[Problem Solved] TR/Crypt.XPACK.Gen virus changed my processors settings in the BIOS.

This is a walk thru of what worked for me with this TR/Crypt.XPACK.Gen virus that changed my processors settings in the BIOS. Making my Dell Dimension 4600 extremely slow even in safe mode.  I thought my PC was a total loss, but it wasn't. Your questions and comments on this post are welcomed and encouraged. All feedback will be appreciated. 

A virus was inadvertently downloaded on my Dell Dimension 4600 desktop. Both my "up to date" Norton 360 product and Windows Defender detected this Trojan- TR/Crypt.XPACK.Gen. but were completely ineffective against the virus. I got the "blue screen error" and a message that windows was shutting down to prevent damage to the system. The only “virus wise” product for this particular Trojan was Avira. It detected 2 Trojans and over 800 misc. threats. (My CPU settings were changed by the virus, and software was not operating properly on my pc.) Unfortunately it was weeks before I discovered this.

We did numerous clean installs that were taking 20 hrs or better. A couple of the OS installation attempts had error messages of “INF INSTALL FAILURE- Reason- Data is invalid.” And “INF INSTALL FAILURE- Reason- The parameter is incorrect.”

Finally after numerous hours and weeks of researching Dell’s website and many forums, (and yes I did contact Symantec’s before attempting any of this myself, and told them I had a virus and I needed help with it. The infected pc wouldn’t boot up normally. I had a current subscription of Norton 360 with over 200 days remaining on it. Symantec’s/Norton told me to contact the manufacturer of the PC.) What good does that do when the consumers are suppose to get free virus removal with their product subscription? Anyways…

After numerous hours of research, I ran a 32 bit diagnostics test from my resource CD. All tests passed except for the processor. I received an error code of “0700:0120. No cache detected. It might be disabled, defective, or not present”. I again spent more hours researching.

Finally, I felt confident about going into the system BIOS.

Tap F2 during boot when the Dell flash screen appears.

Go to CPU. Use ↑ and ↓ keys. Highlight it, and hit “Enter”. (I saw that the virus had changed the CPU from normal to compatible.)

Hit the ← or → arrows on keyboard to change the CPU back to normal. Hit esc and enter to save setting.

It was an INSTANT FIX!!!!  I was elated! :emotion-2:I should have set all to defaults but a found that link after changing CPU from compatible to Normal. System Bios resetting system defaults.

This time the 32 bit diagnostic test finished with all tests passing. (At a fraction of time it was taking before.) The entire new installation of the OS and all drivers from start to completion was 40 min. (Intel chipset first, audio, video, networking) I searched the Dell Website for the OS installation and correct order of drivers.

I hope this entry helps someone. As it contains 6-7 weeks + of agony, frustration, and a hopeless pc:emotion-39:But it seems to work fine for now:emotion-21:. I only wish I hadn’t lost my entire job search folder which contained over 2.5 yrs of work and all my job searching tools, activities, documents etc:emotion-9:.