Need Help A.S.A.P! Please!!! Major Probs.

[extremeloco]

A friend told me about this site, so I am not sure if I am putting this in the right spot or not. So hopefully I can get some help. I do have Windows98 so I am guessing this is where this would go.

Alright. Well about 4 days ago, I got this Trojan Horse virus in my computer. I ran AVG Virus Scan, it healed and all that. Well.. then I started to have major problems with everything.

My Computer, Control Panal, and several folders in that nature will not open, and if it does open it freezes without showing any of the icons inside of the folder.

It also does this with my Documents. I can load my Documents folder, but several icons will not show up. About the only icons that does show is picture files and wordpad/word document files. But thats about it. Anything else it wont show.

Either way it dont stop there. For Internet Explorer, my Start Page has been changed without me changing it. Everytime I try to change it, it goes right back to what I didnt put there.

Either way, the only possible solution I know to fix this is reformatting the hard drive. But even then, I dont know how to reformat the hard drive.

So basically what I am asking is.. has anyone seen these kinda problems before? And if so do you know a solution. -- And if the solution is reformatting the hard drive, how do you that?

Thanks to anyone who can help me. I appreciate it.

[Big Booger]

http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9739
Inititally try checking your PC for spyware, adware, or any of that crap using the link above (thanks Egghead).

First scan your PC online with a free online scanner.
http://www.pandasoftware.com/actives..._principal.htm

http://pcpitstop.com/antivirus/default.asp

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Either of those will do.

Second, run a scandisk on the OS.

Here's how to use ScanDisk:

1. Click the Start button.
2. Point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click ScanDisk.
3. Click the drive you want to scan, and choose either the Standard or Thorough test.
4. Click Start.

* The Standard test checks the files and folders on the selected drives for errors.
* The Thorough test will give you further options. It performs the Standard test plus checks your hard disk drive for physical damage. You can even specify to scan areas of your disk containing only data files, or just the areas with system files, or both.
* Both Standard and Thorough have a set of Advanced options that help you to deal with lost file fragments, invalid files, and files that overlap the same disk space. You can also choose to keep a log file of what ScanDisk finds.

( I recommend the Thorough test)

Third try repairing the registry:

To repair the registry from within Windows 98:

1. Click Start, and click Run. The Run dialog box appears.
2. In the Open box, type scanregw.exe and click OK.



Now if none of that fixes your problems:

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/win9...exfullpage.htm

Try that great guide to reinstall windows 98. But before you reformat, you might want to back up your browser favorites, My documents folder, Outlook/email contacts and addresses and so on...

Good luck and welcome to TZ!

[zipp51]

You may want to consider moving up to XP if your hardware is compatible.There is a great utility called System Restore which can save the day if you catch a virus.

[PIPER]

also you could try....booting into DOS...at the C:\ type scanreg /restore....it will bring up usually three or four good registries, if your lucky and you can choose a restore point there and get yourself out of trouble.....sometimes!

[MSNwar]

Once your PC has a trojan sometimes the damage is irreversible. You say it was "healed", but you still have problems so it was not "healed". You realize that. Also, some trojans can lay dormant and activate at later dates.

In your case I would highly urge you to reformat the hard drive and perform a new/clean installation of Windows. I would also highly recommend that you locate the source of the trojan as it may be on a disc that you used to add software or something to the PC. Not all trojans come from the internet. This is important because you will be installing your software from scratch.

Last, be carefull of the sites you visit on the internet. Install SpyWare and AdWare programs before you connect to the internet.

[cash_site]

Also, not so much for Win98, but you should get in the habit of installing the latest Windows Update Patches... especially if you upgrade to WinXP or 2000 etc... it will save a lot of future headaches.