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Question

Computer pretty messed up and I dunno how to fix it

Mar 1, 2018 5:04PM PST

My PC is a Dell inspiron N5110, and my operating system is windows 7 home standard. So last friday I downloaded something with malware on it and I did not notice at the time, and after that I had tried to fix it using malwarebytes. However, after fixing with malwarebytes the first issue that I had is that I have huge empty gaps on the webpage. So the malware that I had was all kinds of ads that are popping into random spaces on the webpage, and after I had quaratined with malwarebytes, the ads stopped popping up but the place where the ads had originally been is now just blank space, and I don't know how to remove them. Also after I had used malwarebytes, my computer shows a blue screen when shutting down, and I am not sure if this is related to malwarebytes and I had quaratined something I should not have, I do not know. The blue screen error message was0x000000F4. Thirdly, there are now certain websites that causes my browsers to crash no matter which brower I am using. And I mean these are pretty general websites, for example google, I had tried to google something and after that my browser would simply just shut down, and its all the same for google chrome or firefox or IE, and I was also trying to buy something online at bestbuy, but whenever I click on that one item the browser just crashes and I can't do anything. Also the bad news is that somehow my system backup was turned off, so I have no way to restoring my system to the time before I installed the program with malware. It would be great if someone could either help me restore my system to a previous date without the proper file, or help me figure out how to fix all of the errors that I have listed above.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Solution
Mar 1, 2018 9:49PM PST

I have faced the same issue sometime back and it took me 16 hours to figure out the problem. Sometimes this can be a virus problem also that manipulates the hardware, you never know. The best way is to fix this is to disable automatic reboot on system error and see if the blue screen disappears. Eventually, look at the Windows system event logs and if you see a lot of NTFS errors accessing a specific drive, then it will be related to CMOS or the SATA Cable. In that case, follow these steps

1. Disconnect/Connect CMOS battery and reconfigure BIOS settings again based on defaults, (get help if you want to best recommended)
2. Replace "ALL" SATA Cables and reconnect all drives
3. Run HD Diagnostic tools (Western Digital Data LifeGuard Diagnostics) to fix already corrupted data on HD.

So this is about STOP error, which is more related to either a low CMOS battery or simply having to take it out and put it back in. If you have lightweight AV software that will keep your system safe, even that can be a good option. You should go for Comodo antivirus, it is light on hardware and comes with containment technology. These are few things you need to keep in mind.
https://goo.gl/T2khhQ

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Answer
Restore
Mar 2, 2018 6:03AM PST

Restore from your backup that you make on a regular basis.
If your not doing such a thing you just found out why you should.

Factory reset.
This might be some media you created or a partition on the hdd.
Look in your manual.

If that is not an option contact Dell to purchase restore media.

Be aware that a factory reset will wipe the hdd and you will lose everything.

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Repair disk, too
Mar 2, 2018 7:17PM PST

Using your Windows 7 Repair disk that you burned can help, too. It's not too late if you know someone else with Windows 7 who can make one for you. Boot from it and there are repair options plus System Restore.

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Answer
Nuke from orbit. It's the only way to be sure
Mar 2, 2018 4:01PM PST

Sometimes, you can go to the Malwarebytes forum, or any of several anti-virus forums, and they can walk you through the steps to clean all the malware off your machine. I've done that with friends' machines before and had good results. Just turn off your brain and follow their instructions, cookbook style. And even when you think you're done, there are probably more steps. Keep going until they tell you they're finished.

The couple of times I've had malware sneak onto my machine, I knew I would never feel comfortable using that machine if I didn't scrub it completely and start over. Malware is incredibly insidious, these days.

With the blue screens, I think your machine has reached the point where, probably no matter how much time you spend on it, you'll never clean up all the problems it has developed. I would repartition and reformat.

The complication is that it sounds like you don't have current backups. What I would do here is pull the drive and use a SATA-USB adapter (very inexpensive) to attach the drive to another computer to copy the data.

If you don't have a spare machine of your own, you might try finding a tech savvy friend who will help you do that. As long as you don't boot from that drive nor run any software residing on it, their machine should be safe. You can copy your data onto SD cards or thumb drives, for now. That can get you back up and running.

Going forward, you're going to want routine backups. There are many threads on here with advice. For me, it's a local NAS (Network Addressed Storage) and a cloud backup service. Up to you to decide how much your data is worth to you. Keep in mind: If your backup requires you to plug something in regularly and you're like the vast majority of people, you'll stop doing that after a few months. I highly recommend completely automated.

Drake Christensen

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Answer
Messed up computer
Mar 2, 2018 4:28PM PST

Copy all your personal data locate all the install media for your purchased programs

Do a restore from the hidden part to restore the cpmputer to as you purchased it

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Answer
You probably need a clean rebuid.
Mar 3, 2018 5:47AM PST

This does not sound good. Some general suggestions.

1. Stop using this machine for trying to buy stuff or any other financial activity!

2. recover as much of your data as you can. I'd use a live Linux CD/DVD, assuming you have an optical drive or if not a live USB stick. I use Knoppix V3.1, an oldie but goodie, in that it runs a GUI, auto-mounts any disks or partitions it finds and supports NTFS files. Most other Live Linux options will work just as well. Do not attempt to install it, do not get bogged down trying to learn Linux (at this stage anyway) you just need the copy facility. Copy the data to an external HDD or DVDs but do not put these files into any other computer until they have been scanned for malware. Get a friend to download the Live Linux for you, since you cannot trust your machine at present - it won't affect the Linux system but it may leave contamination around that propagates to your cleaned up system.

3. You say that "somehow my system backup was turned off", which implies that at some time, it was running, so you may still have some kind of backup from then, albeit old. If so, it might be worth trying to restore that - I'd suggest to a new blank disk (they are not that expensive these days). It may, at least save you having to re-install all your applications from scratch. If you don't have an old backup, I suspect you are going to have to do a factory reset, for which you are going to need some media - hopefully you made the restore disks when you originally got the machine, if not, talk to Dell about buying a set. Again, I'd be inclined to use a new disk but if that is beyond your budget, get your friend to download one of the many bootable disk wipe utilities you can find on the web, then delete all the partitions with the secure erase option specified. create new partitions and long format them, not just the quick format. You could use gparted on your live Linux system to do this. Either way, this will be a very slow operation.

4. Once you've got your hardware back to a clean state, re-install the factory system from the restore/reset set. Put a decent anti-virus system on, ZoneAlarm, Comodo or Avast Free and scan the system with it and Malwarebytes to be absolutely sure the machine is clean.

5. Re-install your applications from the original media. Then, once you have the system fully set up, BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE, make a full System Image backup and keep doing this on a regular basis, at least monthly or weekly, if you update your data heavily.

6. Scan your recovered data files with your anti-virus and copy the confirmed clean ones to your rebuilt system. If in any doubt, make a note of what it was and don't restore it.

7. Make another full System Image backup of all disks and partitions.

This is likely to take you several days!

At one time, Kaspersky Labs used to offer a free "Rescue Disk" download, which, if still available you might want to give that a try after you've done items 1 and 2. Some of the other anti-virus companies offer similar help, worth doing a bit of research.

Good luck, I fear you are going to need it!

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Answer
Dell works for me.
Mar 5, 2018 10:02AM PST

I now have DELL on "speed dial." I bought their tech package years ago for the day last year when all I had was a blue screen. Seems the internet went off in the hotel room overnight when the "danged" Microsoft 10 (which seems to cause me much grief whenever they update me) decided to update and as usual doesn't bother to ask permission! I actually needed another computer to download S/W to one of those speed drives to fix it. I still get the occasional "THIS IS MICROSOFT CALL ME AT XXX-XXX-XXX" ...and as recently as this morning, again, I got it cleaned up! It happened last week too. I do not do gaming, socializing or anything illegal and I just hate being "attacked!" I also have an AVAST backup tech program. Seems I can't prevent attacks but I can recover (and can use my 2012 laptop without having to buy a replacement.) I'm too old to put up with being "messed up."