I think I would talk to the security section about this. I do not think this is a hardware problem. I have heard of CMOS viruses. They can what you are talking about.
Are these burned copies of windows? This is typical of a burned copy that has been infected by the computer that burned it.Then with a fresh install of XP the virus files are all in the same places.
I tried Windows 2000 next, same thing. Explorer even has a searchbar installed on first boot !?
Until this new type of virus emerged early in 1998, viruses only damaged software. The new CIH viruses infect Windows 95/98 program executable files and cause damage to systems with a flash BIOS ROM. As it infects, the virus attempts to reprogram the flash BIOS ROM chip. If the virus succeeds there is no remedy, other than replacing the chip or having it “reflashed” by a hardware service agent. If the flash BIOS ROM is permanently attached to the mother board, the entire motherboard must be replaced.
“The CIH virus produces few clues to unsuspecting computer users that their machines are infected. The virus cleverly infects files without increasing their length. However, the virus occasionally causes system crashes,” according to Robert Stroud, Ontrack virus expert. “Still, the best line of defense against CIH infection is anti-virus software, like VET 9.8.1, which has been specifically upgraded to recognize this new form of corruption.”
There are two parts to the CIH virus payload. The first attempt is to destroy the flash BIOS ROM by reprogramming it with garbage. The second attack overwrites the contents of the hard disk drive with garbage, working through a number of sectors in each cylinder of the drive. The damage caused to information on the hard disk may be recoverable through professional data recovery services, but will be difficult.
He already said it's a legit XP CD, not a copy. The Windows CD is not the problem. I have seen a BIOS virus before, nasty little buggers, pain to get rid of. Flashing the BIOS might work, or just get a new BIOS chip as someone suggested. Wouldn't hurt to replace the RAM chip(s) also.linderman said:you are re-installing the viruses with your windows install disks / someone has given you a funny !!!!
zero out the drive and use a legit RETAIL version of Win XP / you can buy win xp for $70.00 on ebay with a COA (certificate of authenticity)
I will gurantee you that will kill your virus problems !!
I'm dying of curiousity about the comment about the RAM chips, that's more farfetched than the disk having a virus!tinyhu said:He already said it's a legit XP CD, not a copy. The Windows CD is not the problem. I have seen a BIOS virus before, nasty little buggers, pain to get rid of. Flashing the BIOS might work, or just get a new BIOS chip as someone suggested. Wouldn't hurt to replace the RAM chip(s) also.
AFAIK, this is an urban legend. How about a link to an actual description of this CMOS virus?The CMOS is small in size, but a virus can hide there. Many viruses create "dummy" files that antivirus programs will pickup and remove, only to be replaced by more. The virus spawns these files, making it look like the virus is large in size, but in reality it probably is quite small. I've seen a number of those, and it can be tough to track down the original virus file(s) and usually involves scanning the hard drive in a different computer to keep the virus from being active and replicating. In your case, this won't help you since the virus very likely isn't on your hard drive to start with, but rather coming from another source (BIOS/CMOS probably). Just wanted to give you an idea of what a virus can do though.