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5134
January 28th, 2009 07:00
My computer may be hijacked
If my DSL modem is on, CPU usage spikes every five seconds. When not connected it goes to 40-60%. When connected it goes to 60-100%.
McAfee, Webroot, Malwarebytes, HijackThis all can find nothing. A helper in the Msoft forum said "Cut your losses and format". I will have to format my hard drive or buy a new computer. I will not buy a new computer while Vista is the only OS available.
Where can I find complete instructions for formatting my hard drive and installing XP with all Service Packs and loading my data without bringing back in the malware that is killing my system?
I'm sorry if this is not formatted but Preview shows me nothing at all.
Bugbatter
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20.5K Posts
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January 30th, 2009 05:00
You're welcome. :emotion-1: I'm glad we could help.
mr jingles ....
31 Posts
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January 28th, 2009 08:00
hi do u use internet explorer ??? if so try shutting the window and see if the cpu usage goes down if it does try firefox or reinstall internet explorer but the best option is firefox
Bugbatter
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January 28th, 2009 08:00
Dell's guide with some details:
1) If your PC is newer than mid-2004, the PC Restore feature is an easier alternative to reformatting from disk,
2) what you need to have ready ahead of time,
3) what order to do things after installing XP (especially installing drivers - the order is important):
edpb
4 Posts
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January 29th, 2009 02:00
Thanks for your reply, mr jingles. I uninstalled IE7 some time ago. The behavior is the same with Firefox, except that the average hieght of the CPU usage spikes is slowly increasing.
edpb
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January 29th, 2009 02:00
Thanks, Bugbatter, for your reply. I will look at the Dell guide. My computer was bought in 12/01.
Bugbatter
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January 29th, 2009 08:00
Considering the age, if you have not reformatted/reinstalled Windows in a while, that is probably the best route to take.
Dell has some excellent instructions.
edpb
4 Posts
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January 29th, 2009 23:00
Thanks again. I have found the instructions and will go ahead.