Topic: Tiny Laptop issues.

[Conrad]

Hi everyone and glad to find a decent looking PC support forum, you all seem a really nice bunch.  

My problem is I purchased my Laptop from Tiny(Time) just over 12 months ago. Being a little naive I had been using Broadband and file sharing without ANY virus/firewall security whatsoever.  

Countless viruses and system failures later I finally got Mcafee. Trouble is, my laptops beyond salvation. It's really really slow (takes 15 mins just to boot up) and I've got some virus I can't get rid of that disconnects me from net whithin 30 secs of being on there. After trying everything the only option is to wipe the HD and re-install everything. Wipe the slate clean so to speak.

But the problem is I don't have a windows XP disc and due to Tiny going bump I can't purchase a restore disc from them either. So even if I got an XP disk I don't know what drivers I need for evything else.

Can anyone suggest anything? My laptop has been packed away for months and I no longer use it. Bit of a waste really.....

[Sandra]

Hi Conrad and

When you say that you have tried everything to get rid of the various virii have you tried scanning in safe mode with system restore switched off ?

If you do decide to get an XP cd and wipe the hard drive then you will probably find that it will have most of the drivers that your laptop needs especially if its a later version of XP with SP2 included.

The hardest to find drivers used to be for 56k modems, as you use BB then presumably you are using a router which doesnt need drivers or have a BB modem which would have come with the drivers. Drivers for 56k modems were usually available after some hard work identifying the modem and searching sites such as www.driverguide.com
The graphics and sound are the only other ones that may not be on an XP installation cd but they probably would be, if not I am sure that we could help you find them.

So rather than bin a fairly new laptop I would definatley invest in a XP cd  

[Conrad]

Hi Sandra, thanks for the speedy reply!

No I haven't tried scanning in Safe Mode with system restore switched off. What does this do and how do I do it?

System Retore was one of the things that went wrong with the Laptop. All my Restore Points got deleted and my date/time on the Laptop got reset to 00/00/0000. Kinda wierd.

As for the XP CD route, how much am I looking for for XP?

[Simon]

Hi Conrad,

Disabling System Restore (Windows Me/XP):-

Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may also back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

To disable System Restore, right click your My Computer desktop icon, and select Properties, then the System Restore tab.  Untick the box, to switch off System Restore.  Don't forget to enable it again, once you have cleaned your machine.

The advantage of running the antivirus scan in Safe Mode is that, hopefully, the virus, worm or trojan won't have then been activated by starting Windows.  Safe Mode only starts the bare minimum of system requirements to make the machine work, and many virii (as as Sandra put it), can't be removed once running.

Hopefully that makes some sense - come back to us if you're not sure.

[Sandra]

Usually you enter safe mode by repeatedly pressing the F8 key as the pc boots up.
The screen appearance will look terrible as it doesnt load the graphics drivers so you get a very low screen resolution, dont worry about this as its normal for safe mode.

If you right click on My Computer and select properties theres a tab in the next window that appears thats labelled System Restore.
Click on that and tick the box that says Turn off System Restore on all drives then apply.

The reason for doing a scan with System Restore turned off is that some viruses "hide" in the system restore part and when System Restore is active then its not scanned by the AV program so the virus can return even if its been detected and deleted in other places on the pc.
Similarly some viruses are stored in device drivers and are reactivated when the drivers are loaded.
Running in safe mode loads minimal drivers to run the pc so has more chance of detecting any that load with the drivers in normal windows mode.

The main problem you will have is that your AV program wont be able to be updated due to not being able to get online and stay on long enough to get the updates  

Is the hard drive easily removable from your laptop or do you have to dismantle it to get at it ?

If its easily removable then you could add it as a slave hard drive in a full size pc and run an up to date scan from that pc on it.
Make sure to disable the system restore while the drive is still in your laptop as you wont be able to access it once its no longer the boot drive.

You would need an adaptor that connects a 2.5 inch drive to the power and IDE cable of a full size pc but theyre only around £5 to £10 and are readily available

I think that XP home costs around £90 and XP pro around £120.
Shop around online, computer fairs or check on ebay and you may get it cheaper.

If anyones reading this who knows of a cheap place for XP please post a link here for Conrad  

[Sandra]

I have just had a quick look on ebay and there are home and professional versions for sale at buy it now prices of £69 plus £4 post for the pro version and £53-94 plus £4-99 for the home version.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WINDOWS-XP-PRO-CD-WITH-SP1A-INCORPORATED-SP2_W0QQitemZ7186896096QQcategoryZ41888QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-WINDOWS-XP-HOME-EDITION-FREE-BONUS-CD_W0QQitemZ7186105165QQcategoryZ41887QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There may be some cheaper ones available if youre prepared to wait and bid but check that they are genuine ones  

[Simon]

Redstore.com have XP Home for just short of £60, plus a bit of postage.  Might be slightly dearer than eBay, but at least you are assured of a genuine version.

If you haven't used the infected machine since you got the viruses, it might be logical to assume that the viruses are no newer than the latest McAfee updates, so if you had the latest McAfee updates then, hopefully you might be lucky, and they will suffice, without you having to update them before running the virus scan.  Of course, as soon as you have the machine up and running, get the latest updates.  

[Conrad]

Sandra/Simon

Many thanks for the detailed reply and instructions. I will run Mcafee on my Laptop tomorrow night when I see my girslfriend (laptop is round hers).

I will try and get the update for Mcafee off the net on my laptop. If I persevere and continually re-connect to the net (and don't close the error messages) I can eventually get an internet connect long enough to recieve Mcafee updates. I'll be sure to do that before running Mcafee in Safe Mode with restore point turned off.

Also, many thanks for links for Windows XP - it's cheaper than I thought.  

Also, whislt we're on the subject - what's the difference between XP Home and XP Pro? Is Pro worth the extra money?

[Simon]

Pro is more geared towards networking and businesses, as I understand it, so if you are intending to network multiple PCs, it may be your better choice.  Pro is also more geared towards multiple users, with enhanced security features for such use.  

Home is what it says on the tin.  It's designed for the home user, but you can also network with it, within the home.  There's a lot more information on the differences between Home and Pro HERE, which you may find useful.