pc - when BIOS screen come us press (F3 or F8 to access BIOS, it will say which on the screen)

 

2 -when in the BIOS there is a boot sequence menu... you want the 1st one to be CDROM (should have been HDD previous)

 

3 - set the 2nd 3rd 4th to disable SAVE and EXIT BIOS and then when the BIOS is booting up again it should say 'press any key to load from boot device'

 

that should then be it and then you need to choose the drive and go through the motions of loading the OS.

 

Have you checked in windows that the CDROM is working?? (if on a tower PC and you have more than one CDROM - remove the slave one via the cable and load from the master)

Edited July 14, 2008 by Dalo Harkin

[Guest Wolfeymole]

On HP the bios should be F10

[sean]

thanks guys..................... will try again later n let you know : )

[Tony D]

If you still can't startup from the CD, start your computer normally and insert the CD. Make sure that the CD and the CD drive are OK, by EXPLORING the CD. Make sure you can see the files that are on the CD.

[Seth]

Most HP's allow you to start the System Recovery right from within Windows.

 

You go to Start>Programs>Hewlett Packard (or HP), then you should see the full recovery option.

[sean]

seth - i looked but could not find hewlett packard in programs.

 

kelly - CD and CD Drive are working, was able to explore cd and view files.

 

i also re-did the bios boot sequence procedure making sure that i saved, and as before just boots to a blank screen with flashing cursor in top left corner.

 

also doulbe checked that i had the right disc - disc reads "application and driver recovery dvd. contains software and drivers already installed. for software reinstallation and repair only."

[Guest Wolfeymole]

This is the the software installation disk Sean.

 

Did you make any back up DVD's of the system when you got it?

[sean]

no........... : /

[Seth]

also doulbe checked that i had the right disc - disc reads "application and driver recovery dvd. contains software and drivers already installed. for software reinstallation and repair only."

 

That disc does not contain XP, and is not bootable. It just contains some programs and drivers.

 

You should have a disc that says something like "Operating System" or 'Recovery Disc #1. That's the the disc you need to boot from.

[sean]

oh dear........... it seems that i dont have the right disc after all : /

its very possibly in storage 100m miles away.................. is there any way to continue with a system recovery without the disc??

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Seth

 

If Sean has been victim to this outrageous practice of pc manufacturers just installing a recovery partition and he has not made any copies of that partition then........................

 

I had a job the other day when a lass had not made any recovery partitions of her Vista OS.

 

I hate recovery partitions as there is no come back when the hard drive decides to totally **** up. :mad:

[Guest Wolfeymole]

In a word Sean

 

NO

[sean]

ok................. so if i cant do a system recovery, what can i do to get my machine up to speed again. i have already uninstalled a whole bunch of programs and i downloaded spybot to try and clear out any viruses and i also installed kaspersky internet security 7.......... but it is still running at a snails pace : (

[Guest Wolfeymole]

What are the system specifications on that laptop Sean?

 

Eg how much memory, cpu size etc?

[sean]

Pentium 4 - 3.2 GHz

RAM: 512 MB

80G HDD

[AdvancedSetup]

Sean,

 

You should be able to go onto the HP Support site and order a new recovery DVD for your system. It will cost about $20 and should arrive within a few days.

 

I just ordered one and fixed the system with it a few weeks ago that way.

On this particular one had installed XP on my own, but it had DVD codecs that I could not legally obtain for the video card and TV tuner card on it so I ordered the recovery CDs (it did not come with any and had only been on the partition but since the hard drive failed and had to be replaced that method of storing a recovery on another partition is just STUPID and cheap)

 

Either drive over and get the correct CD/DVD or purchase them online. When you get it then it should be very easy to do the restore as you did before, all automated.

 

Then just make sure you update your system with Antivirus and XP Service Pack 3.

 

In the meantime you can try this as well to see if it cleans up your system of Malware.

 

 

Your computer could be infected with Malware.

 

• Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent.
  It is a combination of the words malicious and software.
  The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.
  

 

• Required Cleanup Steps
  
  1. Disable the Spybot Search & Destroy TEA TIMER if you use it and if it is enabled
     
  2. Run a Temporary file and cache cleaner (ATF)
     
  3. Run 2 Anti-Malware scanners (Listed Below)
     
  4. Run an Online Anti-Virus / Anti-Malware Scanner (Listed Below)
     
  5. Clear out old System Restore points
     
  6. If continued Malware type activity is present you may be asked to post a TrendMicro™ HijackThis™ Log file, do not do so unless requested.
     

   

The reason to run multiple scanners is to ensure that no single scanner is missing something.

The time it takes will vary depending on your system and your internet connection speed.

Typically the SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes scanners will take between 10 to 90 minutes.

The ESET online scan should take between 1 to 3 hours.

In most cases, these scans will suffice to clean and disinfect your computer.

Heavily infected systems or slower PCs can take much longer to scan and clean.

 

For best results print the following instructions and bookmark this Web page

To keep this guide printer-friendly, use your cursor to highlight the contents below.

From your browser select File - Print and in the printer dialog box under "Print range"

click the

Selection

choice to print out these instructions for removal of malware.

http://kixhelp.com/wr/images-freepchelp/printer-selection.gif

__________________________________________________

STEP 1

• Disable Spybot Search & Destroys' TEA TIMER: (if installed)
  
  
  1. Run Spybot-S&D in Advanced Mode.
     
     
  2. If it is not already set to do this Go to the Mode menu select "Advanced Mode"
     
     
  3. On the left hand side, Click on Tools
     
     
  4. Then click on the Resident Icon in the List
     
     
  5. Uncheck "Resident TeaTimer" and OK any prompts.
     
     
  6. Restart your computer.
     
     
   

__________________________________________________

STEP 2

• Follow these instructions carefully.
  
  
• Download ATF-Cleaner from
  Snapfiles.com
  to remove un-needed temporary files from your computer that may contain malware.
  
  
• You can also download it from
  Majorgeeks.com
  
  
• When you run ATF-Cleaner, check the items as shown below for Main.
  
  
• For FireFox, be sure to click on the FireFox tab on top and check the items as shown below for FireFox
  
  
• NOTE:
  If you don't have FireFox or Opera installed then they will be grayed out and can be ignored
  
  
• Then click on "Empty Selected".
  
  

http://kixhelp.com/wr/images-freepchelp/atf-cleaner01.gif

.

http://kixhelp.com/wr/images-freepchelp/atf-cleaner02.gif

__________________________________________________

STEP 3

• Install and run the free version (not the Professional version) of SUPERAntiSpyware from
  SUPERAntiSpyware.com
  
  
  • Accept any prompts to allow SUPERAntiSpyware to install the latest rules and infection definition files.
    
    
  • You do not have to send them your e-mail address, just click next.
    
    
  • You can leave the automated check for updates on.
    
    
  • You can uncheck "Send a diagnostic report to research center" if you don't want to send the information.
    
    
  • DO NOT
    allow SUPERAntiSpyware to protect your Home Page settings.
    
    
  • On the
    Top Left
    select the
    Scan your computer
    button.
    
    
  • Make sure there is a CHECK MARK on all
    Fixed Drives
    .
    
    
  • Click "Perform a Complete Scan". Click "Next" to Repair issues found and reboot the computer when prompted to do so.
    
    
   

__________________________________________________

STEP 4

• Install and run
  Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  from
  Malwarebytes - (direct download)
  
  
  • Accept all defaults for the installer
    
    
  • Allow the program to update the definitions
    
    
  • Click on the
    Quick Scan
    and click Next.
    
    
  • If any items are found allow it to clean them and then Reboot your computer.
    
    
   

__________________________________________________

STEP 5

• Run an online scan with ESET from
  Free Virus Scan: Use ESET's Online Antivirus Scanner
  
  
  • You
    must
    use Internet Explorer for this online scan. FireFox, Opera, etc will not work for this scan.
    
    
  • If your computer is running Window's Vista, then you
    must first
    start Internet Explorer as an Administrator. To do so, right-click on the
    Internet Explorer
    icon in the Start Menu and select "
    Run as administrator
    " from the popup context menu.
    
    
   
  • Accept the terms and click "Start".
    
    
  • Once the scanner is ready, check "Remove found threats" AND "Scan unwanted applications".
    
    
  • Click "Start" to begin the scan.
    
    
  • When completed restart your computer
    
    
   

__________________________________________________

Make sure your internet firewall security is enabled, and then please return to

Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help

and tell us how the computer seems to be operating.

 

 

.

[Dalo Harkin]

use the disk cleanup option too there is alot of stuff in there that people overlook.

right click on the drive in my computer and its to the right of the pi chart

[RandyL]

There are a lot of 8000 series so click on yours and choose your OS then scroll down to the CD order section. Ron is right that there is a small fee.

 

As near as I can tell there is no option to restore from a partition on this series but the order process is simple and the disks arrive fast as long as they are not sold out. They are limited as to how many they can make so once gone they are gone.

 

Like Ron says though a malware cleanup might cure your problems.

[sean]

thanks again guys.................... i will order discs tonight n also try to remove malware