Jump to content

Welcome to Geeks to Go - Register now for FREE

Need help with your computer or device? Want to learn new tech skills? You're in the right place!
Geeks to Go is a friendly community of tech experts who can solve any problem you have. Just create a free account and post your question. Our volunteers will reply quickly and guide you through the steps. Don't let tech troubles stop you. Join Geeks to Go now and get the support you need!

How it Works Create Account
Photo

virus & other issues


  • Please log in to reply

#1
Shawna724

Shawna724

    New Member

  • Member
  • Pip
  • 6 posts
Ok, I don't really know where to start. I'm not very knowledgeable about computers, but was sent to this site by a friend's husband. Hoping that someone here has some good advice on how to fix my problem.

July 5th I was online (via AOL), I went to use Yahoo Messenger and it froze everything up. I clicked CTRL+ALT+DELETE.....didn't work, after 3-4 tries, I just turned the computer off. I waited 2 minutes and turned it back on. From there it went right into something goofy and wouldn't restart. I turned it off again. Came back on with something telling me to do a System Recovery....did that, tried turning on again, didn't work..tried again, told me to do another System Recovery, finally got back on and things appeared to be normal, the only thing that LOOKED different was my version of AOL. I uploaded the new version, things still looked the same. Went to get something out of My Documents....GONE! They're all gone.

The only things that changed were the AOL, My Documents ALL missing (I have adopted a daughter, and the only photos I have of her during the International Adoption Process..all GONE! :*(...stupid me, didn't have them backed up on a disk) and I have a Kodak software for my digital camera, the photos are there, but you can't enlarge anything, you can only view a thumbnail size photo.

I did a virus scan with Norton on July 6th, it found 1 infected file and said it deleted it. I went thru everything it told me to do to delete this certain virus (Trojan.Startpage)...some of the things were where they said and I deleted what I could find and did what it said to do. I did another virus scan, it detected nothing. Should I trust that its been fully deleted??? Or is there more steps that I need to take?

Is there ANY way to recover those missing documents??? Are they gone forever???? (Praying for a MIRACLE!)

Thanks for any help I may receive!!

Shawna
  • 0

Advertisements


#2
wannabe1

wannabe1

    Tech Staff

  • Technician
  • 16,645 posts
Hello Shawna...

When you say you did a system recovery, how did you do it? Was it a recovery or a system restore?

wannabe1
  • 0

#3
Shawna724

Shawna724

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 6 posts
It was a System Recovery....pressed F10 at the very beginning of the start up
  • 0

#4
wannabe1

wannabe1

    Tech Staff

  • Technician
  • 16,645 posts
HP, huh?

Unfortuanately, this method formats the drive and returns the machine to factory fresh settings. I'm afraid any files you had on the machine are gone and, for all intent and purpose, unrecoverable.

Can you download the pictures from your camera onto the machine and enlarge them using an image editing program such as PhotoImpact? Ulead has a free trial version HERE that you can download and try.
  • 0

#5
Shawna724

Shawna724

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 6 posts
OK...But then I don't understand why a lot of the other programs I loaded after getting the computer are still there...if it was infact returned to "factory fresh settings"??
  • 0

#6
wannabe1

wannabe1

    Tech Staff

  • Technician
  • 16,645 posts
Maybe they've changed the process so it's not a destructive recovery as it used to be.

If you remember the name of any of the image files, try a search for them using the Windows Search feature. Search "All files and folders" making sure to include the hidden files and folders and subfolders.

Let me know if any are found and we'll see if we can recover them.
  • 0

#7
Shawna724

Shawna724

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 6 posts
Well, considering I don't know file names..I type in something that it MAY be, and all this "weird stuff" (technical computer coding, haha) comes up..I don't know where to go from that point. Should I take it in where someone can actually view what I'm referring to and go from there?
  • 0

#8
gerryf

gerryf

    Retired Staff

  • Retired Staff
  • 11,365 posts
shwana, HP actually offers to restoration processes--a factory restore as Wannabe noted and a non-destructive one

Perhaps you chose the second (lucky break, maybe)

Double click MY COMPUTER, double click LOCAL DISK C:, double click DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS

Select the window with your mouse

Press the ALT key and the Print Screen (sometimes this key is labeled Prt Sc, or Prt Scr) simulultaneously

Open Microsoft Paint (usually Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint)

On the menu bar at the top, choose EDIT > PASTE

Save the file on the desktop by choose FILE > SAVE AS

Click on the DESKTOP button on the left side of the dialog box, then in the FILE NAME box type
screen1
and under SAVE AS TYPE, choose
JPEG

Click the SAVE button

Close Paint

To attach the file, click the ADD_REPLY button at the bottom of this thread. When the window opens, scroll below the message box to FILE ATTACHMENTS, click BROWSE, click the DESKTOP button, then choose SCREEN1, then click the OPEN button.

Now click the ATTACH button, then click ADD_REPLAY button
  • 0

#9
Shawna724

Shawna724

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 6 posts
Ok, here it is...I hope. You'll see the SMITHFAMILY new one..that's what I had to add since the system recovery. WE used to have owner, nicknamed The Smith's (which now I can not get into) and Dustin..which we can access some stuff.

Attached Thumbnails

  • screen1.JPG

  • 0

#10
gerryf

gerryf

    Retired Staff

  • Retired Staff
  • 11,365 posts
Shawna,

I am willing to bet a substantial amount of money that if you double click OWNER, then MY DOCUMENTS, then MY PICTURES (if that is where you put them) you will find all your photos

It appears that you did do a non-destructive restore

I suspect you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, so you must start the computer in safe mode,

While starting your computer tap the F8 key once every second during the memory count up, or during the system spash screen where you see the system maker's name (HP, COMPAQ, DELL....etc.)

This will result in a text based menu. Use the curors/arrorw keys to navigate to SAFE MODE and hit enter.

You will be brought to a logon screen

Log on with an account that has Administrative rights to have access to the Security tab.

Right-click the folder that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.

Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message if one appears.

Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.

In the Name list, click your user name, or click Administrator if you are logged in as Administrator, or click the Administrators group. If you want to take ownership of the contents of that folder, select the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects check box.

Click OK.

Windows will pop up a message box, reading: "You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control?" All permissions will be replaced if you press Yes.

Click YES

Click OK, and then reapply the permissions and security settings that you want for the folder and its contents.

Close everything, reboot, you should be able to get those files now
  • 0

#11
Shawna724

Shawna724

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 6 posts
THANK YOU SOOOO VERY MUCH!! I've recovered my precious photos!

I have another quick question...I keep getting this pop up box, titled "Runner Error" and in the box it says Invalid BackWeb application id "7288971"...Any ideas?
  • 0

#12
happyrock

happyrock

    Tech Moderator

  • Retired Staff
  • 9,285 posts
while you wait for gerryf to get back to you...take the time to BACKUP all your data..photos and music :whistling:

heres the instructions for the backweb problem...

http://chooseknowled...ackweb-lite.htm

Edited by happyrck, 12 July 2006 - 03:31 PM.

  • 0






Similar Topics

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

As Featured On:

Microsoft Yahoo BBC MSN PC Magazine Washington Post HP