Alienware M17x Operating System failing?

I know there is a virus that makes your files hidden.  I would start trying some virus scans, the problem will be that even if it is a virus and you get rid of it, it may be hard to figure out how to fix the things it broke. If you can get a virus scan ran and it finds anything you may be able to google that virus and find more info.

I ran a full boot time scan and i have avast, no finds.

Have you attempted System Restore?

Restore points Vanished.

Even if you boot into safe mode?

Yes, just checked. Only restore point is this morning after an update. This is a real issue as it happened during the week and a half struggle to get a stupid little fan replacement. So I am kind of glaring at dell for this, software or not, it is too convenient.

Did not work, ran as admin in safemode and out. No luck, a lot of access denied

Are you posting from a different computer or have you managed to get into Windows finally? If the latter, click start, run, type cmd press enter. Now enter this command:

attrib -s -h -r c:/*.* /s /d

Now close cmd using exit command.

Hopefully that should restore everything that the Trojan has hidden.

Correction, I things are unhidden, and I have... sort of access. But my start bar is still messed up. Would it be a good idea to buy an external/2nd HDD and re-format this one while using the 2nd HDD as a way to keep my important stuff?

It is always advisable to keep a backup on an external drive. In my case I'm so paranoid I have 4 external drives. I keep 2 identical backup copies (you never know when an external drive will fail; the only thing you know is that one day it will). I also keep all business data on one drive and on my server. Then I keep games, software, photos, etc. on 2 other drives.

I also have a program called Rollback Rx installed which is like System Restore except that it works sub-system, i.e. outside of Windows. It gets me out of trouble anytime anything goes wrong and, unlike system restore, retains all my latest data so I never lose anything if I restore the system to a previous point in time. I cannot recommend this program highly enough! You would not be in the mess you are now had you had Rollback Rx installed.

At the end of the day, if you still cannot access your previous restore points then you may have to reinstall Windows but before doing that, make sure you have backed up all your important data to an external drive. When selecting an external drive to purchase I recommend you buy the same size as your main drive or larger. This is in case you want to make a clone of your system.

Incidentally, if you have your system in a RAID configuration your external drive needs to be at least the size of the sum total of the 2on board drives. e.g. mine has 2x 500 Gb drives in RAID 1 so all my external drives are at least 1 Tb.

I will defiantly check out Rollback Rx, and thanks i will also be re-installing after i get an external.

Just in case you have to reinstall Windows:

1. Do NOT use the resource DVD that came with the laptop, it will kill your AlienFX lighting!

2. Before reinstalling, go to http://support.dell.com/ and download all the latest software/drivers for your machine. Keep these on a USB key or external drive. You will need these to return everything to normal after a Windows reinstall. If you don't feel up to it yourself, call Dell support and get a technician to walk you through the reinstall procedure because the drivers need to be installed in a certain order.