Do you think it has a virus?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mm
  • Start date Start date
M

mm

Things have been pretty peaceful here, but I just got a Dell Dimension
4700 from a friend. It's about 7 years old. It hasn't been used in
about 5 years, except for a little bit 2.5 years ago.

It has XP Home on it.

Do you think it has a virus?

1. The NTDetect.com and boot.ini files were missing, but no other
files afaik. Once I replaced them, it booted and all the software I
tried worked afaict except for what's in B below.

A. The CD and DVD drives don't work. I can't boot from them and they
don't show up in Windows Explorer. Although both physical drives will
work when connected to a USB port via one of those Rosewill
IDE/SATA/CD/DVD to USB adapters. I changed the ribbon cable to an
old one I had, 40 conductor, not 80, and connected just one drive as
Cable Select, and then as Master on the end connector of the ribbon,
and it still didn't work at all. I also connected using the original
ribbon cable another non-Dell CD drive, but it didn't work at all.

IIUC this only leaves the mobo or maybe a virus???

B. It's connecteed by cable to a router and works fine when it
downloads all the MS updates, including IE8 and SP3, and installs them
fine, about 120 items.

It also dl'd all the updates for AVG 7 until it got to the last one.
Now AVG wants to download v.8.5 but it gives a Box that says No
connection and gives no reason.

I went to Internet Explorer to dl AVG from the website, but IE8 won't
connect with any website I've tried. IE is the only browser it has.

I went to Firewall, and added to the exception list avginet.exe, the
program that the message Box said wouldn't connect. I noted that the
box was checked to give a firewall message if the firewall kept me
from connecting, but the Box that displayed said nothing about
Firewall.

I turned off the firewall entirely and tried to dl avg 8.5, but got
the same message.

(Hmm, I must admit I somehow have 5** avg programs in my regular
computer's list of firewall exceptions, and none are avginet. But I
turned off the firewall and it still wouldn't dl. **avgemc, avgnsx,
avgupd, Installer, and Diagnostics 2011.)


Does this all sound like a virus?
 
1. The NTDetect.com and boot.ini files were missing, but no other
A. The CD and DVD drives don't work. I can't boot from them and they
Click to expand...

I would throw in a Linux LiveLCD, boot from it and do a virus scan on
the hard disk using ClamAV.

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Question!

When so connected, can you scan the drive using the AV resident on the
parent machine?
Click to expand...

I can click on the AVG scan button, but it scans either one or no
files and says it's done, and found no problems!!

AVG uses increasingly forceful ways to make one upgrade, and I think
8.5 came out a year or two ago, so they're being very forceful.

But I gather you and Man are urging me to try a scan, so I will find
my stack of AV CD's from a year ago, when a friend had trouble, and
try one or more of them from an external CD drive (since the internal
ones don't work.)

Actually, any virus that it had when I got it was 30 or more likely 60
months old, the last times it was used, and the CDs I have I made only
a year ago, so I will try to dl more recent defs. but any CDs that
have defs in them will have a recent enough set of them. Right?

Thanks.
 
From: "mm said:
Things have been pretty peaceful here, but I just got a Dell Dimension
4700 from a friend. It's about 7 years old. It hasn't been used in
about 5 years, except for a little bit 2.5 years ago.

It has XP Home on it. >
Click to expand...

Whenever anyone gets a used computer, the very FIRST thing to do is to wipe the computer
and re-install the OS of choice.
 
mm said:
Things have been pretty peaceful here, but I just got a Dell Dimension
4700 from a friend. It's about 7 years old. It hasn't been used in
about 5 years, except for a little bit 2.5 years ago.

It has XP Home on it.

Do you think it has a virus?

1. The NTDetect.com and boot.ini files were missing, but no other
files afaik. Once I replaced them, it booted and all the software I
tried worked afaict except for what's in B below.

A. The CD and DVD drives don't work. I can't boot from them and they
don't show up in Windows Explorer. Although both physical drives will
work when connected to a USB port via one of those Rosewill
IDE/SATA/CD/DVD to USB adapters. I changed the ribbon cable to an
old one I had, 40 conductor, not 80, and connected just one drive as
Cable Select, and then as Master on the end connector of the ribbon,
and it still didn't work at all. I also connected using the original
ribbon cable another non-Dell CD drive, but it didn't work at all.

IIUC this only leaves the mobo or maybe a virus???

B. It's connecteed by cable to a router and works fine when it
downloads all the MS updates, including IE8 and SP3, and installs them
fine, about 120 items.
Click to expand...
It also dl'd all the updates for AVG 7 until it got to the last one.
Now AVG wants to download v.8.5 but it gives a Box that says No
connection and gives no reason.

I went to Internet Explorer to dl AVG from the website, but IE8 won't
connect with any website I've tried. IE is the only browser it has.

I went to Firewall, and added to the exception list avginet.exe, the
program that the message Box said wouldn't connect. I noted that the
box was checked to give a firewall message if the firewall kept me
from connecting, but the Box that displayed said nothing about
Firewall.

I turned off the firewall entirely and tried to dl avg 8.5, but got
the same message.

(Hmm, I must admit I somehow have 5** avg programs in my regular
computer's list of firewall exceptions, and none are avginet. But I
turned off the firewall and it still wouldn't dl. **avgemc, avgnsx,
avgupd, Installer, and Diagnostics 2011.)


Does this all sound like a virus?
Click to expand...

No, but you should get the hardware the way that you want it, and *then*
install the OS from scratch.
 
mm said:
Things have been pretty peaceful here, but I just got a Dell Dimension
4700 from a friend. It's about 7 years old. It hasn't been used in
about 5 years, except for a little bit 2.5 years ago.

It has XP Home on it.

Do you think it has a virus?
Click to expand...


When ever you get a used computer from ANYONE and from anywhere then the first thing
that you should do is to reformat said computer so as you have a clean install

--
Peter
Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
 
Things have been pretty peaceful here, but I just got a Dell
Dimension 4700 from a friend. It's about 7 years old. It hasn't
been used in about 5 years, except for a little bit 2.5 years ago.
Click to expand...

Did you give it a good dusting (ehh, no pun intended) inside?
Do you think it has a virus?
Click to expand...

I don't know...
1. The NTDetect.com and boot.ini files were missing, but no other
files afaik. Once I replaced them, it booted and all the software I
tried worked afaict except for what's in B below.
Ok.

A. The CD and DVD drives don't work. I can't boot from them and
they don't show up in Windows Explorer. Although both physical
drives will work when connected to a USB port via one of those
Rosewill IDE/SATA/CD/DVD to USB adapters. I changed the ribbon
cable to an old one I had, 40 conductor, not 80, and connected just
one drive as Cable Select, and then as Master on the end connector
of the ribbon, and it still didn't work at all. I also connected
using the original ribbon cable another non-Dell CD drive, but it
didn't work at all.
Click to expand...

During the following, do NOT allow the machine to try and bootup.

1. It could be the Secondary IDE controller disabled in BIOS. Check
CMOS configuration. In fact, you can verify the ide controllers are
both enabled AND see if the computer's hardware sees the drives or not.
If it only sees the hard disk on the first controller- For testing
purposes, temporarily disconnect the hard drive cable from the MB and
connect the cable from the dvd or cdrom drive alone set as master. If
the cmos configuration then sees the cdrom/dvd drive, go ahead and set
the other one as slave and connect it to the same cable. Again, check
the cmos configuration. If it sees the drives; You have a bad onboard
controller. If it still doesn't see the drives; temporarily use the
cable connecting the hard drive for the optical drives and plug them
into the primary ide controller. If the cmos sees them, try the
secondary controller. If it still sees them both; you have a bad cable.

2. Incorrect jumper configuration on drives. Depending on make/model
and manufacturer you can find some pairs which won't work unless one is
specifically master and the other slave.
IIUC this only leaves the mobo or maybe a virus???
Click to expand...

See above. Check the hardware first, and we'll go from there.
It also dl'd all the updates for AVG 7 until it got to the last one.
Now AVG wants to download v.8.5 but it gives a Box that says No
connection and gives no reason.
Click to expand...

AVG is a pain in the ass. Uninstall it and give avast a shot. :)
I went to Internet Explorer to dl AVG from the website, but IE8
won't connect with any website I've tried. IE is the only browser
it has.
Click to expand...

Can you ping any sites?
Does this all sound like a virus?
Click to expand...

No.
 
Good! :)

So, once you have plugged in (to a USB socket on your computer) the
caddy carrying the hard disk from the Dell, why can you not then select
to scan that 'external' hard disk?

Have you tried that?
Click to expand...

Not yet, but I considered it, especially after you suggested it.

It turns out every problem had a separate reason, all of them subtle,
and none were viruses.

Thanks all, anyhow.
 
Did you give it a good dusting (ehh, no pun intended) inside?


I don't know...


During the following, do NOT allow the machine to try and bootup.

1. It could be the Secondary IDE controller disabled in BIOS. Check
CMOS configuration. In fact, you can verify the ide controllers are
both enabled AND see if the computer's hardware sees the drives or not.
If it only sees the hard disk on the first controller- For testing
purposes, temporarily disconnect the hard drive cable from the MB and
connect the cable from the dvd or cdrom drive alone set as master. If
the cmos configuration then sees the cdrom/dvd drive, go ahead and set
the other one as slave and connect it to the same cable. Again, check
the cmos configuration. If it sees the drives; You have a bad onboard
controller. If it still doesn't see the drives; temporarily use the
cable connecting the hard drive for the optical drives and plug them
into the primary ide controller. If the cmos sees them, try the
secondary controller. If it still sees them both; you have a bad cable.

2. Incorrect jumper configuration on drives. Depending on make/model
and manufacturer you can find some pairs which won't work unless one is
specifically master and the other slave.


See above. Check the hardware first, and we'll go from there.


AVG is a pain in the ass. Uninstall it and give avast a shot. :)


Can you ping any sites?


No.
Click to expand...

Thanks. YOu were right when you said No.

Thanks everyone.

Tired now, but if anyone cares about what the real causes of each
problem were, I'll explain.
 
Thanks. YOu were right when you said No.

Thanks everyone.

Tired now, but if anyone cares about what the real causes of each
problem were, I'll explain.
Click to expand...

I'm always interested in new information of a technical nature. Feel
free to post what you did to fix it.
 
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