Windows won't + Norton overloaded with email scans

[Cryptex]

Windows won't boot + Norton overloaded with email scans

Hello, I hope you can help me with this.
Recently (30 minutes ago), I accidentally opened an e-mail from some I didn't know, found out it was a piece of crap spam, and deleted it. I went to go get a snack and suddenly, Norton was going absolutely INSANE with e-mail scan messages, they were ALL OVER the screen. So, I shut it down, then turned back on (my computer doesn't have a reset button). After waiting a bit for it to load (it took 5 minutes, I knew something was wrong), it said, at the bottom of the screen "Error: Operating System won't boot" or something like that. So I restarted it again, with the same results. I restarted it one more time, this time holding delete to bring up BIOS options and set a password and told it to boot with fail-safe options or something. And restarted it. Now, it won't even go past the first screen. It just sorta, freezes. Any help?

 

[Bobbye]

It sounds like when you opened the unknown email, it had some type of code in it, which executed. But it doesn't sound like spam- more like a Trojan, spyware or adware.

Can you get into Safe Mode- tapping the F8 key after the logo, before Windows loads? If you can get in, you need to run an virus scan and at least two spyware/adware scans. Normally I would suggest you update each right before the scan, but you won't be able to do that.

 

[Cryptex]

I did try doing what you said after I read your post, but unfortunately, it literally freezes, so I can't do a thing. I'm starting to think this unsolvable, and I may have to replace the HDDs.

But, I'll try to explain the situation a little better. When I turn my computer on, there's this load screen that lists the version of BIOS I have, copyrights, and other stuff, along with the processor type and speed, and the slave and master HDD's. However, lately, it begins to list these things on the screen, but it stops at the processor's information, and just stops. I don't know if it's simply taking longer than I expected or what, but it seems it's frozen. Hopefully that helps a bit.

 

[kollo23]

Seems to me like it might be a hardware problem. Does it work to boot from a bootable CD (e.g. the original Windows CD)? If you have another computer it could be a good idea to download and burn "Ultimate Boot CD" on that computer and run some tools (memory check, hard disk check etc) from the CD on the bad computer. Ultimate Boot CD can be downloaded from http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ (unfortunately the site seems to be down right now)

/kollo23

 

[Cryptex]

What does this "Ultimate Boot CD" do? Does it make the computer, even if it didn't before?

 

[kollo23]

What does this "Ultimate Boot CD" do? Does it make the computer, even if it didn't before?

It contains a lot of diagnostic tools that can be used to diagnose various (hardware) problems.
Since the Ultimate Boot CD site seems to be down, you can download the memory test tool from here instead: http://www.memtest.org.
Hard drive diagnostic tools can be downloaded from the hard drive manufacturer's site: www.hgst.com, www.wdc.com, www.seagate.com etc.

/kollo23

 

[Cryptex]

And it'll work on a system that just automatically freezes on the first screen? Or will it work in actual Windows?

 

[kollo23]

And it'll work on a system that just automatically freezes on the first screen? Or will it work in actual Windows?

If the problems are related to Windows it should work to boot to a CD. If not you probably have a hardware problem and need to fix that before trying to fix Windows.

/kollo23

 

[Cryptex]

I need to burn it to a CD and run it in my computer is all I need to do?

 

[Cryptex]

I tried Memtest, didn't boot. Think the XP disk is in my dad's office, so I'll try booting it with that. I'm starting to think that this IS a hardware problem. But how?

 

[kollo23]

There is still a small chance that it is the windows installation or the hard drive that is causing the problems. You could try removing the hard drive and leave it out or replacing it with a spare hard drive if you have one before trying to boot from CD again. It could be that the computer is trying to read information from the hard drive and when it fails it just hangs. So to be sure this is not the case it would be good to try with another hard drive.

If this doesn't work I think your computer is broken. What kind of computer is it: laptop/desktop, new/old etc?

/kollo23

 

[kollo23]

I tried Memtest, didn't boot. Think the XP disk is in my dad's office, so I'll try booting it with that. I'm starting to think that this IS a hardware problem. But how?

Have you verified that it worked to boot the CD in another computer? Just to be sure it is burnt correctly?

/kollo23

 

[Cryptex]

I'll try that.