Computer Virus.....Dump and start fresh????

LiveLarge · 03-24-2008, 04:28 PM

I hope I learned my lesson a few years ago, and from that day to this My computer has remained clean. except for annoying trackers

My Brother-in-law has had a bad week. On top of everything else he has a computer virus. I have heard the quick easy fix is to dump and start clean.....How do you go about doing this correctly?

He doesn't care about anything on his computer, just wants to get it up and running.

JustCallMeDave · 03-24-2008, 04:40 PM

Have him insert his Windows CD into the CD drive and reboot the computer. It will start the process, and just have him choose the option that says to format the hard drive and then reinstall. Works like a charm.

LiveLarge · 03-24-2008, 04:48 PM

Dave, He swears his computer never came with a startup disk. It is a Dell Inspiron E1505 Laptop....About one year old. Is it possible it has a partitioned hard drive?

JustCallMeDave · 03-24-2008, 04:53 PM

Very possible. Many computer retailers don't ship them when they ship their computers. However, there is usually a restore CD in the box that puts the computer back to what it was like when he bought it, meaning it'll have a bunch of trialware garbage on it, too.

jet · 03-24-2008, 04:58 PM

I bought my kid one of those Dell 1505's and i did not come with a restore disc either. They said the restore is on the hard drive? which makes no sense to me if the unit will not boot? Sorry but a disc is sure helpful?

I might be calling Dell if I was your brother since it may not have a disc, like ours

DirectDrive · 03-24-2008, 05:05 PM

During the purchase of a Dell for a friend, there was an option to buy the Restore CD...we bought it.
With these proprietary machines there is typically a "hidden partition" on the hard drive that works in tandem with the restore CD. Never do a full, low-level wipe of a proprietary drive unless you know how to protect the hidden partition.
Sounds like a Restore CD needs to be purchased in this case.

GSD · 03-24-2008, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jet

I bought my kid one of those Dell 1505's and i did not come with a restore disc either. They said the restore is on the hard drive? which makes no sense to me if the unit will not boot? Sorry but a disc is sure helpful?

I might be calling Dell if I was your brother since it may not have a disc, like ours

That's what my DELL (from the land of Satan) 2400 has. This is the process as shown in the directions:

These instructions may differ for models other than DELL Dimension 2400.

Hell-B · 03-24-2008, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jet

I bought my kid one of those Dell 1505's and i did not come with a restore disc either. They said the restore is on the hard drive? which makes no sense to me if the unit will not boot? Sorry but a disc is sure helpful?

I might be calling Dell if I was your brother since it may not have a disc, like ours

Same here. After talking to India, I was sent all the discs that should have came with computer.

Danno · 03-24-2008, 08:44 PM

So I have had a problem with one of my two E1505's that was not due to a virus but after talking to Dell, they recommended the <CTRL> F11 deal that GSD notes. It restores the computer to the day that is was purchased. Copy any files you want to keep first though. It's real easy and works great. Leave yourself a few hours to go through it as your PC will want to update of of the originally installed programs that will not have been updated (due to the restore) since day one.

LiveLarge · 03-24-2008, 08:57 PM

Thanks guys.....I am updating his stuff right now. Giving him the right stuff to keep safe also. I don't really want to do this again, but if I do......It will all be easier.

kilchisfisher · 03-24-2008, 09:43 PM

Does he have a good anti-virus? If not do him a favor and put AVG or something on there for him. Plus after the restore be sure to run the antivirus it to make doubly sure it's gone.

LiveLarge · 03-24-2008, 09:55 PM

AVG, AdAware, SpyBot S&D, Windows destroyer,

Looking at Host files here

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Don't know much about it though....What do you guys think?

Ryan Pultz · 03-24-2008, 09:55 PM

Had to do thus sunday morning what a nice way to spend easter morning before church!

rp

LiveLarge · 03-24-2008, 10:22 PM

I have been doing a little research on Host Files......Looks pretty good to me. If I understand it right, you have ad server names in your Hosts file, tagged with your own computer's IP address, your computer will never be able to contact the ad server. It will try to, but it will be calling itself and get a "busy signal" This means they can't load. They can't track you....Hmmmm...Now does it work???

Undertaker · 03-25-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveLarge

I have been doing a little research on Host Files......Looks pretty good to me. If I understand it right, you have ad server names in your Hosts file, tagged with your own computer's IP address, your computer will never be able to contact the ad server. It will try to, but it will be calling itself and get a "busy signal" This means they can't load. They can't track you....Hmmmm...Now does it work???

Yes.
The hardest part is making sure you keep it up to date. It needs to be updated from time to time as new sites polute the internet.
You'll know it works when you go to a website like MSN or some such page that has a lot of banner ads and you get windows that have 'page cannot be displayed' in them. Those are the ones being directed back to localhost (127.0.0.1) which is the whole point of these modified hosts files.
Spybot seach and destroy has a feature that creates and updates the hosts file based on it's spyware detection. I haven't personally used Spybot, but our company has and it keeps a lot of junk off the PC's.