Virus or hardware failure?

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
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www.the-teh.com
So PC was running fine, AMD 64 3400+, 2GB RAM, Windows 7.

At some point all the USB ports are not working which means no KB/Mouse. Go out buy new KB, same problem. Check in BIOS and USB ports are somehow disabled.

Go to use Quickbooks and the program errors out, same with Word/Excel. Next Norton 360 goes down. Computer pretty much useless.

I run 2 other anti-virus programs and nothing comes up. Run 4 anti-spyware programs and it finds mostly items from AIM. Computer still not working.

Now I reinstall Windows 7, everything goes fine (I didn't delete the reserve space that Windows sets up for itself) until I get to one of the security patches from the MS Update. I try to install the patch about 5 times with no luck. So I d/l it directly from MS and it installs fine.

Off to install SP1 and it won't work. Try 3 times. So I d/l it directly from MS and it won't install. Next to the download it actually says, "This program was reported as unsafe", never seen that before. So I go and download MS's "System Readiness Tool" and trying to launch that fails. I'm downloading it again to try, but I'm guessing it's going to fail again.

One thing I notice when Windows boots is a little screen corruption across the top of the loading screen which lasts for a couple of seconds and goes away.

Any ideas what this problem could be?
 

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
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Sounds kinda like a board with bulging caps (my best guess). If you're loading an OS, booting an OS, and see visual issues.

I could see RAM, but in most cases, you won't actually get the Windows re-install to finish. With your random USB and other issues, it really sounds like the board.
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Simply detective tool...
Boot from a Linux LiveCD and see if the hardware is working correctly.
 

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
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www.the-teh.com
Sounds kinda like a board with bulging caps (my best guess). If you're loading an OS, booting an OS, and see visual issues.

I could see RAM, but in most cases, you won't actually get the Windows re-install to finish. With your random USB and other issues, it really sounds like the board.

Didn't happen while installing, but happens every time Windows 7 loads.

With bulging caps is that something I can visibly check or would it be on a microscopic level?
 

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
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Didn't happen while installing, but happens every time Windows 7 loads.

With bulging caps is that something I can visibly check or would it be on a microscopic level?

Just take a look at the board, if you see capacitors that aren't flat on top, you will know that you have a problem.
 

Slugbait

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,633
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I'm going to guess bad sectors, and one or more critical system files were written to them.
 

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
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I'm going to guess bad sectors, and one or more critical system files were written to them.

I thought the same thing but check disc is saying everything is fine.

What I don't get is I installed 7 without a hitch, tons of updates, Firefox, etc and only 2 updates are giving me fits.
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
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They all look clean, flat, not bulged and not leaking.
Doesn't mean they are good though. The cans could be dried out causing them not to bulge.
:colbert: Yes, and aliens could have sucked all the innards out and set up house, living in his capacitors.
But if he visually inspected the caps and they looked in order we must give him the benefit of the doubt and declare the capacitors...
"Good"