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estio
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 201
Location: location, location!
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 1:39 am Post subject: Corrupted registry has got me down |
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I think I picked up a virus somewhere because half way through my day off, the system started failing and then went down completely. I started to do an emergency recovery with norton but then it came up as registry problems and went line by line explaining how my entire registry is corrupted. (much like me, so I don't see the problem)
But... now it's not even recognizing the rescue disc and won't respond to anything.
How screwed am I?
I'm thinking it's time to step up to a new computer but I still need help recovering last weekend's photos that were just downloaded to the system yesterday. Wifey saw them and they are her favorite kid pics yet. But now they're in an inaccessible C drive. So hopefully they can be recovered. Other than that, there's nothing that's not backed up in the system.
Robbo, Brf, ... anyone... any suggestions? |
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s_stabeler
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 2296
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:02 am Post subject: |
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| you aren't nessecarily completely screwed. have you tried reparing windows using the installation disk? that might work, though you'd lose your settings, and have to run an anti-virusa pretty damn fast to prevent a repeat. other than that, a new HD is all I can reccommend. hint- install the new HD as a master, and swap your current HD to a slave HD, and retrieve your photos, then remove the old HD. that ought to enable you to still get your photos ( you would re-install everything else from backups) while stopping a virus. |
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Brf
Joined: 07 Nov 2004
Posts: 3754
Location: Belvidere, Illinois
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:22 am Post subject: |
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Yup. You should be able to do a repair-install by booting from your OS CD. If that doesnt work, you could also reinstall the OS over the top of your current copy, just so long as you dont format your disk first. The slave-drive idea might be even better if you are buying a new computer anyway.
Typically, when I have seen a registry get corrupted badly, it was because of a failing harddrive, so you are probably best off getting a new one in any case. |
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JuntaJoe
Joined: 07 Nov 2004
Posts: 7391
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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Some thoughts from a lesser skilled advisor.......
After you do a recovery disc repair or an OS overlay (non-reformat) install then run a new favorite of mine to clean up your bugs.
Go to www.ewido.com to get their 15 day trial anti-malware to clean the mess. It is far better than that Norton or McAfee crap, less intrusive, faster, and actually cheaper when you finally buy it. The free test period will convince you.
Then you might buy a second HD and a portable HD case to pull those photos and personal data off your machine. This way you can really dig into your system, switch components and software, and feel secure that your personal data sits safely out of harm's way. My entire local family simply shares one portable HD for just this event. With a half dozen computers between us, there is the inevitable crash or corruption. When we see the symptoms arise, we grab the portable and pull our personal stuff before beginning the hassle of fixing the unit.
If you are nominally responsible for a few pc's then a portable HD will eventually pay for itself, not to mention the peace of mind it gives.
Even if you dump the pc for a new one, getting the portable HD is still a good idea. It makes switching from an old pc to a new one really fast and painless. |
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s_stabeler
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 2296
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| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| my idea used the old HD as a ytempoary portable HD, just to pull the personal photos then trash the messe dup disk. the old disk becomes the slave just to avoid any virus spreading. might or might not work, I dunno. |
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estio
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 201
Location: location, location!
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:03 am Post subject: |
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Well... I tried to reload the os but it's not even recognizing the disc. I get an error notice about recovery disc needed. So it's not recognizing the recovery disc enough to tell it to look on the other drives.
I think I'm going to let a more knowledgable person take a stab at this mess before I through it out the window. If I can have it fixed for under $75 I will, otherwise it's time to shop for a new box. I only wish you could get as good of a deal on just the hard drive as you get with the full bundled systems. I have studio quality sound system, commercial quality printer and a big but still ok 17" trinitron monitor. I just need the box...
The good news is I've been waiting for such a collapse since I let my virus software expire last fall.... It's only a matter of time. Because of this I have been backing up all important info weekly. All photos and important files have been saved to discs and I have one set at home and one at the office. I back up everything weekly but I got caught the day I was ready to burn more back ups so it's only 50 or so photos that are trapped. |
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JuntaJoe
Joined: 07 Nov 2004
Posts: 7391
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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Need a good deal on a HD fast?
Newegg.com always has decent deals. You can find stuff cheaper, but it's hit or miss. Newegg is like the computer parts Walmart. Always pretty cheap.
It shouldn't be hard to reload the OS when you get a new HD in your machine. Go for expidited shipping and you could be reloading your old machine this weekend.
But if you see this as a justification to buy a new toy then try to find a Fry's in your area. I think looking at Outpost.com will be their locator site. They would be your cheapest storefront outlet. |
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skeeber
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 271
Location: Tulsa, OK
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| Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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Anyone ever hear from Estio how this worked out?
I've personally always trusted the software and online tools from Panda ( http://www.pandasoftware.com ). For a long time I had their online tools as one of the subdomains on skeebercat.net. (I did that back when netsky was running wild on the 'net with a new version every other day or so.) I don't know if that would have helped at the point that Estio had gotten but, at that point who knows. |
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estio
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 201
Location: location, location!
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:25 am Post subject: |
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A new 120 gig hard drive and an XP upgrade have be back in action... kinda. It's still gonna take a while to download the updates for the drivers.
Now if I could only fix the dial up speed problem...
btw, great to see ya Skeebs! |
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skeeber
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 271
Location: Tulsa, OK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 9:24 am Post subject: |
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Heck, that can take a while even on broadband! :roll:
Not to mention any Windows updates and patches that may be needed. ugh.
Glad to see ya back though! |
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s_stabeler
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 2296
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd suggest leaving a couple of days for that, personally. I can still remember when one game update ended up telligng me it would take over 24 hours to download OVER BROADBAND! needless to say, I cancelled the download. |
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skeeber
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 271
Location: Tulsa, OK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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I remember downloading the Counterstrike updates and then the Steam engine on a screaming DSL connection (I worked for Qwest then) and it took forever and a day it seemed. (Actually, it took about 6.5 hours as I seem to recall)
Yeah, Windows update will stink on dial-up... ugh. |
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