Desktop keeps rebooting itself

[Izulde]

I went to sign on to AIM on my desktop and for some reason Internet Explorer "This might be malicious script" errors kept popping up, so I closed them, etc. and then there was a RealPlayer install screen that I closed out, but I thought it was bizzare, too.

So then I go in Firefox and go to look at cnnsi.com and my computer locks up.

I shut it off with the power switch in back, not knowing what else to do, waited about 10 minutes, turned it back on and it's been restarting itself ever since.

What it does is that it goes to the login screen, I enter in the password, the main desktop screen comes on and starts loading, then the computer reboots itself again.

I did notice in the lower right corner on the first booting screen, there was an ever-increasing number "0073" and then the next time it'd say "0079", then "0081" something to that effect.

My sinking sensation tells me a virus snuck in there somehow, though I hope it's not that or a dying hard drive.

Any ideas on the problem or how to fix it?

[Groundhog]

Could be lots of things. Virus or corrupt OS would be my prime suspicion given where it reboots, but could also be a hardware issue.

I'd try re-installing Windows first.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Could be lots of things. Virus or corrupt OS would be my prime suspicion given where it reboots, but could also be a hardware issue.

I'd try re-installing Windows first.

Oi, okay. I'll have to have my folks send the Windows disks down then.

[Deattribution]

Have you tried booting in safe mode? It'd help isolate what the problem is. If you can boot in safe mode, it's more than likely a virus - and something you can probably fix without having to reinstall everything (depending on how much damage it's done).

[Izulde]

What would I press to enter safe mode? I've XP on my desktop.

Also, it now goes into the automatic rebot even earlier; when it gets to the log-in screen, rather than when the desktop appears as before.

[weegeebored]

Press the F8 key a few times right after the Bios POSTs but before Windows starts to load. You'll get a menu with the top option being Safe Mode.

[sterlingice]

Also, the other trick you can do to get into an OS without blowing all of your stuff away is to install the OS over your old installation but not delete the old one. That way the data is still there but there is the risk of some loss and you still might have your problem to clean up.

SI

[JeeberD]

I have no idea if this relates to your situation or not, but my computer kept rebooting when the power supply went...

[Izulde]

I got it to boot up in Safe Mode, so I'm having Norton run through AV-scanning... Hopefully that'll find something.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I got it to boot up in Safe Mode, so I'm having Norton run through AV-scanning... Hopefully that'll find something.

I'd also recommend running the online virus scan by Trend Micro. If you google Trend Micro housecall, it should be the first result. It's always a good idea to run a few different scans, and having an online one that isn't altered by anything on your system helps too.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Deattribution

I'd also recommend running the online virus scan by Trend Micro. If you google Trend Micro housecall, it should be the first result. It's always a good idea to run a few different scans, and having an online one that isn't altered by anything on your system helps too.

Okay, I'll try running it on the desktop if I can get to online there (on laptop right now).

Also, my roommate and I had the curious incident of last night that Firefox in both of our laptops continually crashing. He has a Mac, I have a PC.

Considering it happened the same night as my desktop apparently picking up a virus and roughly the same timeframe, I'm wondering if they aren't connected somehow.

I've downloaded Google Chrome on my laptop and it still gives the crash message... but the cool part with Google Chrome is that it doesn't actually close the browser and lets me stay where I was (Chrome, I officially love you!)

And the error message Chrome gives is that Shockwave Flash Player crashed.

Could that be the problem with both of our setups? He couldn't find Google Chrome for the Mac and re-installed Firefox but it keeps crashing for him.

[Deattribution]

You'll have to start in safe mode with networking enabled (it's a separate option in the list)

As far as the crashes, It's hard to say. Macs are completely different systems and aren't vulnerable to the same issues PCs are, so it's unlikely those two are related. It's unusual but you could pick up a virus on your laptop off of your network if your laptop lacks security and is vulnerable in the same areas.

Flash, Java and a lot of your other programs like that are important to keep up to date to avoid making your computer vulnerable to attacks.

[Izulde]

I updated Shockwave to 11 but maybe I need to reboot for it to take effect as I'm still getting some crashes.

Norton ran 4 and a 1/2 hours and barely made a dent in the C drive in Safe Mode, so I canceled out the scan and ran defrag on the computer drives.

Didn't help really.

I tried Safe Mode with Networking on but it keeps timing out trying to connect to google to find the online virus scan.

So what I'm doing now is pulling my vital files on to my USB drive in Safe Mode and then what I'll do is either go back to the first save point that was safe or just reformat my hard drive entirely.

Do either of those sound like options?

[Izulde]

dola,

I'm getting a ton of Not Found errors on the Interwebs, including Wolverine Studios, cnn.com, my university email, my ESPN Fantasy Football league, etc (this is on my laptop).

So I don't know if it's just me or if others are having problems.... It just really sucks right now having a half-functioning laptop and a mostly non-functioning desktop.

I'll probably have to make a run to the English building and let myself into the TA computer lab to do the stuff I need to hand out tomorrow.

[Deattribution]

Well, it's most likely not hardware related if safe mode is running fine for that long. If you're getting everything important off, you could just do a system restore. Be aware that whatever you pull off onto the flash drive could bring something infected with it (if it's even that).

If you're willing to reformat anyway, rolling back to a safe save point can't hurt to try first. A lot of the problems you're having are a bit beyond my means of addressing remotely, all I can suggest for your laptop is that you use spy bot search & destroy, and potentially the online virus scan I recommended. Something seems to be affecting your browser and what it can access if you haven't done any major network/system changes recently.

[Deattribution]

Dola, and I can't stress enough that once you get all your problems addressed that you use firefox with ad block AND noscript if you don't already. There are so many websites that are reputable/harmless that outsource their advertisements, and those advertisers run malicious scripts on the site.

Just the other day, Sherdog.com had one of these issues pop up with one of their advertisers. Nothing malicious about the site, they are even partnered with ESPN.com but the advertisements run on the site was running a script that was infecting visitor's computers with a trojan.

[Izulde]

Edit: I spoke too soon. Right after I submitted happy happy joy joy post, the computer locked up and then upon restarting, went back into the cycle again.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Also, the other trick you can do to get into an OS without blowing all of your stuff away is to install the OS over your old installation but not delete the old one. That way the data is still there but there is the risk of some loss and you still might have your problem to clean up.

SI

Yeah, I wish I had known that a year or so ago, when I formatted because of a problem like this. I guess I should have asked the board.

[Izulde]

Thanks again, guys.

I contacted the guy who built the computer (it's custom-built) and he said it sounds as if I got a virus through the network (which, ironically enough, is the University's).

He recommended I either have someone here clean it or I can go to one of those pack and ship places and have them ship the computer to him and he'll straighten it out for me. He thinks he can do it without losing any of my files.

So I'll be deleting the stuff of questionable nature from my desktop and/or transferring it to my USB drive before removal, then shipping it off to him.

What do you guys recommend as a place that does the packaging and shipping?

[Deattribution]

UPS will package/ship, and it's on them if it doesn't get there safely if they package it.

[Abe Sargent]

Good luck!

[Izulde]

Thanks, Deattribution and Abe.

Another update.

After finally getting fed up and damned near throwing the laptop at the door, due to Internet problems and rampant browser crashes, I said hell with it, packed up my laptop and trucked it to the University.

And magically, no crashes of any kind thus far here at the University and I'm using Firefox, which was crashing immediately or just after opening on the apartment Internet.

So that takes care of the laptop problem, it seems like.

[Deattribution]

No problem.

That's odd with your laptop, unless there is someone else on the network in your complex causing the problems.