Computer problems

[dobejazz]

I seem to have picked up a computer virus. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with this one. Just a note - I know very little about computers
what ever infected my computer caused the moniter to blink or flash between my desktop and a black screen I was also unable to use the mouse cursor So I turned the computer off and back on a few times. Now when I reboot the computer the moniter goes instantly to "sleep" or standby mode.
with help from someone much more computer literate me
I booted up in safe mode and ran ad-aware, spybot and my norton antivirus
software and came up with nothing. She also had me check the registry and can't find anything there that looks suspect.
Does anyone have any ideas what to look for? I am running XP pro on a dell 8300 if that matters
Thanks for any help !

[Doug1]

Have you tried a different monitor or uninstall/reinstall the monitor

[dobejazz]

I didn't because the moniter works in the safe mode. So the moniter is fine it's something in the start up I think.

[Marn]

well monitors will work in safe mode .. and not when running regularly .. my monitor recently went out and i used a old one that was working before .. but alls i got was squigly lines and couldnt see anything .. so booted up in safe mode and it worked .. but i knew i had to get another monitor ... if you have access to another monitor to try .. hook it up and see .. if not try downloading AVG antivirus do a google search .. it is free and it's better then nortons ..

good luck and hope ya get if figured out ...

Marn

[dobejazz]

I hope it's not the moniter it's pretty new and expensive I did get the latest driver download but that did not help.

[Flame]

I do not think it’s the monitor. I would think it would be an issue with the video card or driver. When the screen is black do you still hear the hard drive clicking? Do you see the hard drive flash when you move the mouse?

First I would do the following
Right click on my computer icon
Left click on properties
Left click on the hardware tab
Left click on device manger
Left click on the + sign next to display adapter
Right click on each component listed there and uninstall by left clicking on uninstall
Close everything and reboot your computer in normal mode and see if it picks up the drivers and works better if not I would say it is time to replace the video card.


We can cover that in the next post if need be.>>

[wharyat]

Agreed with flame, sounds like driver issues.

[azawakhmom]

Hi Flame,

One thing DobeJazz didnt mention, was that after this started, originally we were able to boot into XP using VGA mode. It still did the blink/flash thing but we got in. Also, and one reason we felt it was a virus / adware / spywere is that both the Search and Run options were suddenly missing from the Start menu, where as they are there when booted to safe mode.

Eventually we booted it to safe w/ networking support, and downloaded the latest video driver and applied, however that made things even worse, now it wont even boot to VGA mode, only to safe.

We'll try the remove / reboot thing though, that's a step I overlooked (I just went straight to loading new driver).

[Flame]

I sent a pm with my contact information feel free to give me a ring if you need any more assistance

[dobejazz]

I'm going to try this now! wish me luck

[skeety]

Originally Posted by azawakhmom

both the Search and Run options were suddenly missing from the Start menu, where as they are there when booted to safe mode.

Were they missing? Or were they just off the screen? meaning...did your background look lower than usual?

I have problems from time to time with my wife-to-be messing with the display settings (resolution/colors/screen size/etc), and sometimes, when I log in, I can't see the start bar, cause it's actually off the screen.

Maybe just try playing with your display settings.

(right click somewhere on the desktop, not on anything but your background)
Go down to properties

Go to the last tab (Settings), and try lowering your resolution (screen area) to a smaller setting, then a larger setting. See if either fixes things.

If it does, then play with the settings to get this fixed. Maybe decrease your color count, or just leave the screen size smaller/larger/etc.

[dobejazz]

Nope Skeety they were missing everything else was there !
Ron I reinstalled the driver and the moniter is working at least not "sleeping" but the blinking is still here Does this mean I need a new video card?
Search and run are back though.

[skeety]

Originally Posted by dobejazz

Does this mean I need a new video card?

It COULD. But then again, it could be something else.

I still vote for playing with you display settings, then try what Flame suggested.

Then maybe I'd try a different monitor...do you have another one you can hook up, just to test?

If those don't work, then you either have a virus (howbeit a WIERD one), or your video card is shot.

[dobejazz]

I did what Flame suggested and the moniter is now working in regular mode (before it just went to sleep) but it's blinking between a black screen and normal

[Flame]

Disable sleep mode. It really not need anyway