Laptop problems

Hey everyone...

Im having some virus problems...Im sure its easy to fix but I cant get them to be gone lol...I have avast 5.0, but I can't get threw a quick scan or a normal full scan without my conputer freezing. So now that I have tried what I can to rid of them, I ask my fellow cerb pals for any reasonably prices place in Ottawa to get a quick 'clean' done to my laptop??

I know a friend of mine had almost the same occurance and went to best buy for repair and paid alot & warned me lol

Thanks all for any imput...

xox

Lil.ms

First off, if you can still use your laptop then uninstall the avast software and install avira anitvirus from here then try a full scan.

If it is a virus that is on the computer then that software should take care of it.

There is a more complex but precise way to go about this but that would depend on the brand of your laptop and its boot menu.

Generally speaking, if you need to have someone look at the laptop then I would recommend that you take it to a well established independent computer shop rather than a big box store like Best Buy or Future Shop. The service is usually better, cheaper and the turn around quicker.

I agree with Incognito. I've had issues with various antivirus programs that misbehaved. Highly recommend Malwarebytes Anti-Malware free edition - it's been the most dependable antivirus/anti-malware program among the different brands I've used.

Hey everyone...

Im having some virus problems...Im sure its easy to fix but I cant get them to be gone lol...I have avast 5.0, but I can't get threw a quick scan or a normal full scan without my conputer freezing. So now that I have tried what I can to rid of them, I ask my fellow cerb pals for any reasonably prices place in Ottawa to get a quick 'clean' done to my laptop??

I know a friend of mine had almost the same occurance and went to best buy for repair and paid alot & warned me lol

 

Thanks all for any imput...

xox

Lil.ms

nerds on site visits you and handles all your computer needs,

make sure to back up your files before they arrive or jsut start backing up files all the time.

Watch what they do and ask them questions .

A lot of virus's will lock out the antivirus programs... installing a antivirus program on top of a infected computer will also often not do anything for you. The best thing is format and re-install as it's next to impossible to be 100% sure you got all the virus out.

Most shops will not even try to "clean" them out ... they just format and re-install windows ($75-$150 + and more in some places) for this service .. some high volume places in Toronto charge 35.00 flat "Cleaning Fee" and they really just re-install your OS (Full Format to "Clean" the virus the lazy way) and leave the computer for you to re-install all your software back (Probably doing 10+ machines at once).

If you have restore points you can try to go back to a previous restore point but anything you installed since than will need to be re-installed and this does not always get rid of the problem but you can at least run a anti virus usually at that stage.

What I like to do... and this is a actual "CLEANING METHOD" and works 99% of the time is I have a old machine here that I will piggyback a infected drive as a secondary drive (Not a bootable drive) and I will load up windows and run the antivirus full scan hierarchy on the secondary drive. This will usually isolate the files (Many will usually be system files that have been "altered" by the virus so if you remove or quarantine them the computer will not boot off that drive so the next step to do a REAL CLEAN is to put a copy of windows back in the CD and do a repair (Finds any missing system files and replaces them)... this will fix MOST of the virus's and still keep all your data intact.

... but if you have a shop do this prepare to pay a fair amount for the work as it takes a more skilled tech and much more time. I charge 120.00 for this and let the client know it's success is only 99% and if it fails a full format and re-install will be needed (or give them an option of keeping the current drive as a secondary drive). Now for laptops I charge more for this as you need a laptop adapter for the desktop to put the laptop drive in as a secondary drive so I charge a premium for this of 150.00.

Mod is right ......

If you want to try a last hail mary before formating and reinstalling try this. Microsoft One Care was a crappy program to buy but thier online safty scanner works great, run the scan and let it do it's thing. Depending on what type of virus you have it might not let you connect to the site but it is well worth the try and it is free. It has saved a few friends buts when they were able to connect, the scan does take a bit of time depending on how much stuff you have on your computer.

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm

Most viruses and malwares feed off the networked or intra-netted activities of a computer and these activities can be stopped ones the computer is restarted and changed into its SAFE MODE.

it is in the safe mode that is always advisable to do a proper virus or malware scan of a computer because in this situation the viruses or malwares are stuck in one position and not hiding behind other activities during the normal mode of a computer making them hard to detect properly.

Off course the safest way is for a complete backup of important files and format the hard drive but all that isnt necessary.

I have discussed this same issue with "techies" I know in the past and they have all told me the same thing that Mod said about re-installing windows being the only true solution. They also told me that anyone who claims to be able to "clean your system" is misleading you and can never guarantee their work.

Mods solution has worked best for me over the years. Best to back up important files regularly.

Honestly, I dont know how to do any of this stuff and thats why I wanted to take it to someone....

NOW today I got the BLUE screen of death:( Boo!!!!

But like I said it keeps coming back on lol ...

Very frustrating....I just made back ups of all my pics and documents lol never know now whats going to happen...

This blows!!!

LOL

I did call some store today they said 140$ get Laptop back in 2 days...another Boo!!!! lol

Thanks all for the help....

XO

lil.ms

140.00 to reinstall windows or to try to remove the virus and repair windows? If it's to format and re-install.. that is a little high probably (especially in a tech town like Ottawa).

The good think about taking it to a reputable pro is that a pro will install all the drivers (specific drivers for your laptop - obviously don't assume they will but ask to make sure it will have all the drivers). We could walk you through doing the format and re-install of windows but you may not have all the drivers and could run into some problems as it's not always as smooth as one would hope.... especially with laptops.

yes exactly, and also when I bought my pc, it didnt come with a disk, yes thats right-it did not....they want you to go back to the store when are having problems so you can pay their techies....yea I thought it was pricey- but what do I know about computer repair...

yes most box computers don't come with disks though they do prompt you to make a backup / system restore disk/ disks when you first run it. You will have a hidden drive on your hard drive that holds your opperating system for you now to reinstall from though not sure how to get at that know if you ahve gotten so bad you have the BLUE Screen.

now i knock on wood- serious not a single problem sense the blue screen, not one pop up, not one threat, no glitches nothing...

I know blue screen is bad busniess but..I can only do what I can lol

Blue screens are very common on laptops (More common than desktops).

They heat up easily causing issues and more commonly people forget to turn them off and the battery runs dead shutting down the system without doing a proper shutdown (Causing damaged system files, registry errors and other stuff).

Always make sure you power down your laptop if you leave it (unless you leave it plugged in but even then your laptop is not made to be left on for long periods of time - lot of stuff in a small space that all generates a lot of heat).

Now... this is something else! Are you SURE you have a virus??? I am asking because if your computer was left on and it was doing a scheduled virus scan and the battery died it could have left some corrupted files in your antivirus program (Causing it not to run properly) did it actually detect a virus/trojan/worm and tell you or are you assuming it is a virus because of the funky things going on?

If you are just assuming you have a virus because Avast is not running properly I would guess your assumption may be wrong.

Bassnut gave you a great tip (run the one care online scanner http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm)

My tip if you are not 100% sure you have a virus is to uninstall avast and download it again and re-install it (Don't switch to another antivirus just yet as having a broken anti virus partially installed and another one installed at the same time will probably cause really bad stuff to happen - antivirus programs do NOT play well with each other and having one that is partially broken can cause all sorts of blue screen errors and stuff - trying to install a second one would most likely make things much worse)

wow mod its funny you say that, cause it's only the past few days I have been leaving it running all night...I have a tendency to fall asleep to a movie or channel stream lol...but no I say i have one because Avast keeps sayin i do before it freezes and gives me the options to remove, 4 torgans,..and your right blue screens are more common cuase this one clearly stated windows was having problems and was best to shut down & restart..and it did it on it's own..and when i go back to Avast says the scan is finished and threats dont have the option to remove- its says files cant be found...

But still nothing sense then, this morning..

and thanks bassnut & mod, i will try that link in the morning...

Thanks all for your help too

xox

Trojans are extra bad cause they can give someone on the outside access to your computer (They could be watching what you are doing right now if your using it - including all your log in info for here, your email, banking, etc...) so don't use the laptop for any of that!! If you have get to another computer right away and change all your passwords as soon as you can.

Next thing.. .chances are avast is trying to lockout the offending files (Quarantine them) but the files could be important system files so this could cause the blue screens.

No way around it... your going to need to format the computer and re-install a fresh copy of windows so back up what you can and be sure before putting ANY of those backup disks in the laptop that the first thing you do is install a good antivirus program and make sure it is up to date (even wait a few months before recovering any of the data you backed up if you can - I say that cause the virus scanners don't detect all virus/trojans... they only can detect the stuff they are programmed to detect. The virus's/trojans spread so quickly that often the virus scanners do not pick them up and by the time the antivirus program learns about this it's too late.

You said : " fall asleep to a movie or channel stream "... if your downloading stuff from places like limewire or any P2P sites... or installing those "Watch TV on your computer for free" programs ... that is probably where you got the virus!! They are both notorious for passing nasty stuff.

I was going to make that point earlier - about LMS not saying she had a virus in her original post. Symptom was that an avast scan was locking up the laptop.

I eat and breathe computers as part of my living. Here's my Columbo list of possible suspects, in order of likelihood:

- a corrupted avast file. Treatment: re-install avast (no need to uninstall)

- a failing hard drive sector. Treatment: do a scandisk, and check the fix/repair and scan sectors checkboxes. See if any errors are reported. Caveat: I've had hard drive bad sectors that scandisk won't repair properly, or block off.

- a bug in avast, introduced in a recent update, that causes it to misbehave/conflict with some other software on your computer. Treatment: uninstall avast, download and install avg free. See if it can complete a scan.

- virus/trojan, etc. Treatment: download and install Malabytes anti-malware free edition (I run this just fine concurrently with my av program Symantec Endpoint). Do a scan, and see if it finds anything bad. If so, get it to quarantine infections, reboot, do a second scan to ensure it got everything, and then see if avast will run ok.

Btw, I've never done a voluntary clean reinstall to clear up virus probs. I have too many apps that would need reinstallation. I use a suite of antivirus and system tools to track down and clean out the offending files and registry entries. I also do full system backups regularly. If your computer uses a seagate or maxtor hard drive, Seagate has a disk imaging program called Maxblast that's free.

Lil.miss.summers, don't let all the geek talk get to you. Print out the posts when you audition a repair shop, and let the techie read them, and highlight which ones he agrees with. That will at least give you some comfort that he/she's in harmony with some unbiased advice from cerb.

Hey everyone...

Im having some virus problems...Im sure its easy to fix but I cant get them to be gone lol...I have avast 5.0, but I can't get threw a quick scan or a normal full scan without my conputer freezing. So now that I have tried what I can to rid of them, I ask my fellow cerb pals for any reasonably prices place in Ottawa to get a quick 'clean' done to my laptop??

I know a friend of mine had almost the same occurance and went to best buy for repair and paid alot & warned me lol

 

Thanks all for any imput...

xox

Lil.ms

I'm not sure if the particular service that I use has a branch office in the Ottawa, but there are usually mobile computer repair services either in the yellow pages, or online. They usually charge between 60 and $80 an hour. The advantage to this is that you can supervise the work and make sure they don't mess up your computer, or do extra work you didn't ask for and then charge extra. Most of the mobile service technicians are required to have at least Microsoft certification, and usually have a degree in information-technology, or electronics. Some of them actually used to work for a major computer manufacturer. They might be a good bet.