MBR Virus or something bad?

JokerFMJ · 07-07-2006, 02:37 PM

My friends computer is in trouble, heh... I haven't gotten a chance to look at it yet, but this is what I know.

He used Earthlink for a few weeks and it was all good. Then he got the "web accelerator" for Earthlink and tried to install it. It told him that he had to uninstall Norton Anti-Virus for the web accelerator to work. So he did that, uninstalled Norton.

Then he said everytime he'd be on the internet he'd get disconnected every 10 minutes or so until one time his computer rebooted and came up with a BSoD instantly.

This morning he says that the blue screen is permanent as soon as he turns on his computer and wants to know if it can be fixed or if he can take it out in the desert and shoot it... I don't know what the BSoD says exactly, but something to the effect of:

"Windows logon failed. error code error code error code. Hard drive failure, blah blah blah."

So, instantly i'm thinking some kind of virus because of the problems almost immediately after the Norton removal...

But what do ya'll think? Any ideas on where I should start? Heh.

Volt-Schwibe · 07-07-2006, 02:50 PM

i really don't suspect a virus first off.

hard disks fail.

can it successfully complete a scandisk?

JokerFMJ · 07-07-2006, 10:29 PM

Yes, HD's fail, but going from no errors to a failed HD almost simultaneously with the Earthlink web accelerator seems fishy... But i'm about to start looking at it, so we'll see.

**Ralck** · 07-07-2006, 10:40 PM

Can he boot into safe mode? Also, as suggested above, run a chkdsk /r. Also, try running utilities provided by the hdd manufacturer that can verify if the harddrive is bad or not.

If it is a virus, a good place to try and start is booting into safe mode, running hijack this, and posting in the HJT forum on TSF.

07-07-2006, 02:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
JokerFMJ Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 245 OS: Windows XP Pro. My System	MBR Virus or something bad? My friends computer is in trouble, heh... I haven't gotten a chance to look at it yet, but this is what I know. He used Earthlink for a few weeks and it was all good. Then he got the "web accelerator" for Earthlink and tried to install it. It told him that he had to uninstall Norton Anti-Virus for the web accelerator to work. So he did that, uninstalled Norton. Then he said everytime he'd be on the internet he'd get disconnected every 10 minutes or so until one time his computer rebooted and came up with a BSoD instantly. This morning he says that the blue screen is permanent as soon as he turns on his computer and wants to know if it can be fixed or if he can take it out in the desert and shoot it... I don't know what the BSoD says exactly, but something to the effect of: "Windows logon failed. error code error code error code. Hard drive failure, blah blah blah." So, instantly i'm thinking some kind of virus because of the problems almost immediately after the Norton removal... But what do ya'll think? Any ideas on where I should start? Heh. __________________ -JokerFMJ. Opteron 165 Denmark Socket 939 Dual Core ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe GIGABYTE 3D AURORA Chassis RoseWill RP500-2 500W PSU BenQ FP91G+ 19" 8ms LCD CORSAIR XMS 1GB 2-2-2-5 WD Caviar SE16 250GB SATA II (Two) NEC 3550A DVD+/- R/RW DL NEC 4551A DVD+/- R/RW/RAM DL w/ LabelFlash ASUS EN7800GT/Top/Silent/2DHTV 256MB ZALMAN 92mm Cooling Fan w/ Heatsink Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 Logitech Media Wired Standard Keyboard Logitech MX518 Optical Mouse XP Professional SP2

07-07-2006, 02:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
Volt-Schwibe Asst. Manager, Automotive Forums; HJT Trainee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Behind you, watching you as you type. Posts: 7,372 OS: Click "My System" to view details My System	i really don't suspect a virus first off. hard disks fail. can it successfully complete a scandisk? __________________ <signature> TSF is funded by our Admin's pocket, care to help? Power Tip: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. New Members: Creating a single new thread in the correct section is the best way to assure your thread will receive a reply. </signature>

07-07-2006, 10:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
JokerFMJ Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 245 OS: Windows XP Pro. My System	Yes, HD's fail, but going from no errors to a failed HD almost simultaneously with the Earthlink web accelerator seems fishy... But i'm about to start looking at it, so we'll see. __________________ -JokerFMJ. Opteron 165 Denmark Socket 939 Dual Core ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe GIGABYTE 3D AURORA Chassis RoseWill RP500-2 500W PSU BenQ FP91G+ 19" 8ms LCD CORSAIR XMS 1GB 2-2-2-5 WD Caviar SE16 250GB SATA II (Two) NEC 3550A DVD+/- R/RW DL NEC 4551A DVD+/- R/RW/RAM DL w/ LabelFlash ASUS EN7800GT/Top/Silent/2DHTV 256MB ZALMAN 92mm Cooling Fan w/ Heatsink Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 Logitech Media Wired Standard Keyboard Logitech MX518 Optical Mouse XP Professional SP2

07-07-2006, 10:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
Ralck TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,454 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	Can he boot into safe mode? Also, as suggested above, run a chkdsk /r. Also, try running utilities provided by the hdd manufacturer that can verify if the harddrive is bad or not. If it is a virus, a good place to try and start is booting into safe mode, running hijack this, and posting in the HJT forum on TSF. __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs