Newbie deletes needed files!

Hi Eonfire

I am not aware of any virus that actually "infects" the BIOS.............MBR (master boot record, yes, BIOS no)..............I do know viruses that will trash your BIOS..............you know about them because you cannot boot it :(

Your AV will scan the MBR but you may have to enable the feature in its set-up.

If you are not sure, just create a folder called "maintenance" and move stuff into it, then wait a week before deleting....................at least you will know where to find it if everything goes "pear shaped" ;)

Quote:

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now is a good time to install a more stable OS.. winME bites..

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I don't exactly agree.............Win Me either dies of starvation or gluttony :D

I have:

PII/266/128Mb..........................Unstable (memory starvation)
PII/333/384Mb..........................Stable
PII/450/384Mb..........................Stable
P4/1.7/768Mb............................Unstable (memory gluttony)
Duron/1.3/512Mb.......................VERY Stable...takes a power cut to kill it !

What are your specs (processor/RAM)? an OS upgrade may not be possible, as XP is quite demanding...................

Good luck

WOW. I'm getting wound up with this windowsme OS now...........

I just downloaded the demo version of Norman Virus control and it's finding stuff:

C:\_RESTORE\TEMP\A0006972.CPY Damaged file
C:\_RESTORE\TEMP\A0039327.CPY Suspicious file found by Sandbox: W32/Malware

(what is RESTORE\TEMP?)

C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\sms.exe Suspicious file found by Sandbox: W32/Malware


And THEN........... :eek: .............tens of thousands of temporary internet files! I always delete my temp/net files, nearly every day from internet options, but Windows tells you they are deleted when in fact they aren't, but can somebody pleeaase tell me where i go to get rid of these files because my PC is really badly slowing down now.

As for Norman Virus, i'll get back to you with the results of the scan. It's been going for about forty minutes now, it's crazy, and that's because temp net files that windows had supposedly deleted are still there.

edit > > > sorry nihil, my processor is AMD M6 (TM-2) i'll have to get back to you on the RAM, i go to system tools then information, it goes to 'ms help and support' and then goes to almost a standstill. Any faster way of getting specs?

<start>
<control panel>
<system>

The first page tells you the OS, who it is registered to, and at the bottom the processor and RAM amount.

Cheers

"_Restore" is your WinMe "virus preservation utility"..................oops Bill told me not to let that one out :D

If you go to Symantec, NAI or any other AV site and look at a recent virus details there will be instructions on how to turn this feature off and on. The AV cannot access the System Restore utility whilst it is "object locked", so it cannot delete "saved viruses".................so when you restore, guess what little goodies come back :eek:

Google for "Xen".............that will clean a whole load of crap from your system.....shred it as well........DON'T mess with the fonts though....tell it "no"

Stick at it!.............we can discuss upgrades a bit later

192.0MB RAM.........is that bad? It doesn't sound too good. Whats yours?

Thanks for the tips anyway, i'll check out the sites you suggested. Why the comp 'saves' viruses though beats me. I'd usually start ranting about Microsoft at this point but i don't want Bill's gang shutting my comp down! :p

another edit > > > Ha, nihil i have a registry editor and was wondering, do you know whereabouts i would go to delete all of those temp internet files?

I would not like to run Me on less than 256Mb,........... 192Mb would handle Win98/98Se.

Your M6 is roughly equivalent to a PII, so I would say that an XP upgrade would be "out of the frying pan, into the fire" :(

I would be inclined to look for a memory manager like "RamBooster"...........it will defragment RAM on the fly. I use one on the PII/128Mb......upgrading the memory is not economical.

I posted a little table of my Me machines earlier. Your MoBo has no spare memory slots? I also feel that it is pretty old memory? (72 pin, short squat strips?).

Is this a custom made or a branded box?

The "System Restore" facility does exactly what it says.............good and bad equally........it is a "snapshot" of your system at a point in time.

Cheers

Sorry i've never opened the box/tower whatever so i haven't seen the RAM. I asked my stepdad who i got the computer from and he doesn't know either, but he said he got it made for him so he doesn't think it's branded?

I used the Norman Virus Control and it repaired one thing and 'moved' two others, but still no change so am about to reinstall.

One was 'access denied' : C:\_RESTORE\TEMP\A0006972.CPY Damaged file

Does this tie in with what you said about the system restore utility?

Hi,

1. get "Belarc Advisor" to find out what is in/on your machine
2. Get " XEN" to clean it up/tweak it
3. <start> <run> type in winfile.........................go into <view> <filetypes> and set it to show all files. Be careful with this tool :eek:

Guess #3 shows my age :shocked:

Yes, anything in C:\_RESTORE is part of the System Restore application and is inaccessible to your AV.

You have to switch off the System Restore and run your AV in SAFE MODE to get the job done.

Cheers

EDIT: the link for Xen is http://www.x9000.net/

Yoy could go to SnapFiles to see if there are any files there that you might need.

Reinstalled now and am armed with Xen! :D

Thanks for your help nihil and cope57 cheers i'm just about to check out that site.