safe mode only

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greggustin

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wish I had more details
friend has laptop
win XP
claims she added no new programs, or downloads
boot up - blue screen (not BSD)
then Gateway splash page
then MS dos page
(ie the standard select boot page eg: normal, safe, etc)
safe works ok
but every reboot - back to same DOS page
tried system restore = no change
I tied to get here Logmein.com
she could download, but not install
said administrative lock out - even though she logged in as admin
ideas please?
 
When it boots to blue screen, is there an error code? if so what is it ?

Another note: sounds like her hd might be cooked. Or there is another hardware issue some where. How old is the pc? When you tried system restore, did you do a complete reformat - Delete the partition and create a new one, then install in the os. If not, try that. If that doesn't work, then it is probably the hd.
 
no error msg
why would the HD be cooked?
if so, it would not run at all
it runs fine in safe mode
system restore works - but still will not boot more than safe mode
complete reformat? and lose everthing - odd advice

I got her to run msconfig
and send me an email off all the prgms in the startup list
many trojans

I am having her reboot with them all checked off
will get report tomorrow
 
There is something causing it to not boot up. Since it will go to safe mode but not regular mode, it is a software problem. I seen cooked hds that let you go into safe mode but not regular mode.

More than likely it is a software issue, like said; reformatting could fix it. Especially if she has trojans. In that case a reformat is the only thing that will fix it.
 
hi
although I REALLY appreciate your suggestions
but even though I am not an EXPERT
formatting a HD is by far NOT the only way to rid a HD of a Trojan !!!!
not only dozens of programs that do it, and I have even done them by hand
(ie registry edits and scouring the drive for odd folders/programs/.exe's and .bat's)
 
hi
although I REALLY appreciate your suggestions
but even though I am not an EXPERT
formatting a HD is by far NOT the only way to rid a HD of a Trojan !!!!
not only dozens of programs that do it, and I have even done them by hand
(ie registry edits and scouring the drive for odd folders/programs/.exe's and .bat's)

little frustrated ???

Get a boot disk with the trojan scanners and portable anitivirus programs, then try to fix it that way ... or do like zombie said. My input is finished on this thread ..
 
little frustrated ???

Get a boot disk with the trojan scanners and portable anitivirus programs, then try to fix it that way ... or do like zombie said. My input is finished on this thread ..

yeah seriously.. if your such an expert, why are you even asking us?

Oftentimes, just out of shear time constraints it is easier and quicker to just format the drive instead of wasting upwards of 4 hours or more scanning a drive for virus's etc....

Also bear in mind some virus's actually destroy your hard drive by continuously telling the drive to write to itself, whereby scratching up the platter and in those instances it is certainly best to format the drive.
 
as many have said, and i know from fixing them all the time, when pcs wont load fully but into safe mode then it is a software issues most of the time.

This can be for many reasons as already discussed, drivers can be at fault but what you have said it sounds like the pc user is not the brightest of users if they are infected as badly as you claim.

If they had backed up their stuff as is good practise then a re-format and install would not have been such an issue and would have in fact been the fastest measure.

Even if you dont foramt and use one of the online scanners it is not 100% sure to remove every last trace of any little nasty and although most now do scan for malware not all is caught, for that i would suggest spybot search and destroy, hijackthis, all of which i would run in safe mode to make sure nothing is running.

Lastly it is also adviseable when asking for help and advise you do not dismiss it out of hand because a) you think you know better or b) you cant be bothered to follow the advise given and c) being abusive or aggressive will not get people helping you.

If you dont think the advise of mine who has been invovled with pcs since he was 8 (now 30) and have been invovled in the industry on and off for 10 years is of no use then dont follow it.
 
If you dont think the advise of mine who has been invovled with pcs since he was 8 (now 30) and have been invovled in the industry on and off for 10 years is of no use then dont follow it.

I been working on pc's since the great commodore 64 and dealt with this issue many of times. But hey, I know nothing lol :rolleyes:
 
I been working on pc's since the great commodore 64 and dealt with this issue many of times. But hey, I know nothing lol :rolleyes:

we already knew that... oh crap you where being sarcastic, opps. :lick:
 
I been working on pc's since the great commodore 64 and dealt with this issue many of times. But hey, I know nothing lol :rolleyes:

you started late then i had a specy 48K and a spectrum +2 :p
 
beat my amstrad 468... i think thats what it was called anyway....
 
sorry if this offends anyone - not my intention
****************

to all the 'wise guys' here
like I said - thanks for the suggestions
but to say FORMAT the drive is the only solution?????
and you claim to be an expert?
then you are defended by your pals???
while I was humble and claimed 'not to be an expert'
I am no dummy either

my first computer was an ADAM
and had every thing since (Atari, Commodoer, PC, XT, etc)
not to play on, but to program

not to mention my time on Vax mini and main frames in 1980
(probably before half of you were born)

in fact, by using voice recognition on the Leading Edge XT in 1985, I designed and developed the wold's first realtime LSO Voice Recognition subsystem for the USN LSOT

even designed and develop a color 3d graphics card for the pc bus before anyone thought of doing so (in fact about 10 years before anyone else)
which then evolved into the simulation industry's first real time computer image generator based on PC (1984)

and in the ensuing years I have developed and sold many computer based technologies (both hardware and software based) and have been CEO of several tech companies

so . . . before this evolved into a "whose is bigger" thread
I am just saying - that not ALL advise given here is gospel

and just because someone is 'wise' enough to seek additional help here
does not make them a 'rookie'

I belong to dozens of tech forums
and have repeatedly said - this is the best for good and friendly advice
hate to have to change my opinion
 
sorry if this offends anyone - not my intention
****************

to all the 'wise guys' here
like I said - thanks for the suggestions
but to say FORMAT the drive is the only solution?????
and you claim to be an expert?
then you are defended by your pals???
while I was humble and claimed 'not to be an expert'
I am no dummy either

my first computer was an ADAM
and had every thing since (Atari, Commodoer, PC, XT, etc)
not to play on, but to program

not to mention my time on Vax mini and main frames in 1980
(probably before half of you were born)

in fact, by using voice recognition on the Leading Edge XT in 1985, I designed and developed the wold's first realtime LSO Voice Recognition subsystem for the USN LSOT

even designed and develop a color 3d graphics card for the pc bus before anyone thought of doing so (in fact about 10 years before anyone else)
which then evolved into the simulation industry's first real time computer image generator based on PC (1984)

and in the ensuing years I have developed and sold many computer based technologies (both hardware and software based) and have been CEO of several tech companies

so . . . before this evolved into a "whose is bigger" thread
I am just saying - that not ALL advise given here is gospel

and just because someone is 'wise' enough to seek additional help here
does not make them a 'rookie'

I belong to dozens of tech forums
and have repeatedly said - this is the best for good and friendly advice
hate to have to change my opinion

You know at this stage, i'm not sure if we would mind if you changed your opinion.....

The umbrage was not taken over you disagreeing, it was how vehemently and antagonistically you did so.
 
so just because you can write sorftware donest make you an expect on computer problems or how to communicate with people trying to help you, and yes sometime a format is a 100% faster way of wiping any thing from the boot drive (unless its a boot sector virus and then your naffed) from a time standpoint i can reinstall get all updates and have the system back up and running in under 2 hours, i have spent more time trying to clean a pc because the user didnt want to lose anything.

If you are on so many tech forums why did you post here? were you hoping that we would tell you what you want to hear? And like you said our advise may not be gospel but then again who says yours is.

We all tried to help you by telling you the fastest, quickest and easiest way to sovle your issue, it is not our fault the user did not or does not back up their stuff.

Seeing as you are such an expert i will leave you to solve this one on your own as you seem so able to do, seeing as my advise is not or worth or merit to you
 
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