Help with hacked computer

[paopao]

My PC is permanently connected to the internet through cable. Someone has removed my two CD drives, I can't even find them when I try to "install new hardware". They have also connected a network neighborhood that I can't access.
Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Well, they're not necessarily hacked. Have you checked in Device Manager to see if they're there? If they are with a yellow ! on them, check the error message. I don't know what "connected a network neighborhood that I can't access" means.

BTW, do you run a firewall and virus scanner? If not, it's only a matter of time before someone comes along and blows you out of the water...

 

[paopao]

Thanks for the reply. They do not show up on the device manager, and they don't show when I try to "install new hardware". There is now a "network neighborhood" icon on my desktop that wasn't there before. Clicking on it comes up with a message saying "access denied" or something to that effect. Anyway, hope someone can tell me how to recover my drives.

 

[THX1139]

Where these drives connected to the same IDE bus cable? If so, you may wish to open the case. Is this a custom built PC, namebrand, or clone? Can you get into the BIOS? BTW, usually OAM motherboards use off the shelf BIOS. During the initial bootup process the BIOS will report what drives it detects, which include hard drives and ATAPI drives. Does the BIOS see these drives?

 

[johnlog]

Pao,

>They have also connected a network neighborhood that I can't access.
Any help would be appreciated!! <<<

Have you tried clicking on that network neighborhood Icon and see what comes up on your screen? Clicking on it should come up with all your drive letters that are connected on your computer and or networked drive letters.

I have that network neighborhood icon on my XP Pro computer and clicking on it shows a window indicating which drives are selected. Right click on the icon and select Properties. You should see your internet connections listed in the screen that comes up.

 

[Insidious]

You may be able to delete the network connection in safe mode. (disconnect your cable from the NIC before booting)

for the drives, turn off the computer.
disconnect the ribbons from the IDE connector(s)
boot
go to device manager and remove the IDE drivers (right-click -> properties -> uninstall)
boot (still no drives connected)
turn off machine
connect ribbon cables
turn on machine and XP should be able to find them..

if not, then your BIOS may be corrupt (or you accidentally disabled the IDE ports) If this is the case, re-flash the MoBo
and re-set BIOS parameters where they belong. (use auto-detect for IDE ports)

Hope this helps,

-Sid

(edit) IF it turns out your BIOS was corrupt, then check the MoBo battery and replace if necessary.

 

[paopao]

Insidious, I took your advice, and it worked! I got my CDROMs back. I am going to buy a DSL/Cable Router with built-in firewall. Thank you all for your help!

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Glad to hear that you got your CD roms back 😀 Now, Not to scold you or anything, you should have been running some sort of firewall whether it be hardware or software based from the first day you got cable hooked up. I could not believe how many times in a day that I got dinged and probed(Used Black Ice Defender at the time) with cable.