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patmac8711
2 Posts
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7276
February 24th, 2012 10:00
fix it or nix it
I have a 6 year old XPS 410 that suffered some devastating errors two days ago from what I think was a spyware/virus attack:
| Error | Type | Status |
| Disk drive C:\ is unreadable | Critical | Failed to fix |
| C:\System32\drivers is damaged. This problem may cause a sys… | Warning | Successfully fixed |
| System files are damaged. System is unstabele | Warning | Successfully fixed |
| Dirive C initializing error | Warning | Successfully fixed |
| Hard Drive rotational speed decreased by 20% | Critical | Failed to fix |
| Damaged Hard drive clusteres detected. Private date is at risk. Re… | Critical | Failed to fix |
| Hard Drive rotational speed exceeds system limits and may cause… | Critical | Failed to fix |
| hard drive space less than techincal limits | Critical | Failed to fix |
| RAM memory speed decreased sigificantly. And may cause a sys… | Critical | Failed to fix |
| RAM temperature is 83oC Optimization is required for.. | Warning | Successfully fixed |
| GPU RAM temperature is critically high. Urgent RAM memory opti… | Warning | Failed to fix |
| Hard drive does not respond to system requests | Critical | Failed to fix |
| The problem may cause errors while lodaing your operating syst… | Warning | Successfully fixed |
| Boot Sector of the hard drive is damaged | Critical | Failed to fix |
My question is should i scrap it, or are there enough affordable replacement parts to bring this desktop back to life?
267
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Posted February 24th, 2012 11:00
Hi Patmac8711,
First of all, I assume your important data is backed up?
Seems like all you need is a new hard drive.
267
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Posted February 25th, 2012 08:00
Thanks!
267
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Posted February 25th, 2012 20:00
Where were these diagnostic messages displayed? If they popped up in Windows, I would bet $$$ they're from scareware. If so, and you're running XP, it would be a darn good time to move to 7 with a clean install.
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Posted February 25th, 2012 20:00
I would run the Dell Diagnostics on the HDD.
90/90 short test -
* Restart the PC, at the Dell splash screen press the Ctrl - Alt - D keys to initiate the hard disk drive diagnostic
* The test may take up to three minutes to run the diagnostics (the time is dependent upon size and speed of drive)
* What are the results?F12 DST (Drive Self-Test) -
* Restart the PC
* Press F12 at the very first screen
* Choose Dell Diagnostics- Extended test- Hard drive
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell
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Posted February 27th, 2012 10:00
Given the Age of the machine I would buy a new hard drive.
HOWEVER. This list is 14 lies told by System Recovery (SystemFix) virus
This extortionware is a pain.
These messages ARE NOT FROM WINDOWS OR MICROSOFT.
Getting rid of Fake Windows System Restore Virus - Microsoft Answers
Note: If you are not proficient with computer, it’s advised that you backup your system before manually removing System Recovery virus. And double check the files that you are going to delete, or your computer CRASHES DUE TO missing some files.
Step 1: Delete the following registery files:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system “DisableTaskMgr” = ’1′
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Download “CheckExeSignatures” = ‘no’
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced “Hidden” = ’0′
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced “ShowSuperHidden” = ’0′
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\LastVisitedMRU “MRUList”
Step 2: Delete the following files:
%LocalAppData%\[random]
%LocalAppData%\[random].exe
%LocalAppData%\~[random]
%LocalAppData%\~[random]
rdunnill
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8811 Posts
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35254 Points
267
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Posted February 24th, 2012 11:00
Sounds like scareware, i.e. you've been infected with malware attempting to con you into handing over your credit card number.