i think i have a supervirus

[mat777]

hmm, if i was supposed to burn some recovery disks using erecovery i wasnt made aware of it. my acer desktop kept pestering me with notifications to do it, but the laptop hasnt. and if i do need to burn disks, 2 quesitons arise:

- firstly, as i said in my last post, the acer e-toolbar no longer appears like it used to, i fear this may also be affected by the program corruption. i know of no other way to access the e-functions, if they still work. if they dont, then what do i do?

- secondly, is there a chance that burning the disks from a sick computer means the disks will either contain corrupted data or a virus as well?

 

either way, it would appear that i am "screwed"

 

just out of interest, what would happen if i did use recovery disks from another pc (not that i'm planning to after RandyL's warning)?

[zinglebarb]

Have you tried my way yet?

[mat777]

not yet, my computing student friend is coming over to help me in about half an hour. a more pressing problem is backing up the damn thing, as when i create a folder on my memory stick it automatically gets filled with 8.93kb of files - there are about 30 of them, all displayed with the unrecognised file icon, with random names like q, Q, >>, m, f, d, and ..<. when i then try to delete the file it says it cannot as the syntax cant be supported

 

any ideas as to what this new phenomenon is? i've a good mind to switch to linux or osx at this rate....

[zinglebarb]

well that really sounds dodgy. I dont think you can save anything as the system definitely appears to be badly infected and you will just spread it

[mat777]

i can still attach files to emails and send them to myself, and i have a lot of free inbox space. the problem is my attachment limit is only 20mb, so to transfer about 1.5gb of files it might take a while!

 

if i do manage to do this, what other precautions should i take other than repeatedly scanning the files with several antivurs softwares before re-opening them into a clean pc?

[zinglebarb]

I would rar the files burn to dvd if possible reformat and check the files in a virtual machine leaving them well out of the way of your main operating system

[mat777]

how do i rar the files? i only know how to zip at the minute. also, whats a virtual machine? do you mean scanning the memory stick instead of importing them onto the pc then scanning?

[zinglebarb]

You can zip them up its just more secure than open files. I believe by the evidence in place your system is quite heavily infected do you agree? This being the case I would not have plugged a usb device into this machine as that now appears to be infected. I am edgy because I spose it could be something else but hmmmm.

 

http://extremetechsupport.com/forum/articles-and-tutorials/7028-running-virtual-machine.html this is my guide to what a virtual machine is. If this was my computer I would just be repartitioning reformatting the hard drive and starting again but if you do want to save your data my way is the safest to ensure you do not end up in the same boat later

[Guest Wolfeymole]

On my Acer you press F2 to get into the bios.

 

Go in there and set the Boot order to CDROM, pop the first DVD in the cdrom drive and press F10 so save the changes and exit the bios.

 

This then should take you back to the condition your laptop was in when the Recovery DVD's were made.

[mat777]

the problem is that i dont hjave the recovery dvd for my pc. however, you've just jogged my memory - could i do a system revert to about 2 weeks ago, long before the problems started, and see if that fixes it? by rhe way, my friend and i tried the computer in safe mode with and without commandprompt, and managed to view the system logs. there were quite a lot of errors since the problems started, but nothing specifically pertaining to the hdd. then again, we didnt really know what all the system domains meant, but nothing seemed to implicate the hdd corrupting

[Guest Wolfeymole]

You said this Matt.

 

as for recovery disks, the recovery files are in a separate hard drive partition, or at least the should be according to the user manual - there is a separate hard drive partition on here called acerdata (D), with 12.2mb of used space, which seems a little small considering the fact the my destop's recovery system filled 2 dvd's

"considering the fact the my destop's recovery system filled 2 dvd's"

 

Did you never make Recovery disks?

[mat777]

You said this Matt.

 

"considering the fact the my destop's recovery system filled 2 dvd's"

 

Did you never make Recovery disks?

 

no, when i said that i was comparing the size of my laptop's pre-loaded recovery system with the dvd's supplied with my dekstop, which is not the problem computer - my laptop is

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Ok then can we agree that logical reasoning, when one does not have any Recovery disks or main operating system disks, would indicate that some would need to be made yes?

 

We are getting all over the place on this thread and we simply need to know if you can make any Recovery disks as of this time via the tools in Programs.

[zinglebarb]

How big did you say the recovery partition is? have you tried my way? has that failed?

 

A compressed ghost image can be half the size of the installed OS so XP could be as small as 2 gig

 

The acer data is not the recovery partition as I said earlier this will be a hidden partition in neither FAT or NTFS format I believe

Edited June 2, 2009 by zinglebarb

[Jelly Bean]

Mat needs the Acer e-Recovery software:

 

Examples here:

 

Acer EMEA - Service & Support, Empowering Technology

 

 

Use drop down boxes here to gain Acer e-Recovery software download:

 

Acer Europe - Service & Support, Drivers & Utilities, Downloads, Notebook, Acer Aspire 3680 Series

Edited June 2, 2009 by Jelly Bean

[zinglebarb]

ftp://ftp.work.acer-euro.com/notebook/ferrari_1000/utilities/Acer%20eRecovery%202.0.2024.zip

 

direct link to the FTP

[zinglebarb]

Ive just downloaded the manual for the Ferrari 1000 series

 

I want to restore my computer to its original settings without

recovery CDs.

Note: If your system is the multilingual version, the operating

system and language you choose when you first turn on the

system will be the only option for future recovery operations.

This recovery process helps you restore the C: drive with the original software

content that is installed when you purchase your notebook. Follow the steps

below to rebuild your C: drive. (Your C: drive will be reformatted and all data

will be erased.) It is important to back up all data files before using this option

Before performing a restore operation, please check the BIOS settings.

1 Check to see if Acer disk-to-disk recovery is enabled or not.

2 Make sure the D2D Recovery setting in Main is Enabled.

3 Exit the BIOS utility and save changes. The system will reboot.

 

 

have I got the wrong machine?

 

To start the recovery process:

1 Restart the system.

2 While the Acer logo is showing, press <Alt> + <F10> at the same time to enter

the recovery process.

3 Refer to the onscreen instructions to perform system recovery.

[mat777]

no, that apperars to be the right machine and instructions. i'm just holding out on doing a recovery as i only want it to be a last resort, plus i havent yet found a way to back up my documents.

 

tomorrow im taking the comuter to a very highly recommended local techie, hopefully he should be able to make sense of it. i've been thinking, would a systems revert to about 3 weeks ago do the same thing providing this is a software not a hardware issue? having tried the pc in safe mode i was able to access my control panel functions that i couldnt in normal mode, i didnt however try any programs. according to a much earlier post on page one of this thread by tootech,

"Also, check to see if your programs will run in Safe Mode - if they will it's more likely you have a driver or malware issue."

 

by the way, thankyou to zinglebarb for going to the trouble of downloading the recovery intructions and manual for my computer, at least i now know what to do if the worst comes to the worst, though i have my fingers crossed for tomorrow that there is still hope left!

[zinglebarb]

no, that apperars to be the right machine and instructions. i'm just holding out on doing a recovery as i only want it to be a last resort, plus i havent yet found a way to back up my documents.

 

tomorrow im taking the comuter to a very highly recommended local techie, hopefully he should be able to make sense of it. i've been thinking, would a systems revert to about 3 weeks ago do the same thing providing this is a software not a hardware issue? having tried the pc in safe mode i was able to access my control panel functions that i couldnt in normal mode, i didnt however try any programs. according to a much earlier post on page one of this thread by tootech,

"Also, check to see if your programs will run in Safe Mode - if they will it's more likely you have a driver or malware issue."

 

by the way, thankyou to zinglebarb for going to the trouble of downloading the recovery intructions and manual for my computer, at least i now know what to do if the worst comes to the worst, though i have my fingers crossed for tomorrow that there is still hope left!

 

I had a feeling I was correct when I first posted that way it just appeared not to be acknowledged as as possible solution till just. Let us know how you get on with your super tech lol ;)

 

the way I told you to deal with your docs would work also

[Jelly Bean]

Mat777.

 

We have offered you loads of help and used up valuble time.

 

You have been offered ways of backing up data.

Offered the recovery console.

Offered the e-Recovery.

Even malware help.

 

Shall I go on and on?

 

It appears you shirt around the fixes,you have not attempted any fixes.

 

You ignore the help and post another meanigless question which appears to have no meaning or point to it.

 

You login read your thread and start to wander around the forum reading and posting other meanigless threads.

 

Ignore the fact help was offered again to you.

 

You have wasted our valuble members help offered to you.

You have wasted staff time and pushed my buttons.

 

I have no time for time wasters and idiots.

 

Hence your thread is closed and you can go and waste others time on other forums.

 

 

 

Goodbye.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Jelly Bean