Computer wont start, suspect a virus....

ferlr · Dec 17, 2008

I have Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP1 (I thought it might be okay, it is not!) and was downloading a torrent file and also had (gasp!) Limewire opened. Earlier in that session, I had declined an iTunes update and then got busy and left my computer in that state for over 24 hours. My DH unplugged the laptop to take to a friends house and when he got there, it shut down automatically once he went to close out of iTunes. I was able to boot in Safe Mode ,which, within 10 minutes it shut down, but now it just runs me through a check to determine why it wont start and then loops me back around again. I am (sadly to say, don't i ever learn?) familiar with the Read & Run me first steps, however, how do I get to that point? I have the Recovery disk but don't want to loose all my stuff. Can you tell me what I need to do so that I can boot into safe mode and save my stuff (or should I wait to clean it up first? I will be backing up to a 320GB External) before I do the read and run me steps?

chaslang · Dec 19, 2008

You really need to work in the Software Forum at this point since you cannot do too much in regards to malware removal if you cannot boot up. At this point we do not even know if your problems are truly due to malware. You may want to check to see if you can use System Restore to possibly get back to a point where your computer was bootable. As far as whether the drivers for your external drive load in safe mode, I cannot answer. You could check that yourself by testing if the drive is accessible in safe mode. If it is then back up the data you wish to preserve before going any further.

I would however advise the P2P and Torrent downloading programs are dangerous and are one of the primary causes of infections. Therefore it would be in your own best interest to uninstall all of them and stop using them.

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Computer wont start, suspect a virus....

ferlr Private E-2

chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member