Sony Viao JCV-150
Windows Millennium Edition
IE 5.5

A few months ago it was attacked by Cool Web Search. Got rid of that with CWShredder. But now I’ve been socked by about:blank.

Yesterday, I was running several spyware removal programs in safe mode:

Spybot search and destroy
Spyware xterminator
adaware
spysubtract

after the last run, the darn thing won’t load anymore. It makes it all the way to the Widows ME screen and then stalls there forever.

Can I save this computer? How can I nudge it past the Windows ME screen?

Also, some people have suggested that I wipe the hard drive and start again.
How do I go about doing this? If I reload some of the documents and pictures I’ve saved to CD will I reload the virus?

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Take my advice and forget about your ME OS. Because of all the problems many and myself have had with ME, we learned to call it My Enemey. You can get Windows XP home edition cheap now. I think its out for $80.00 bucks! If you do buy this, you need to clean install. That means, having windows XP format your hard drive and install new. Backup your hard drive though first. That means, only the essential things, not the BS. My two cents

 

I second Terminators reply, I have 2 goals as a computer service manager, get people off of AOL, and get people off of Windows ME

 

Thread re-titled for better search acccuracy.

Chris

 

Moesha,

While I agree that you'd be better off with another OS, let's concentrate on your problem. You can't even boot now?

What I would try first is an OS reinstall. Not a WIPE, but a reinstall. Put the Windows Me CD in the drive and boot up. Setup should run automatically. If it does not, you'll need to go into the BIOS and change the boot sequence so that the CD drive is before the HDD. Know how to do that? If not, let us know, and we'll tell you.

Then, follow the setup prompts to do a reinstall. This will write over all the OS files, but will leave your data and other programs intact. It should, anyway.

Try that first. Let us know.

Chris

 

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Terminator20 and Davejb, yes, I will certainly put some thought into purchasing a new OS.

WorldBuilder, thank you so much for your help. I will try what you have suggested tonight. I'll post back here with the results.

Thanks again,
Moesha

 

A little hitch in the plan. It appears that my computer didn't come with an ME disk. I have:

sony application recovery cd
sony system recovery cd
driver recovery cd

When I made a guess and tried the system recovery cd, it warned me that I would be doing a complete system wipe. I didn't do it though.

I don't know how to save the information that is currently on my system, if I can't get past the ME screen. Is there any way to retrieve that information in the state of my computer with the information I have?

Again, I really appreciate all of your assistance.

Moesha

 

Ok, it's an OEM Sony disk then...

Well, can you boot into safe mode? If so, get in there and save as much data as possible, then go ahead with the restore from the recovery disc.

If not, the only real way to get the data off the drive is to take the drive out and put it in a different computer as a slave drive. Take the data you need off the Sony drive. When done, put it back in the Sony and restore.

To get into safe mode, press F8 as you're booting.

Try that first.

Chris