Little help? My PC is fooked.

[Gavin Scott]

I have two pc's - one slightly older and slower than the other.

The older one had a dodgy version of XP Pro on it - the version which wouldn't accept service packs. The newer one was bang up to date with XPSP2 and a reasonably robust arsenal of AV and malware software.

I left the old one running and networked the two so I could access all the data by way of shared folders.

You might recall a couple of weeks ago I mentioned I had borrowed a G4 Mac with a view to purchasing it. Out of curousity I connected the Mac and PC with 6pin to 6pin firewire cable. The online help section of the Mac explained how this should be done. As soon as I powered up the PC, the fan made a loud noise and the hard drive suddenly died. Well that's not quite true. It squeaks now, but it doesn't work.

I went back to using my ropey unsecured PC for a few days, and this morning I found it has been invaded by someting called, "Spysheriff".

It changed my desktop wallpaper into a gaudy sign saying, "You are infected!", (which I could do without, if I'm being honest), and beeped a warning every few seconds prompting me to pay for a 'code' which would fix it.

I did a bit of googling and found some very concise information advising me to use other programs to clean and eradicate the infection. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked, and now my PC logs me off the second I try to log on. I cant get it to boot in safe mode (or any other mode); so I'm left with two dead machines.

I'm writing this on the Apple Mac I decided I didn't really need and have already agreed to return tomorrow.

Oh and I have a leak coming from the back of my toilet., which I discovered as my socks became damp.

I'm so happy I could vomit.

On the off chance if anyone knows how I can restore my xp when I cant log on I would be obliged.

[Chris]

I went back to using my ropey unsecured PC for a few days, and this morning I found it has been invaded by someting called, "Spysheriff".

It changed my desktop wallpaper into a gaudy sign saying, "You are infected!", (which I could do without, if I'm being honest), and beeped a warning every few seconds prompting me to pay for a 'code' which would fix it.

Have you tried doing a system restore on the computer to wind it back to a time when it was working?c (the one laden with spysheriff).

As for the other one, you might have killed it. I don't know whether Firewire has magical killing properties like USB, but when you connect a USB-USB cable between 2 computers you can pretty much say goodbye to a working PC.

[Gavin Scott]

My mate has a recovery disc. I've just been on the phone to him. It may let me get on long enought to initiate a system restore.

Fingers crossed.

[Nick Harvey]

Haven't a clue about your computer problem, but could I recommend Alldritt and Alldritt, the plumbers, for your other difficulty?

[J.Christie]

This is why they invented Macs.

[Bail]

I thought firewire and usb both carried a fair amount of current, i was idly playing with a screwdriver, (whilst pc was off and i was working with it) and noticed it arked when i accidentally let it his the USB port, but it should of just shorted the motherboard or psu, not the hd. But if the hd is dead you'll need a new one and a new install of XP to get it running, if no other things were fried..

I know this my be a silly question but why can you not start in safe mode, or selective start up?

[steddenm]

It might be worth inserting the Windows XP CD-ROM on start-up and selecting 'restore' or 'reinstall'. Any programs or files WON'T be deleted. The programmes will be moved to a file called C:\Windows\Migration\Program Files and the documents will be moved to C:\Windows\Migration\$Documents%20and%20Settings$ (yes the %20 is supposed to be there).

If you want any assistance PM me and I'll be more than happy to help.

[Gavin Scott]

I'm getting more and more baffled by this.

When the PC boots, I have several modes offered to me: Safe Mode, Safe with Networking, Force VGA Mode, Last Successful Boot and CommandPrompt.

Selecting Command took me back to a graphical safe mode and even then doesn't allow me to get past the welcome screen. It logs me in - I get a split second view of the desktop then it logs me out. The same is true for all of those options, as well as Start Windows Normally.

The Windows disc doesn't even get picked up. The CD drive is correctly set in the BIOS to be read first, but the hard drive kicks in almost immediately returning me back to the same place.

Without getting to a DOS prompt I'm wasting my time.

My conclusion is that I should buy a couple of new hard drives, and a USB2 external HD adaptor to see what I can salvage in terms of data from this riddled disc.

The offer of help is appreciated, though.

[Fireboy]

Apple Macs never go wrong do they.

Compared to Windows, no. Can't fault linux/unix though.

[steddenm]

I'm getting more and more baffled by this.

When the PC boots, I have several modes offered to me: Safe Mode, Safe with Networking, Force VGA Mode, Last Successful Boot and CommandPrompt.

Selecting Command took me back to a graphical safe mode and even then doesn't allow me to get past the welcome screen. It logs me in - I get a split second view of the desktop then it logs me out. The same is true for all of those options, as well as Start Windows Normally.

The Windows disc doesn't even get picked up. The CD drive is correctly set in the BIOS to be read first, but the hard drive kicks in almost immediately returning me back to the same place.

Without getting to a DOS prompt I'm wasting my time.

My conclusion is that I should buy a couple of new hard drives, and a USB2 external HD adaptor to see what I can salvage in terms of data from this riddled disc.

The offer of help is appreciated, though.

Try and get hold of a Windows XP Emergency Boot Disk on floppy. Insert this (I can email all the files to you if you want and then you just need to copy it to a floppy) and boot from there. You will get a command prompt with the A:> prompt.

Type c:\ and press enter.
Type chkdsk /f and press enter.
Allow it to run.

Boot Windows normally, and use "Last Known Good Configuration". When you get the log-on screen press CTRL+ALT+DEL quickly ONCE and you'll change to the old-style log-on screen. Type Administrator in the user name field and your admin' password.

This should load default settings. You should now be able to do a system restore. (Not reccomended if you have more than two versions of Windows on your PC).

[J.Christie]

This is why they invented Macs.

Apple Macs never go wrong do they. That's why you're using one.

Actually, I'm not.

Hackers etc. don't find Macs a popular OS, and they always target Windows, and I've lived it. Bastards.