Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Weird Virus Normal Boot not Working

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | Weird Virus Normal Boot not Working

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 16:43 ET by Neil Sarna

So guys i got this weird virus not really sure how considering i wasnt really visiting any sketchy sites or anything but thats besides the point.

I got the Quick Defrag virus which i believe is now gone thanks to a flurry of Malware programs that i used including Spybot Search and Destroy, Malwarebytes, and Avant free Antivirus.

I also got the Google Redirect Virus which i feel is like almost gone but for some reason it pops up every once in a while.

And lastly with no programs or unusual processes running i keep hearing random clips of ads in my headphones. I checked Task Manager and there seems to be nothing out of the ordinary and this just happens randomly. I've scanned my computer with the above programs and more and they cant seem to get rid of it. Its really becoming an annoyance and just makes me feel my computer is very open and under the control of something else.

Now for some reason from multiple reboots and whatnot from different scans and deleting viruses when i boot up normally after it gets to the loading screen it never reaches the Login screen. The screen just stays black but when i boot up in safe mode with networking i can get on which is how im writing this lol. I also think i might have a rootkit virus which im not too sure what it is but i know its hard to get rid of.

I have a Dell Studio XPS 1737 (Laptop)
2.0 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo
ATI Radeon HD 3650
3 GB RAM
Windows VISTA 32 BIT

How can i get my laptop to work in normal boot up mode?
And if any of you have ever had this virus or know how to get rid of this plz plz help.

I was also wondering if there was anyway that i could back up all of my Flight Sim stuff so that in the last chance resort where i have to wipe my hard drive clean and make a fresh install of windows i could reinstall my FS stuff without taking eternity.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and i appreciate any suggestions and help i can get.
Sincerely,
Neil

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

DVA3931
Senior Captain, L-1011-100
OLP, COMM

Joined on January 19 2007
50 State Club
Tri-Jet Triumph
Million Mile Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
Flying Colonel
Globetrotter
Burbank 500 Club
Eurocap Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

"De oppresso liber"
Surry, ME

1,882 legs, 3,806.7 hours
478 legs, 767.8 hours online
1,107 legs, 1,674.5 hours ACARS
55 legs, 114.8 hours event
195 legs dispatched, 134.4 hours

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 17:26 ET by Andrew Kaufmann

Reformat. Get a real virus/scanner program.

When you install all your FS stuff - make an image of the FS install so you can have a complete clean reinstall of all your FS stuff when/if you need it in the future.

Andrew Kaufmann (DVA3931)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 17:35 ET by Neil Sarna

Andy thanks for the great tip! But just one problem can u dumb that down for me a bit.
How can i reformat and also what is making an image of my FS install???
Sorry if i sound stupid

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

DVA3196
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP, COMM

Joined on June 03 2006
Online Double Century Club
50 State Club
Six Century Club

"pitchpowertrim.com"
Anderson, MO

619 legs, 1,093.4 hours
292 legs, 503.1 hours online
580 legs, 1,026.5 hours ACARS
89 legs, 191.0 hours event
236 legs dispatched, 110.1 hours

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 17:38 ET by Michael Brown

No stupid questions here Neil! biggrin

Did your Dell come with a Recovery CD/DVD? .....or do you have a copy of Windows Vista?

Michael Brown (DVA3196)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 17:49 ET by Neil Sarna

I dont think i do but if i find them what should i do Mike?
And no i dont think i have a copy of Vista either

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 18:24 ET by Michael Brown

You could call Dell and explain to them you need a recovery CD for your laptop. They may just send you one or they may charge you....its worth the call.

Many times instead of a recovery CD being included with a new laptop the manufacturer will partition the hard drive with the recovery data on it. At some point during the boot process you see something like press DEL for BIOS and maybe "Press F12" for recovery. I don't know the exact key to press for recovery, you will need to look for it during the boot process. Once the recovery process has started you should just be able to follow the prompts. What you want to do is erase/format everything and start fresh.

Backing up all your FS stuff is likely to cause you problems, in my personal experience anyways. Your probably better off reinstalling everything.

If there is no recovery option during the boot process you'll need to buy Windows .... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

But call Dell first and see what they can do for you in terms of recovery assistance.

Michael Brown (DVA3196)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 21:48 ET by Neil Sarna

Oh yea i do have a partition next to my normal C: drive that says recovery drive.
And yea i dont really mind reinstalling all of the stuff just was asking for time conservation purposes.

So now with the recovery partition on my harddrive this is going to make it as if i had just gotten the laptop. The whole system will startup like the first time and all right?
Thanks this might have just saved my life lol

Ill try it out and see my other options as well and write back.
Thanks Again Michael and Andrew

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

DVA1933
Senior Captain, B727-200

Joined on September 19 2004
Triple Century Club

Monterrey, NL Mexico

357 legs, 860.4 hours
72 legs, 132.3 hours online
255 legs, 668.3 hours ACARS
1 legs, 1.9 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 23:16 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

Before formatting (which is your best option), you can try and ask for some help here:

http://www.spywareinfoforum.com/index.php?/forum/18-malware-removal/?s=fb8e6484c8c1f6809fbe04b6a5770ed6

I've gotten help from them twice, and both times their magic worked in my computer.

Hope this helps!

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 04 2011 23:45 ET by Neil Sarna

Thanks David for the tip. While i havent posted in there yet i've ran just about every program they mention and nothing has worked but still i guess one on one assistance will be better.

And Andrew i read up about making a hard drive image and it actually seems very useful but im kind of confused on how it works.

ALSO MY MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION!

If I get an external harddrive to backup my music, pictures , videos and other documents will the virus or Trojan transfer to the external harddrive?
Because then when I transfer the stuff back after the possible reformat I don't want to have to redo the process.

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

Posted onPost created on January 05 2011 02:18 ET by Michael Brown

Neil Sarna wrote:

Thanks David for the tip. While i havent posted in there yet i've ran just about every program they mention and nothing has worked but still i guess one on one assistance will be better.

And Andrew i read up about making a hard drive image and it actually seems very useful but im kind of confused on how it works.

ALSO MY MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION!

If I get an external harddrive to backup my music, pictures , videos and other documents will the virus or Trojan transfer to the external harddrive?
Because then when I transfer the stuff back after the possible reformat I don't want to have to redo the process.

You run the risk of transferring the virus and/or spyware/malware if you transfer anything from an infected drive to another. There is no guarantee. Matter-a-fact, if you transfer music files, pictures via e-mail, thumb drive, a burned CD, etc., from your infected HDD you also run the risk of giving a virus or malware to the recipient. This is how they spread....they count on people sharing their stuff...backing up infected drives. There is no easy answer and yes this virus stuff is a pain in the ...

Michael Brown (DVA3196)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 05 2011 21:40 ET by Neil Sarna

Yea im soooo sick of dealing with this and it hasnt even been a week. I honestly hate people who create viruses and adware/spyware and stuff. Why the need for these viruses? Just to annoy people and make most likely minimal amounts of money for potentially huge consequences.

anyways i think im going to try to be very cautious with my transfers to the External Hard Drive from my laptop when i get it.
Im thinking of scanning each folder that i transfer over first with MalwareBytes then Spybot Search and Destroy in Safe Mode before transferiing it.

I also learned that if i disable autorun chances are the virus wont be able to be transferred on to the hard drive (hopefully wink

Sounds good enough right?

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

Posted onPost created on January 05 2011 21:53 ET by Michael Brown

Sounds good .... don't come down on yourself too much. Corporations & governments all over the world spend millions on firewalls, security software, IT personnel, and have some of the most restrictive computer policies around and they STILL get viruses. It's a fact of life ...death, taxes....and now computer viruses biggrin

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 05 2011 22:53 ET by Neil Sarna

Haha yeah unfortunetly so they have.
thanks for all the help Michael. Im probably going to get the hard drive tmrw and do the system reformat tmrw too ill let u know how it goes

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

DVA3355
Senior Captain, B777-200

Joined on July 19 2006
Online Century Club
Flying Colonel
Everett 1500 Club
Four Million Mile Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

"guiding you home..."
Denver, CO USA

1,959 legs, 8,711.6 hours
181 legs, 715.0 hours online
1,891 legs, 8,382.8 hours ACARS
18 legs, 67.1 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 06 2011 10:27 ET by Daniel Hodnik

Neil Sarna wrote:

Andy thanks for the great tip! But just one problem can u dumb that down for me a bit.
How can i reformat and also what is making an image of my FS install???
Sorry if i sound stupid

Reformat -> http://helpdesk.its.uiowa.edu/windows/instructions/reformat.htm

Imaging -> imaging is something you do when you have a WORKING windows install. you image ( ie copy) the partition windows is installed on and save it somewhere safe, preferably off site. so you have a windows image (maybe fs9 is also installed with all your addons) and it works great. You get a virus. WIPE your harddrive by properly reformatting it. Load the image to the partition and you are back in business.

I have experience with two imaging programs. The first I prefer is Image for Windows. It comes with Image for Linux and Image for DOS which lets you boot outside the windows environment. The other program is Acronis True Image. It is an easier program to use, more user friendly. You have to create a user bootable disk in order to use it outside the windows environment.

Daniel Hodnik (DVA3355)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 06 2011 20:59 ET by Neil Sarna

Thanks for the imaging advice....im probably going to use that for these hopefully never happen again type situations.
Can the image work for other programs such as perhaps Itunes???
And i can keep the image on my external hard drive right?

BTW i have Vista so i dont think that the above link helps plus i dont have a cd i just have a recovery partition on my hard drive.
Thanks everybody looking to reformat soon....wish i had more time in a day lol smile

sorry for the bombardment of questions in this thread hehe

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 27 2011 22:10 ET by Neil Sarna

Hey guys sorry to bring this back up but im backing up all of my itunes music and i was wondering if i could just make an image of it. Then when i reinstall my os and reinstall itunes could i use the image to reinstall all of music into itunes???
Or i could just do what i am already doing and just backing up the music to three dvds which is fine by me but if u smarter peoples think that making an image would be faster and better could you please just tell me thanks so much!!!! smile

Posted onPost created on January 27 2011 22:51 ET by Michael Brown

I don't think you'll save time or space with an image .... I'd just back up the files as is.

By the way .... 3 DVD's for music?? ...wow...you have a ton of music my friend!

Michael Brown (DVA3196)

DVA6497
Captain, B747-400

Joined on January 15 2006
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary

"RLTW"
Kerkrade, Limburg NL

366 legs, 574.8 hours
14 legs, 20.0 hours online
365 legs, 568.9 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on January 27 2011 23:18 ET by Ken Tucker

Hi! My name is Ken and I'm a hoarder. I've just finished weeding out my iTunes library and I'm down to only 84.63 GB of music. biggrin

Cheers!!

Ken Tucker

Captain, B747-400

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 28 2011 15:46 ET by Neil Sarna

Well actually I don't have that much music only like 10-11 gbs so the third DVD wasn't full..... Each one holds like 4.7 gbs.
And thanks for the advice Mike.

Also lastly would formatting my hard drive and leaving an fs section do anything or what about installing flightsim like i think Luke always says outside of the program files. So something like C:/FS9

also any other tips for a fresh flight sim install would be great. I mean just because im having to reinstall it doesnt mean that it should be the exact same so with the fresh install if i can make it better this time i would be sooo happy so yea thanks

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

DVA7620
First Officer, B777-200
OLP

Joined on July 21 2009

"Dream"
NJ USA

66 legs, 105.0 hours
55 legs, 89.5 hours online
63 legs, 99.1 hours ACARS
16 legs, 31.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on February 18 2011 23:42 ET by Neil Sarna

sorry for bringing this thread back up again but didnt feel like creating a new one so yea

I just learned that i might be getting windows 7 sometime this week smile

finally get to upgrade from vista which is just terrible.
So now that i reinstalled everything back to vista im going to fresh install windows7 which means that i will have to reinstall flight sim and addons for like the baggilionth time.
Above i saw the process of creating an image mentioned and im still kinda so so on what i will create the image of?

Could i use an imaging program and then copy the FS9 folder to a disc using the imaging software??? or is there something else.
Will flight sim then automatically work in the next computer fresh install?
and lastly would i just insert the disk after installing the os?

thank you so much and sorry for keeping this thread on but this will probably be the last time for this thread at least lol smile

For flight simulation purposes only. Not a commercial website. In no way are we affiliated with Delta Air Lines, its affiliates, or any other airline. All logos, images, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Delta Virtual Airlines is a non-profit entity engaged in providing an avenue for flight simulation enthusiasts.