I recently caught a virus on my laptop that would cause firefox to crash whenever there was flash on the page/ google searches to redirect to fake pages/ scam pages. Was happening for about a day before i ran malware bytes and avg scans. Malwarebytes asked to restart to remove the 2 viruses so I did, and now windows will not load. It asks if i want to try starting windows again or use system restore. Ive tried system restore twice with no luck. What can I do from here? Its a dell inspiron 1720 running vista. Im about to try it in safe mode but idk what i could even do if windows does start then. Should i bring it to someone who knows what theyre doing? Track down a vista disk and just start fresh? Any input is greatly appreciated,!
---------- Post added at 06:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------
Just got a popup saying restore failed but this time it gave me a list of system recovery options …startup repair, system repair, windows restore , memory diagnostic tool, command prompt, and factory image restore.
I have everything i need on a hard drive so i have no issues losing everything…opinions?
Depending on manufacture of BIOS, it might be ESC, F8, F12, DEL to enter boot mode. You must press the correct key when the manufacture banner (hp, dell…) is on the screen.
Boot to safe mode /w networking
Download RKILL
Download Malwarebytes /update
Run RKILL
Run Malwarebytes, full-scan
Reboot. Hows that look?
Okay, still fucked? Repeat SafeMode process and download ComboFix. Run that fucker.
If this doesn’t work… Burnt_toast said it, format*.
If you have your data backed up. Wipe that shit, and dont waste your time dicking w/ antivirus tools. Make sure if it’s a wireless laptop without a dedicated hardline ethernet available, have your wireless drivers on a usb stick.
Instead of reinstalling Vista locate a copy of Windows 7 and install that instead its more secure and faster. It will most likely have all the drivers you need.
Is It difficult to reformat/ upgrade to win.7? I have someone who may be able to do it for me but wants $$$. Can I just Google reformatting and follow those steps? I don’t know anyone with win7 but may just buy it
Win 7 is the easiest windows install ever. And more than likely all the drivers are built in so you would only need to download the programs to control the fancy laptop buttons etc…
It’s a Dell also, just punch in the service tag, choose windows 7 (VERSION HERE) and possibly bitness. GO through the list and install the drivers if needed. If possible I’d try and install the 64bit version if the PC supports it. That way you can either utilize all 4GB or add additional memory.
It will support 64-bit. I am going back to buff state in the spring…need this laptop for that. I think I’ll just bite the bullet - get windows 7 and reformat.
What error are you getting when it doesn’t boot into windows? Do you ever see the windows start screen? Does it just keep rebooting over and over when it can’t get into windows?
So there are 2 versions…upgrade from vista and non upgrade of win7…should I be ok with the vista one or drop the extra on the full version? I don’t make it to the windows start - I see the bios screen ( I believe that’s what it’s called) the laptop is currently on a screen where it lists several options…one is a factory reset option. Should I try that, then see if I could just do the upgrade-able version?
Also thank you for all your help - I’m kind of in a pinch and don’t want to trash this laptop
Upgrade will look for an existing copy of Vista or require the media to install. Post format you won’t have any resident OS so if you don’t have media the upgrade won’t likely work.
You might be able to slam the key in from your stock OS if it was Vista…I’ve never done an upgrade this way myself so I can’t say for sure.
Factory image reset/reformatting partitions seemed to do the trick…I’m posting from the laptop:) Also picked up windows 7 update so once I download all 80 updates hopefully tonight I can run windows 7!