Pardon My Ignorance...

F

Fatzoid

New Member
My neighbor has just replaced his laptop with a new one because the old one caught a virus and died.

He says I'm welcome to have his old one and try to see if I can get it fixed....but I ain't sure there's any point in trying.

See, the computer's so ill that it won't even boot up.....so does this mean that the virus must've destroyed every single bit of software on the computer, including the operating-system software? That's to say, is the laptop now nothing more than a plastic box filled with electronic components?

(The virus began with a box appearing onscreen, telling the user that a fault had been detected and offering to repair the problem for a price. Then the laptop started crashing over and over and the only thing that was ever on the screen was the box with the message on it.)

Is it worth my taking the laptop to a computer guru or is it dead in the water? And if it's at all repairable, would the repair be so pricey that a new laptop would make more sense?

Many thanks for your collective thoughts on this matter, O venerable company of Einsteins.
 
It's very rare (or not even possible?) for a virus to damage the hardware in a computer.

It should be fixable, it probably just needs an operating system re-install. If you are feeling confident and the computer is Windows XP or newer, its fairly easy to do it yourself, or people on here can help :).

If you are feeling less confident you could take it to some shop that does it (but look around at prices first... you dont want to spend too much or even as much as a new laptop! lol).

What exactly happens when you press the power button?
 
try downloading avg rescue boot disc, you can use that to boot into avg before windows starts and remove the viruses.
 
Yes...what happens when you hit the power button??

As long as the computer powers on (i.e., nothing wrong with the hardware), I imagine it would be possible to reinstall the OS (winXP?).

If this is the case, You will need a OS disc... and you will have to set boot priority to CD/DVD, and then reformat the hard drive. However before we get ahead of ourselves...it would help to know what operating system the computer is/was running... and what happens when you press the 'power' button on the laptop.
 
Okay, time to try again, armed with more info.

The laptop is a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo running Windows Vista.

This is what happens when you switch on:

First comes a screen saying 'Fujitsu Siemens Computers' with (below it) the words "Press F2 to enter Setup. Press F12 to display Boot Menu."

The next screen to appear is a "Windows Error Recovery" screen offering three options, but the arrow-keys don't have any effect if you try selecting an option.

The next screen that presents itself is a black screen showing one of those time-elapsing box-thingies, above the words "c.Microsoft Corporation".

Then the screen goes totally black, except that the mouse-arrow is visible and can be moved around. And that's as far as we get.

I should mention that I've tried pressing F12 on the starter screen ("Display Boot Menu"), but all that happens is that the screen goes black and a sort of ding-ding-ding siren-noise starts up and continues till I switch the laptop off.

Should I throw the thing into the nearest handy incinerator, d'you think?

Thanks for any advice you can spew in my direction.

FATZOID
 
Fatzoid said:
Should I throw the thing into the nearest handy incinerator, d'you think?
Click to expand...

That's totally up to you. But by the sound of it, the computer can be saved.

Try following SslagleZ28's instructions. You should be able to re-install windows.

You could also try on boot (before it gets to the windows loading thing) to press F8 repeatedly until you get options to boot to safe mode etc... and try booting to safe mode, if that works you might be able to remove any viruses that way.
 
Very many thanks for your cud-chewing ruminations, you guys.

I'll set about implementing your suggestions forthwith.

So if you hear a deafeningly loud explosion, you'll know it was all your fault.

Thanks again.
 
If you can't get it to boot up and don't feel like taking the chance of paying someone to attempt to fix it, you could always try selling it on e-bay or even on here to see if anyone wants to attempt to fix it, rather than just throwing it away. Could probably make like $50 off it. :P
 
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