Member Avatar for justin99655

Greetings. Looking for some help with my Vista based laptop.

I have steered clear of Limewire, etc. and been very careful about what I download and install on my HP laptop, but the other day I had a blue screen pop up suddenly with a scary and long error message. Then my laptop shut down and I was unable to take note of any of the details of the message.

NOW, browsers (even Chrome & Firefox) are slow, java based websites and applications often crash, and my overall performance is much slower. I've noticed my cursor often jumps from the arrow to the circular blue "thinking/loading" circle (what used to be the hourglass) even when no programs are open.

I'm not sure how a virus has infected my PC, but somehow it has! Norton doesn't detect it, AVG free didn't detect anything. I tried Norton again, and still nothing detected. What has happened to my PC and what can I do to discover/fix it?

I would be eternally grateful for any feedback.

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Quick summary and a focused triage plan. The sudden BSOD followed by sluggish, crashing browsers can be caused by hardware faults, driver failures, or a stealthy/boot‑level infection — each needs different handling and can look the same to a user. was right to flag hardware as a possibility, and ’s request for crash details is also useful for later debugging. Microsoft’s guidance on blue‑screen causes and next steps is a good reference. Resolving blue screen errors in Windows. (support.microsoft.com)

Immediate, safe priorities (do these first): back up anything irreplaceable; rule out bad RAM; and repair core system files. Run a bootable RAM test (create a USB and boot outside Windows) — MemTest86 is the standard tool for this. If it shows errors, test modules one‑by‑one and replace failing DIMMs. MemTest86 (bootable RAM tester). (memtest86.com)

Repair Windows system files next: open an elevated Command Prompt and run the System File Checker and the DISM restore command to fix corrupted OS files before more invasive steps.

sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Microsoft documents the SFC workflow and expected results. Use the System File Checker tool. (support.microsoft.com)

If memory and file repairs don’t clear the problem, treat it like possible persistent malware/rootkit. Run an offline scanner (it scans before Windows loads) — Microsoft Defender Offline is a supported option; vendor rescue ISOs (bootable rescue disks) or dedicated rootkit scanners are alternatives. Make a disk image or full backup before running any rescue/repair utilities. Microsoft Defender Offline guidance. (learn.microsoft.com)

When the system is running, look for persistence and odd network activity: use Autoruns to find and disable unfamiliar auto‑start items, Process Explorer to inspect running processes, and capture network connections (for example netstat -ano > C:\netstat.txt) so you can map PIDs to processes. Save outputs and don’t delete items blindly — compare hashes with VirusTotal or a trusted analyst before removal. Autoruns (Sysinternals). (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes and next steps: if the BSOD recurs, record the stop code / attach the minidump when asking for help (that’s what asked for). If hardware tests are clean and offline/rootkit scans find nothing, consider a clean OS reinstall — after backing up data — because deeply persistent infections and firmware/boot‑level problems sometimes require a fresh start.

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Member Avatar for tendragons

Those symptoms could even be caused by some damaged RAM or disc. If you can get ahold of the hex codes displayed on the "blue screen of death", it will shed some more light on the possible causes. The code is in the format like 0x1234ABCD. Sometimes you can get the error message out of the System log using Event Viewer (Control Panel, Administrative Tools). It should still have the entry from a few days ago when it crashed.

Use the info at http://helpdesk.wisc.edu/page.php?id=7049 to stop auto-reboot so you'll have time to read the BSOD text if it reoccurs.

OOh, definitely run a "checkdisk" in the meantime in case the crash corrupted any files (My Computer, right-click C: drive, Properties, Tools tab, error-checking)

Member Avatar for Heyzaneretro

If you are worried about a virus you could try an online virus scanner. Trend Micro's Housecall seems good http://housecall.trendmicro.com/, but I prefer F-Secure's . If it's not damaged hardware, and depending on the nastiness of the virus, you may not be allowed to run these programs.

Member Avatar for Michael York

Hi justin99655,,

This is Mike from the Norton Authorized Support Team.

Can you please tell me which Norton product and version you have installed? You may have an outdated version installed and may be entitled to a free update to the newest version of your Norton product, as long as you have a valid subscription.

If you have not already done so, manually run LiveUpdate , possibly multiple times, until you are informed that there are no more updates available. After the updates have completed, perform a "Full System Scan" with Norton and see if it detects any threats.

In regards to the blue screen that popped-up, please open the Event Viewer in Windows and locate the crash and let me know the stop code and any other relevant information that appears.

Thank you,
Mike

Greetings. Looking for some help with my Vista based laptop.

I have steered clear of Limewire, etc. and been very careful about what I download and install on my HP laptop, but the other day I had a blue screen pop up suddenly with a scary and long error message. Then my laptop shut down and I was unable to take note of any of the details of the message.

NOW, browsers (even Chrome & Firefox) are slow, java based websites and applications often crash, and my overall performance is much slower. I've noticed my cursor often jumps from the arrow to the circular blue "thinking/loading" circle (what used to be the hourglass) even when no programs are open.

I'm not sure how a virus has infected my PC, but somehow it has! Norton doesn't detect it, AVG free didn't detect anything. I tried Norton again, and still nothing detected. What has happened to my PC and what can I do to discover/fix it?

I would be eternally grateful for any feedback.

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