[PCNOV]

has my pc got a virus, need advice please

Hi
I hope you are all well!
I have only just registered
I am having problems with my pc on start up

I have never had any problems with my pc until recently
i hope i have not got a virus
It is taking a long time to start up
i get the usual data and then windows starts scanning then the screen goes black and i can hear a slight knocking sound ( like a cd spinning round in the drive )
It does take a very long time to eventually start my desktop.

A little more information, my proshowgold slide show stopped working and also
my email system was unable to recieve any emails although that seems to have been rectified.
I am just scared that my pc will crash and i will lose all my data and images.
I hope you can help me and i really would appreciate any advice, as i am a complete novice
best regards
Tom

 

[Herk]

Hi Tom Welcome to TSF.

The knocking sound is what bothers me here. Sounds like your H/D may be starting to go. First, start by backing up your important data.For how to do this with XP look here. One thing to avoid here is backing up to a seperate partition, if the H/D fails , your backup would be lost also. The best way is to use either Ghost 9.0 or Acronis True Image software and save to a second H/D. This requires money however so if thats not avaliable to you now use CD's or DVD's.

Once you've backed up your data, run checkdisk and defrag. See here for these. Post back if these help, but I see a new H/D in your future.

Finally, viruses and adware are always a problem. Start with an online scan and use the tools listed in speech below to get started. Even if your clean, it never hurts to check.

If you haven't already, download AdawareSE, install, update immediately. Go to this Site to get the plug-in for fixing VX2 variants. Make sure to customize the settings in Ad-aware for better scan results.

Then download, install, update immediately Spybot S&D.

Have each fix whatever problems they may find.

Next, run an online virus scan at one of the following
TrendMicro
Panda ActiveScan
RAV Antivirus.
Please select the autoclean option when using Trend Micro.

Then get HijackThis . This program will help us determine if there are any spyware/malware on your computer. Run the scan, save the log, but do not fix anything yet. Many files it finds are harmless, and required for your system to operate.

Post your log in a new thread in the HijackThis Log Help forum. This our dedicated spyware/virus forum. One of the expert analysts there will look over your log and assist you. Please include a brief description of the problem you are having and what you have done to fix it so far.

 

[keymaker]

to see if the harddrive, i recommend going to the manufacturer website of your harddrive and download the disk utility. then bootup with it, follow the on-screen instructions, and then test your hdd for any errors.

 

[PCNOV]

many thanks

Hi
i am going through all your recommendations one by one and i have not finished yet, but just wanted to say a special thank you for all your help.
I will post again when i have completed

many thanks to both of you
Tommy

 

[PCNOV]

Success!

Hi
I am just letting you both know that my PC is running normally again so many thanks for your kind help
best regards
Tom