McAfee, AVG, and MBAB all report the system as being clean.
As I said in the original post, its already been scanned with two different virus scans, and MBAM. If you'd like a copy of the MBAM log, or a HJT log, I'll post it. The exact model of the laptop in question is NV7310u.
No drivers for the problem components on Gateway's site; they're all provided by Windows. I really don't think there is a driver problem; I suspect a virus of some sort, but I can't find it.
I'm working on a Gateway NV series laptop with driver problems. It shows four different drivers as having problems in Device Manager, and reinstalling the drivers doesn't help. It shows the error "Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)" for the optical drive, and I cannot burn a disk in the drive. It also shows the error "This device cannot start. (Code 10)" for the Microsoft ISATAP Adapter, Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #3, and Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Adapter. I've tried both updating and removing and reinstalling drivers, and still get the same errors. McAfee, AVG, and MBAB all report the system as being clean. Any idea where I should go from here? If any additional information is needed, let me know whats needed.
Solved with the help of the folks over at LinuxQuestions.org. This is the first time I've posted a question on Daniweb that I didn't get an answer within 24 hours!
I'm pretty much a Linux newbie, so please be gentle with me! I've got Ubuntu installed on an Acer Aspire laptop. Originally had the previous stable release, just upgraded to the current stable release (to try to fix my problem; didn't work). I've been running Gnome from the beginning, and decided to give KDE a try. Decided I didn't like KDE, and didn't like the way it took over Gnome and made me have to select Gnome every time I boot, so I decided to remove it. To do this, I opened Synaptics, did a search for "KDE", and uninstalled everything the search turned up that was installed. Evidently, I removed something I shouldn't have, because Gnome is acting very strangely now. When I open a program (any program), the window will no longer go full-screen, and no longer has the minimize/maximize, hide, and close buttons in the upper right corner. Can't stretch the window, and selecting the "view" menu, then "full screen" has no effect. May be unrelated, but I've also noticed that my CPU never falls below 44%. As stated above, I tried upgrading Ubuntu itself to the latest version, but that didn't help (I really didn't think it would, but figured it was worth a try). I'm sure its just a matter of reinstalling the proper file(s), but I have no idea which one to select under Synaptics. Can someone please point me in the right direction?
Solved! Not sure how it may have happened, but the MBR was apparently hosed. After working with this thing for a while, I finally realized that I've seen a similar problem before, on a system that a multi-boot program was improperly uninstalled from. I booted from a DOS 6.22 boot disk, and used the little-known and undocumented "FDISK /MBR" command to blank and rebuild the MBR. After that, I installed with no problem. Thanks for the suggestions, Bob!
SATA drivers. I've heard lots of people talk about them, but never needed them. I've installed XP, 95, DOS 6.22, and various flavors of Linux onto SATA drives, using the same procedures I use for PATA drives, with no issues and no drivers needed. Also, how could I load drivers when there is no OS installed yet? As for BIOS, yes, the HDD shows up there, whatever state the drive is in, as it should.
I did use the manufacturer's utility for low-level formatting the drive. I have tried both starting with a "blank" drive, and creating a partition and formatting it before starting to install, with the same results either way. There shouldn't be any problem with installing to a freshly low-level formatted drive, as its the same as installing to a brand new drive. XP should still see the drive and prompt you to create a partition, which it then formats.
As for trying to install on another computer and then move the HDD back to the original computer, I've tried that before, in different situations, with no luck. It might work if both PC's are the exact same, but I don't have another like this one to try it with. I may, however, try doing a complete install of Win95, and try to update it to XP. Thanks for the ideas!
I have a friend's Gateway MA7 laptop, because it had a horrible virus problem. The only anti-virus on it was McAfee (which is worse than nothing, in my opinion), and it had such an infection that new programs couldn't be installed. To be on the safe side, I low-level formatted the HDD, and then attempted to reinstall Windows with the factory recovery disk. The disk goes through all the motions, and says that everything is restored. On reboot, the computer basically tells me that there is no HDD, although the recovery disk said it was copying files to this supposedly non-existent HDD.
Next, I tried to install from an MCE install disk. The computer boots, goes through the process of loading files to a RamDrive, then tells me that it can't find an HDD. Tried this with a normal XP Pro install disk, with the same result.
Checked the HDD (100 GB WD SATA) with the manufacturer's utility program, and it sees the drive and reports no problems. Tried making a small partition with a Win95 boot disk and transferring the system to it, and it boots fine from it. Tried again to install XP Pro, with the same result as before. I've now tried three different XP disks (Pro, Home, and MCE), with the same result with all three, and I afterward used one of them to install XP onto another computer without a hitch, so I know its not an install disk problem. The fact that …
Yep, its running good now, thanks to your help. Marked as solved, and credit given to you. Thanks for all your help!
It's running much better now, thanks to your help with this! Latest HJT log:
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 11:23:31 AM, on 8/23/2009
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wltrysvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\bcmwltry.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgwdsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell\NICCONFIGSVC\NICCONFIGSVC.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgrsx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgemc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgnsx.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgcsrvx.exe
C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\mbam.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen\Desktop\HijackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.cub91.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R3 - URLSearchHook: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: AVG Security Toolbar - {CCC7A320-B3CA-4199-B1A6-9F516DD69829} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ISUSPM Startup] C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\INSTAL~1\UPDATE~1\ISUSPM.exe -startup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG8_TRAY] C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_03\bin\npjpi142_03.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_03\bin\npjpi142_03.dll
O9 - …
Sorry it took me so long to get back, things have been a little hectic here lately. I've had HJT fix everything you said. What made you say that those items were a problem? Are they just known problems, or is it the way they are written, or what? Again, I'm not trying to second-guess you, just learn. Anyway, I've rebooted, and rescanned, and here's the latest log:
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 10:52:26 PM, on 8/21/2009
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wltrysvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\bcmwltry.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgwdsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell\NICCONFIGSVC\NICCONFIGSVC.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgemc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgrsx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgnsx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgcsrvx.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen\Desktop\HijackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.cub91.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R3 - URLSearchHook: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - *{CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497} - (no file)
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - *{C94E154B-1459-4A47-966B-4B843BEFC7DB} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: …
OK, here's a new HJT log (fingers crossed!):
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 3:40:36 PM, on 8/16/2009
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wltrysvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\bcmwltry.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgwdsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell\NICCONFIGSVC\NICCONFIGSVC.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgrsx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgnsx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgemc.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgcsrvx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\scanner.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen\Desktop\HijackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.cub91.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://toolbar.ask.com/toolbarv/askRedirect?o=13149&gct=&gc=1&q=
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,Default_Search_URL = http://toolbar.ask.com/toolbarv/askRedirect?o=13149&gct=&gc=1&q=
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://toolbar.ask.com/toolbarv/askRedirect?o=13149&gct=&gc=1&q=%s
R3 - URLSearchHook: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - *{CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497} - (no file)
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - *{C94E154B-1459-4A47-966B-4B843BEFC7DB} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: AVG Security Toolbar - {CCC7A320-B3CA-4199-B1A6-9F516DD69829} - C:\Program …
OK, I rescanned with Mbam, and it shows clean now. I've also tried to access various AV websites, and Microsoft, and it works now. So, what do you think, Rik, can I call it good now?
OK, mbam finished scanning, and I finally have a chance to post the log. I really need to learn how to "read" and work with the registry. I don't know how to tell what's bad and what's normal, or much about determining what entry is related to what program. Anyway, here's my mbam log:
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.40
Database version: 2551
Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2
8/11/2009 10:00:41 PM
mbam-log-2009-08-11 (22-00-41).txt
Scan type: Full Scan (C:\|)
Objects scanned: 106628
Time elapsed: 8 minute(s), 17 second(s)
Memory Processes Infected: 0
Memory Modules Infected: 0
Registry Keys Infected: 14
Registry Values Infected: 0
Registry Data Items Infected: 2
Folders Infected: 5
Files Infected: 17
Memory Processes Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Memory Modules Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Keys Infected:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{6d794cb4-c7cd-4c6f-bfdc-9b77afbdc02c} (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\fias4051 (Malware.Trace) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\VundoFixTool (Fake.VundoFixTool) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\TDSSdata (Trojan.Agent) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\TDSS (Trojan.Agent) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MS Juan (Malware.Trace) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\contim (Trojan.Vundo) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\instkey (Trojan.Vundo) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\dslcnnct (Trojan.Vundo) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MS Track System (Trojan.Vundo) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\rdfa (Trojan.Vundo) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\FCOVM (Trojan.Vundo) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.
Which of the processes that HJT shows is "suspect"? Again, I'm not trying to second-guess you or anything, I'm trying to learn. Everything there looks pretty well "normal" to me.
I've finally had success with Malwarebytes, but not exactly as you suggested. My original problem was that I couldn't even get the installer to run. I tried changing the name like you suggested (I should've known to try that, as I had to do the same thing with the AVG installer), and it installed without a hitch. Then, when I tried to run it, it wouldn't run. Tried to rename mbam.exe, but it still wouldn't run. Took a chance and clicked on mbamgui.exe, and it started up fine. It's scanning now, and I'll post the results as soon as I can after it finishes, but I may be a day or two before I get a chance to. Thanks for the help so far!
Your logs show several trojan infections.
Which log are you referring to? I know the AVG log does, but it took care of all of them. Do you mean that if it found that many, it probably missed some, or do you see some in the Hijackthis log as well?
I've tried to install Malwarebytes, please see in my original post, where I said, :
Tried to install Malwarebyte's Antimalware, and it won't even install; I double-click it, and nothing ever happens.
BTW (and please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to question your knowledge, just learn from it), what stands out to make you say that its "one badly infected PC"? Thanks!
As the title says, I can't access any anti-virus website, or Microsoft update, as well as getting random popups. I suspected the Conficker worm, so have ran two different removal tools (one from Symantic, one from Grisoft), as well as Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal tool, with no results reported and no change. The affected computer had Norton installed, which reported nothing. I removed Norton and installed AVG 8.5 (free version). It reported 37 problems found and repaired, but the problem still persists. I'll include a log of what it reported below. Tried to install Malwarebyte's Antimalware, and it won't even install; I double-click it, and nothing ever happens. This computer is a friend's, so I unfortunately have no idea where he may have been with it or what he may have been doing with it.
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 10:00:52 AM, on 8/9/2009
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wltrysvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\bcmwltry.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgwdsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell\NICCONFIGSVC\NICCONFIGSVC.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgemc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgrsx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgnsx.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8\avgcsrvx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG8\avgtray.exe
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen\Desktop\HijackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.cub91.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL …
win95/98 have that access to the ports
No, they don't. All flavors of Windows can, will, and do, at random and for no obvious reason, query the COM ports. Why, I have no idea. Maybe it thinks someone stole them while it wasn't looking?:icon_lol: Either way, if it queries the port when a program that requires absolute control of that port is using it, data corruption can, and often does, result. The main thing I use DOS for is software for programming Motorola two-way radios. It requires complete control of the computer's COM port while talking to the radio. There have been many, many Motorola radios corrupted when someone tried to program them with DOS-based software while in Windows. There are, yes, ways around this problem with Win95/98, but special steps have to be taken. Why go through the trouble, when I can just use "real" DOS and avoid the possibility?
This was a fairly new install anyway, so I just went ahead and dumped everything and started over (and loaded DOS first, like I should've done to begin with). Thanks for the ideas!
Problem found! I was trying to over-complicate things (as usual). I simply moved the wireless router behind the switch and let it act as DHCP for all computers, instead of just for the laptops. My setup is now:
Router (belongs to ISP) - wireless router (mine) - switch (mine). Works much better now. If only I can figure out now why I always try to make things more complex than they need to be, I'll be all set....:icon_rolleyes:
My current setup:
Two desktops and one laptop running WinXP, and one laptop running WinVista. There is a router where I connect to my ISP (local wireless system), that runs to an eight-port switch. Both desktops are connected to the switch. There is also a wireless router connected to the switch to provide wireless connectivity for the laptops. Everything works as intended, no issues.
What I want to do:
I'm trying to add a print server to this setup so all computers can access a single printer. My problem is, the wireless router won't let me, with "standard" settings, run IP addresses in the same range on both the LAN and WAN sides. The WAN side is in the range of 192.168.0.x, and the LAN is in the range of 192.168.1.x. Nothing on the LAN side can "see" anything on the WAN side, and vice-versa. So, I can either plug the print server into the switch and print only from the desktops, or plug it into the LAN side of the wireless router and print only from the laptops. What can I do to get around this problem? If it matters, the wireless router is a Netgear WGR614, and the print server is an AirLink APSUSB201. I am by no means a networking expert (I wouldn't be asking this question if I were, would I?), but I do know more than most common people about networking and computers in general. Assume I know enough about networking to …
If I'm understanding correctly from the website linked to above, VirtualBox is a program that actually runs under Windows, or Linux, to allow another OS to be ran from within the "host" OS. If thats the case, it wouldn't do me any good at all. The main software I need to run under DOS needs complete control of the computer's serial port, and you can't get that control under any flavor of Windows. Hmm, sounds like I may need to dump everything and start over. Thanks for the idea!
This may not be the correct place for this question, but I can't find anywhere it really seems to fit, and this seems like the best place overall.
I have a system with WindowsXP and Slackware Linux dual-booted with lilo. I have a small partition on the HDD already formatted as FAT that I would like to install MS DOS 6.22 on and allow lilo to handle all three OS's. Is there any way I can do this without having to wipe everything else out? If I try to install DOS as everything is currently set up, the DOS setup program tells me that it needs to repartition the HDD (the FAT partition is not the first on the drive), and will go no further. Is there any way around this problem?
I'll have to check that later. I'm running Linux and WinXP dual-booted on the system in question, and I had to reload XP. That, of course, wiped out lilo, and I haven't had a chance to try to reload it yet. Most likely, I'll be back here shortly asking for help on how to do that, but I'll try to get it myself first.
I've installed Slackware 12.0 to my Acer Aspire 5520, and the sound doesn't work. It recognizes the soundcard, and it appears that the drivers are installed, but I don't get any sound. Where should I check, and what should I look for.
Solved! I edited the inittab file as directed, and X now starts automatically. Thanks for the help, everyone!
Ah, that's much better. I haven't tried yet to set the runlevel to make it start X automatically, but I did try typing "startx", and it did indeed start X. Thanks for the helping hand. I'll get the hang of this Linux thing eventually (maybe).
I've just installed Slackware version 12.0 on an Acer Aspire 5520. When I boot to Linux, I just get a command line. Why am I not getting a GUI? I selected for X and KDE to be installed during setup, so why do they not work?
BTW, I'm a Linux noob, so please dumb down any replies. Thanks!
UPDATE:
Problem solved! It was the video card. Most likely something to do with the screwy "MGP" slot on this strange mobo. Oh, well. I'm running a 64 MB ATI Radeon 7000 PCI card for the moment. I'll upgrade to a PCI Express card in the near future, maybe. Thanks again for the help, Moz!
Moz, thats certainly an idea I didn't think about. Now that you mention it, that could very well be the problem. Instead of an AGP port, the mobo has an "MGP" (Mach Speed Graphics Port), which is some kind of screwy proprietary graphics port that accepts AGP cards, but actually works off of the PCI bus. The manufacturer does state that some graphics cards don't work very well with it. I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Thanks (for pointing out something I should've caught myself:icon_redface: )!
I'm trying to install Windows XP Pro to a system with a Mach Speed MK8-939A mobo, AMD Athlon64 3200+ CPU @ 2.0 GHz, and 512 MB of RAM. I've tried this on three different HDDs now, with the same results on all three. The install itself goes fine. First boot from HDD (during install process) goes fine. After that, Windows will not boot unless I boot in safe mode. If I try to boot normally, I get the Windows XP logo screen, then the system hangs with a blank screen. I can, as I said, boot into safe mode with no problem. This is a new (to me) system. The previous owner of the mobo and CPU had no problems.
As a side note, I've tried installing SlackWare Linux on the same system, with slightly different results. With Linux, the install goes fine, but I get an "error loading operating system" message at boot, and it won't even try to load. Again, I've tried this on three different HDDs, with the same results on all three. Any ideas?
I don't, but all indications point in that direction.
You can install anything you want on a drive with no MBR, and reliably use the information without any problems, the drive just won't boot. I've done this several times before. I used to have a system set up with two hard drives, one of which would not boot, no matter what you did to it. That drive was jumpered as a slave, with a good hard drive as the master. The master drive had a boot manager program on it, set up to allow me to boot to Win 95 on the master drive, or DOS 6.22 on the slave drive that had no MBR. Never had any problem, including data loss, of any kind with it.
You have a basic misconception as to what a "recovery partition" is. It's a small partion on the drive (usually about 10% or less) where drive utilites are stored and is of insufficent space to store files or anything else.
Umm, no. Why would "drive utilities" require almost 1 GB of space? Also, how could you reformat the partition containing the operating system, boot the system with a CD that has less than 150 MB of data on it, and reinstall Windows XP from the recovery partition if it didn't contain the Windows installation files? In fact, once you start the Windows installation procedure, you can remove the recovery disk (CD), and it keeps on installing.
I've searched for and found other instances of my problem on here, but the answers given weren't helpful to me, so here goes:
I have an install of Windows XP Pro that failed to boot, with an "Operating System Not Found" error, after a software install. I've slaved the HDD with another running XP to run a virus scan, defrag, and check for errors. Virus scan came back clean (AVG 7.5 Free Edition, fully updated), and the Windows disk check utility didn't report any errors (I don't remember if it automatically reports or not. I miss the old DOS scandisk!). Apparently, the disk check did do something, because it then booted to a screen saying that "<windows root>\system32\hal.dll" was missing or corrupted, and advising me to reload it. I did that by booting into the recovery console with the XP CD. Then got a message that "<windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe" was missing or corrupted, so I reloaded it, too. After that, I got a message that "Windows could not start because of an error in the software. Please report this problem as: Load needed DLLs for kernel." What I need to know is, which DLLs is it referring to, so that I can load them?
Yeah, I'm just not that comfortable with Linux yet. I can usually handle Windows, and DOS is a piece of cake, but I'm more likely to screw up Linux. Remember the display resolution problem you helped me with a while back? I'm likely to need help in the middle of things, so I'd rather have both systems running so I can pester you some more if needed;) .
Thanks, James, I'll give it a try in a few days. My Windows machine is down right now, and I'm using my Linux server to handle web surfing and email. I'd hate to hose it and have nothing! Hopefully, my Windows machine will be back up in a day or two, and I'll try it then. Thanks again!
How do I get the functionality out of the rest of the buttons on my 5-button scroll mouse? I'm using a Microsoft trackball. The info on the label on the bottom is:
"Trackball Optical 1.0 PS2/USB Compatible"
"PN X08-70386 Product ID 52240-576-4082752-00000"
Currently, the left & right buttons, along with the scroll wheel, work normally. The "far left" button doesn't seem to do anything. The "far right" button seems to duplicate the function of the right button. I'm not sure what the middle button does.
I would like to know if there is any way to "custom configure" the function of individual buttons. I'm running version 2.14.3 of Gnome under version 4.0 r1 of Debian, and have the mouse attached via PS/2. I'm a Linux newbie, so please try to keep replies simple.
I'm working on an E Machines (not mine, I wouldn't own one), that I think has a hard drive issue. The drive is readable, but the MBR and boot sector are either bad or corrupt. What I want to know is, is there any way to pull the info in the "recovery partition" on the HD and make a bootable CD with it to use for reinstall. With the MBR and boot sector hosed, I'd need the recovery disk, which I don't have, to reinstall from the recovery partition, and what I want to do is the only way I can think of to get around that, but I have no idea how to do it.
OK, I can now find it and run it from a console. Now I just need to figure out how to add it to the applications menu. Don't tell me how yet, let me beat my head against the wall a few times trying to figure it out. I"ll post back if I can't figure out how. Thanks for the help so far!
Sturm, I'm guessing I need to type that in a console? Does it matter what directory I'm in when I do it?
I've installed a package, "electric", which is an electrical/electronics CAD program, with Synaptic Package Manager. Now that its installed, where the heck is it? I can view the actual program files (/usr/lib/electric), but it doesn't show up in the "Applications" menu on the taskbar. How do I fix this/run the program?
Sturm sort of suggested this earlier, so he deserves credit too
Ah, but he didn't suggest how to do it;) ! However, I did acknowledge and thank everyone who helped. Modesty's a good quality, but take credit where its due, James!
SUCCESS!!!
I am now posting with Debian, and my screen resolution is 1024 X 768! Thanks to all for advice and suggestions, but credit for the "kill" has to go to jbennet, as I used his final suggestion to manually edit my xorg.conf file with nano. Learning Linux is fun, but alas, I have so much (so very much!) farther to go! Thanks so much for everyone's help, and expect more problems from me as I embark into the wonderful world of Debian Linux!
Joe, I tried adding the "sudo" to the command, and got the same results as without it.
Sturm, I'd be glad to, if I had any clue how to retrieve it. I currently have no xserver support, so no GUI, and I still have a lot to learn about using Linux that way. I'm logged in as root, and the only thing I can currently access is the root of the drive, and the "desktop" folder. I have no idea how to get to anything else. I'm pretty fluent with DOS, but, as I already said, very new to Linux.
What would I do? I would always put the suspect drive into a USB enclosure rather than connect it electrically to the same "internal" channel. I can then be sure that there are no "associated" effects.
caperjack it was, I think, thought you had a suspect hard drive. The USB method would confirm this.
There's no way that a fresh install on a fresh HDD can be attacked by a passive drive - especially one that isn't on the same channel as the boot drive (albeit as slave). What you want to do is exactly what I do.
So surely it's the drive that's dodgy and at boot time the grope that Windows does around its connected hardware hits that buffer. Something like that.
Hope this advice helps.
I thought the same thing (about using USB to connect it), but it once again gets really strange. With its plugged into a USB port on the system it came out of, the system hangs on boot, the same as when its plugged into the IDE port. I finally plugged it into my main system via USB, and XP does detect it and allow access, albeit very slow. It may only be slow because my system only has USB 1.1 ports, and the IDE-USB adapter I'm using is 2.0 capable. Either way, I tried to scan it with AVG antivirus, and AVG reported the boot sector and MBR bad, and wouldn't even attempt to scan the data areas of the drive. Luckily, …
"dpkg: error processing xserver-xorg (--configure):package xserver-xorg is already installed and configured
Errors were encountered while processing: xserver-xorg"
Do I have an odd-ball install, or what?
You can't use Recovery Console "inside" Windows.
Usually you would boot to an install CD and select the first repair option.
"Fixboot" or
Fixmbr" are likely to be what you need.
It's likely that your boot.ini file is incorrect, and this probably happened when you did the "fresh install", or possibly during the virus scan.
It would help to know what file is mentioned during the boot.
Recovery console is here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058
Um, I did the fresh install on a completely different drive, with the problem drive completely out of the system, and the problem is why I'm trying to run a virus scan in the first place.
As for the recovery console, I was thinking about the System Restore under Windows, not the recovery console. My mistake.
Either way, I suspect a virus is to blame even more now, as the problem has gotten worse. Now, without me trying to actually write anything to the drive at any point, so I know I haven't damaged anything on the drive, it will no longer even attempt to boot. In fact, the BIOS just skips right over the drive, as if it were empty, during boot. Running fdisk from a DOS 6.22 boot disk no longer even shows the partition that XP is on. It shows the system restore partition (HPFS file system) that the system manufacturer put on the drive, and a pound sign (#) instead of the NTFS partition …
Sometimes it's awfully hard to help people.
I appreciate your frustration, but if you're not going to supply the info we request, we can't be much help.
Recovery console and a repair install are the standard ways to deal with this, but I can see you're enamored of your own method, so good luck to you.
Its not so much that I'm "enamored with my own method", just that, as I said, I've never had any luck with repair install, and don't know how to use recovery console, except "inside" Windows, which I obviously can't access right now. I'm not trying to be rude, sorry if I came across that way, but what possible difference can it make what files may or may not be missing on a drive that the system shouldn't even be looking at during boot? I don't recall exactly, but I think it has given me two different files at various times, and I think that one was config.sys, don't recall the other off hand. If I try to boot into safe mode, it stops at the *.mup file, and just sits there, if it doesn't go to a bsod. Sometimes I get the bsod, sometimes I get nothing.