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Topic: Scary problems with desktop
Blaze1978's photo
Sun 12/12/10 05:02 PM
So soon after I almost lost my laptop, my desktop almost goes. When I booted, the screen initially wouldn't turn on. The light turned green, then orange, then after a long wait, green again, before I was told that Windows did not boot. Rebooted, got the same result...until I booted in safe mode. Petrified that I was going to lose all information I immediately went about transferring my files to my backup. When I finally rebooted with no problems, I found that one of the folders had mysteriously been copied onto my desktop. Good ****ing grief.

Was this some stupid windows glitch, or was I the target of a malicious attack?

Blaze1978's photo
Mon 12/13/10 04:38 PM
No responses?huh

FearandLoathing's photo
Mon 12/13/10 08:16 PM
Hard to say.

Have you done a virus scan? Malware and such scans? It could just be a Windows error, the registry tends to thoroughly **** itself over time so it could be something wrong with misplaced or out dated registry entries.

It could be a failing power supply, monitor could be failing, graphics card, etc. Literally could be a lot of different things.

Blaze1978's photo
Tue 12/14/10 04:20 AM
Edited by Blaze1978 on Tue 12/14/10 04:21 AM
Virus scan turned up empty. I also had the same problem when I booted up today, although different. The computer turned on, the windows screen appeared, and then the screen went dark (and the corresponding green light went orange, perhaps indicating an interuption in the power supply) before starting over and booting properly.

Although...I typically have my desktop running for 12-13 hour intervals without a power interruption, so maybe not...

StillLooking29's photo
Tue 12/14/10 08:49 AM
yikes...........wish I could help ya......good luck!!

no photo
Tue 12/14/10 09:11 AM
Im thinking a virus but maybe in the bios..? check your start up settings...thats why I have dual hardrives...all my important stuff goes into the secondary drive...in case of fatal crash I dont have to worry about loosing stuff...

no photo
Tue 12/14/10 09:25 AM

Im thinking a virus but maybe in the bios..? check your start up settings...thats why I have dual hardrives...all my important stuff goes into the secondary drive...in case of fatal crash I dont have to worry about loosing stuff...


What if your secondary drive crashes?

FearandLoathing's photo
Tue 12/14/10 01:37 PM
Edited by FearandLoathing on Tue 12/14/10 01:38 PM

Virus scan turned up empty. I also had the same problem when I booted up today, although different. The computer turned on, the windows screen appeared, and then the screen went dark (and the corresponding green light went orange, perhaps indicating an interuption in the power supply) before starting over and booting properly.

Although...I typically have my desktop running for 12-13 hour intervals without a power interruption, so maybe not...


Check to make sure all of the cables are properly plugged in if you haven't already. If everything is securely plugged in then your monitor might be going or even power supply, could even be the cables so if you have a spare set lying around somewhere try them out.

First though let's try something, when you boot up go to Start then click on Run and type in devmgmt.msc and look for a yellow mark on anything, afterwards check your processor by typing in taskmgr and clicking the processes tab. Is your processor going crazy or is there anything in your devices showing a yellow exclamation mark?

Blaze1978's photo
Tue 12/14/10 04:53 PM
The device manager brings up no yellow exclamation marks. But there doesn't appear to be a "processes" tab precisely.

no photo
Tue 12/14/10 05:07 PM


Im thinking a virus but maybe in the bios..? check your start up settings...thats why I have dual hardrives...all my important stuff goes into the secondary drive...in case of fatal crash I dont have to worry about loosing stuff...


What if your secondary drive crashes?


I only use it for storage, it has no OS...so I can plug it into any computer and access the data..its like a mondo pendrive...:banana:

FearandLoathing's photo
Tue 12/14/10 07:53 PM

The device manager brings up no yellow exclamation marks. But there doesn't appear to be a "processes" tab precisely.


Err...no processes tab at all? Double click on the edge of the task manager window, if that doesn't work you might have sasser: http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2004-050114-1706-99 (Sasser removal tool)

Did you check the performance tab in the task manager to see if your processer was going crazy over something?

Blaze1978's photo
Wed 12/15/10 04:10 PM
There's no performance tab either.

FearandLoathing's photo
Wed 12/15/10 06:51 PM

There's no performance tab either.


What exactly does it look like when you try to open up the task manager? Is it just a box with a green graph like thing? If it is just double click on the border and it should return to normal.

Blaze1978's photo
Wed 12/15/10 09:20 PM


There's no performance tab either.


What exactly does it look like when you try to open up the task manager? Is it just a box with a green graph like thing? If it is just double click on the border and it should return to normal.


There are four tabs at the top: file, action, view and help. Just below that, a set of symbols meaning back, forward,show/hide console tree, help, and show/hide action pane.

The main screen of the task manager lists the following: under the heading HOME-FUWOUJ6XFO there is
-computer
-disk drives
-display adaptors
-dvd/cd-rom drives
-floppy disc controllers
-floppy disc drives
-human interface devices
-IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
-IEEE 1394 bus host controllers
-keyboards
-mice and other pointing devices
-monitors
-network adaptors
-ports (COM & LPT)
-processors
-sound, video and game controllers
-system devices
-universal serial bus controllers

FearandLoathing's photo
Wed 12/15/10 10:31 PM
Ah, I see...my bad, what Windows are you running?

Go to your computer (whatever you named it from 'My Computer') and right click on the harddrive, go to the tools tab and run the error-check tool. If that comes back fine go back and run the defragmentation one, report back on what happens.

This is on XP but should be similiar if not exact for other Windows.

Chazster's photo
Thu 12/16/10 04:57 AM
You are only mentioning what you see on the monitor. I am surprised that Noone asked you this yet but when you turn on your pc and nothing boots do you hear anything? Are your pc fans kicking on? What about any sounds from the hard drive etc? If your fans are still kicking then your ps should be good.

Blaze1978's photo
Thu 12/16/10 07:19 PM

Ah, I see...my bad, what Windows are you running?

Go to your computer (whatever you named it from 'My Computer') and right click on the harddrive, go to the tools tab and run the error-check tool. If that comes back fine go back and run the defragmentation one, report back on what happens.

This is on XP but should be similiar if not exact for other Windows.


Nothing unusual comes up in error check.

For defragmentation, I ran an analysis, and it suggested a defrag. I'm running that now, it's up to one percent...this is going to take awhile.


Blaze1978's photo
Thu 12/16/10 07:21 PM

You are only mentioning what you see on the monitor. I am surprised that Noone asked you this yet but when you turn on your pc and nothing boots do you hear anything? Are your pc fans kicking on? What about any sounds from the hard drive etc? If your fans are still kicking then your ps should be good.


I thought about that...shockingly, it booted normally today. The fan works fine, and I don't remember hearing anything alarming prior to today.

FearandLoathing's photo
Thu 12/16/10 08:40 PM


Ah, I see...my bad, what Windows are you running?

Go to your computer (whatever you named it from 'My Computer') and right click on the harddrive, go to the tools tab and run the error-check tool. If that comes back fine go back and run the defragmentation one, report back on what happens.

This is on XP but should be similiar if not exact for other Windows.


Nothing unusual comes up in error check.

For defragmentation, I ran an analysis, and it suggested a defrag. I'm running that now, it's up to one percent...this is going to take awhile.




Possibly days.

Anyway, as long as it goes through without hiccups I'd otherwise say your Windows had a brain fart for a minute. It happens, but I'd keep an eye on it just to be sure, it could still be overheating or something keeping it on for 12+ hours.

Blaze1978's photo
Thu 12/16/10 08:43 PM
Oh no...

I had to abort the fragging at nineteen percent because the friggin' screen froze...it happened while I was trying to look at files on the drive. I tried to minimize everything, but instead the three windows disappeared but for the upper left hand corner. There was no icons, and nothing I could click on anywhere. I had to cut power.

In booting back up, it takes forever to get the internet running, and my homepage is all scrambled...although once past the homepage, everything appears normal.

What the hell?frustrated

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