Pretty big computer problem, constantly restarts even in safe mode

[Matttt]

Ok i have a big problem with my laptop, while surfing the web i accidently aquired a virus of somesort which repeatdly told me i needed to buy their software to stop viruses. I googled it and was told how to remove it by using a certain malware removal program. It also said its harmless, however while trying to scan it closed a couple of times randomly and while i went on the internet again it crashed and restarted my computer. It then did it again however, when i turn it on i get stuck in an infinite loop. It constantly restarts, i have to choose wether to run it in safe modes etc, or normal mode. However all options flash up a blue screen after the windows loader and then restarts and i am back at the option screen. Through i little googling i found it could be due to a power cord failure or something, however im on a laptop so it still has recharged power. I think its more likely to be a trojan called "sasser" talked about here. (cant post a link) however if you google "constantly restarting computer" its the 5th result, its by wikianswers.

However i cannot get onto my desktop or CMD in anyform even in safe modes it constantly restarts.

Im pretty computer illiterate but any help would be greatly appreciated. Even if it is just to confirm my suspicion of it being completely screwed

ps. Sorry if this is the wrong section.

 

[DelJo63]

try booting into Safe Mode but elect to start from Last Known Configuration

 

[Matttt]

There are 5 options i am given:
Safe mode
Safe mode with networking
Safe mode with command prompt
Last known good configuration (your most recent settings that worked)
Start windows normally

Safe modes make it scroll down for a bit then it stops.
Windows normally/Good configuration let it go onto the windows loading screen, then blue screen flashes and its back to the choice.

 

[snowchick7669]

When booting your machine, tap F8 constantly and you should be brought to a black screen with white writing and select 'Disable automatic restart on system failure'

It should then restart and when you get the blue screen it will freeze it. Make sure you note down the STOP code, or take a picture of it and post it in your next post so we have more information

 

[Matttt]

It says:
*** STOP: 0x00000024 (0x00190203, 0x82F5EA50, 0xc0000102, 0x00000000)

 

[snowchick7669]

Hi Mattt,

That code is actually 0x00000024: NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM which can mean your hard drive is faulty and has actually corrupted the file structure. Or that your disk is heavily fragmented among other things, as a starting point I'd suggest running chkdsk to correct any file structure issues.

When booting, tap F8 and you should come to that screen again. Select 'Safemode with command prompt'

Type chkdsk /f /r into the box and hit enter. It will then say it needs to be performed on a reboot and press Y.

It will reboot itself and schedule a chkdsk, which you can leave it running.

IF it doesn't get to this point (blue screens before the chkdsk runs), then the next step will be to check your actual physical condition of the hard drive. For this we will need the brand of your hard drive so we can match the tool

 

[Matttt]

It stops at Drivers\Mup.sys and then goes to the blue screen, how do i check the physical condition of my hard drive and where can i see the brand?

Thanks

 

[snowchick7669]

If you are comfortable taking the side/back off your machine when you machine is powered off, then you can look at the top of your drive and see the brand.

If not, then we can just use Seatools and is will detect any errors but won't repair them unless it is a Seagate or Maxtor drive. At least we can find out what is wrong and this program will tell you what brand your drive is.

Here are some instructions on running Seatools, I would recommend Seatools for Dos (graphical version)

If it finds errors but says it cannot fix them because it isn't a supported drive then note down what information it says down the bottom. It will say what brand your hard drive is

 

[Matttt]

Well its a toshiba qosimo laptop, and im not sure what to do with the seatools. I cant actually do anything on the laptop, it just constantly restarts cant get to the desktop. This is a different laptop i am on at the moment. It is exactly the same model though if that helps in me finding out the hard drive make.

 

[snowchick7669]

You should still be able to boot off the CD you will be creating, as it addresses the CD before trying to boot off the hardrive. But you will need to make sure that it is set to use the CD/DVD drive as a first boot device, otherwise it will boot off the hard drive first. You can even boot off CDs without the hard drive in the machine.

If you are unsure of how to change these settings then they will have instructions within the manual

 

[Matttt]

Ahh i understand, but im confused with what i have to do. Sorry
I need to find a cd, put seatools on it
put it into my laptop and run it?
Correct me if im wrong Im pretty computer illiterate

 

[snowchick7669]

You will need a blank CD and create a bootable disk of Seatools (the instructions should walk you through doing it), from another computer. Then you put the CD in the laptop and it will automatically boot off that (if configured in BIOS, most machines will come standard with this configured correctly). Then you run it on your machine.

No problem

 

[Matttt]

Sorry for late reply Nero took ages to install and i fell asleep. Now i have tried to burn it to the cd howeveri had to use Current recorder : Image recorder becuase having it as D: MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ-84OS [CD-R/RW] just fails and ejects the disk halfway through burning. I then have burned it with the image recorder but when i put it in my broken laptop nothing seems to happen.

 

[Matttt]

Ok my dad tried to use a recovery disk in it aswell and now i know that it doesn't run the CD Drive before running the hard drive. But my dad says that to change it to run the CD first, i'll need to get further than the blue screen. He thinks it'll need a new chip or somthing to get it to work. Do you think the same?

 

[snowchick7669]

The screen that your looking for is the BIOS screen which you can select in the first 2 seconds of the computer booting up. Some computers will have a separate screen for quickly selecting the boot device.

When the machine starts up, quickly look along the bottom of that first screen and it should say something along the lines of 'F1 for BIOS'

What I generally do (to not waste too much time) is I press all F1, F2, F11, F12 and DEL buttons while the machine is starting. I get into the BIOs first time trying

 

[Matttt]

I get a little line of pictures to choose from, a pile of 3 Cd's, 1 CD, a floppy disk, and two laptops with a line through. All of them seem to just take me to the same safe mode choices though

 

[snowchick7669]

IF the CD you created is bootable, then the 1CD image is what you should be clicking on. The computer won't boot off the CD if it isn't bootable however.

Here is a thread with some instructions on creating a bootable disk. It is a tutorial on using memtest, which you don't need to worry about. But the first set of instructions is on creating the bootable disk.

Note: Anything said with 'memtest' just replace with Seatools

 

[Matttt]

Yay it's working what am i looking for in the test though?

 

[snowchick7669]

Once the program has loaded up, click on the hard drive that it shows up. Go up the top and select 'Basic Tests' and then click on 'Long Test'

It may take a while, but it will scan your hard drive for bad sectors. It will show up as 'Errors' on the right if it finds anything. Then wait till its finished and if its a Seagate or Maxtor drive then it will prompt for repair and if not then it will say it cannot repair them. But then at least we know you have issues

 

[Matttt]

I didn't click a hard drive it just automatically went onto it. I have done the Long test and it seems i have no errors..

 

[snowchick7669]

This error can also be caused by dodgy memory. I would suggest running memtest on your system RAM to rule that out as well. Here are some instructions on running memtest

Other then that, we may have to use your actual XP/Vista disk to try a recovery, or actually extract the HDD and run chkdsk via another machine if you are comfortable doing that

 

[Matttt]

Ok i have made the CD and its running memtest, how do i make sure it lasts for atleast 7 passes like it says in the tutorial? I see no option to change it.

 

[snowchick7669]

You just have to be patient and leave it running. Most people leave it overnight.

It will run for however long you leave it unless set up differently

 

[Matttt]

Ah ok thanks it has completed 1 pass with no errors found atm

 

[Matttt]

I left it on all night and it got 35 passes and no errors. How would i go about using the recovery disk? And would there be anyway of getting any of my files etc off my laptop?