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Computer Gurus: How do you beat a virus that removes your ability to use USB & CD?

So, this is insane. Period. If you've been following my saga, I had a laptop that got infected at the start of February. I was running McAfee and Malwarebytes when I got it. McAfee told me TS and gave me a refund because they couldn't get rid of it. I threw everything I had at it- RKill, TDSSkill, Hitman Pro, Avast, Windows Defender, a bunch of rootkit and malware removers, you name it. Every program anyone mentioned, I tried. I even used the system restore and took it back to factory settings. The virus came back. I had disks for it and planned to do a full Windows reinstall, but the virus had somehow managed to disable my CD drive. It acted like it didn't exist in the advanced boot settings and BIOS. I gave up and bought a new PC.

I sh*t you not, my brand freaking new PC now has the same virus. I went through all the same protocols and even wiped it down to factory settings. The virus is still there. This time, I got my hands on a USB drive and put an emergency antivirus boot program on that. The computer will not recognize the option to boot from USB. It sees the USB drive normally, just will not give me the boot option. I went back to my laptop, same thing. I also tried windows defender offline. No dice.

So, I basically have two pieces of junk that I can't do anything with and there's seemingly no way to boot from any device. *sobs* Please tell me there's an option I have not tried.

Posted - March 26, 2017
Tags : None

Responses


  • 99
    I am definitely not a tech guru,but seeing as the two computers represent a large outlay of cash,why not take it to a pro?
    A local guy, a large company like McAfee can afford to blow you off,but a hand on local guy might be more motivated.

    Sorry,best I've got
      March 26, 2017 4:02 AM MDT
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  • 7939
    I was aiming for free or cheap solutions, but that's the most sensible. Thank you. :)
      March 26, 2017 6:46 PM MDT
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  • 99
     YW,Since both computers have gotten this,might it be spreading from printer or other removable media?
    Theres a guy on Youtube,Britec09,who I think may take questions on instagram or twitter,but you've run some pretty heavy hitters ,anti-malware wise..good luck
      March 26, 2017 7:18 PM MDT
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  • JA... A bad virus will also infect the system restore files,. You need to turn off system restore befoe you try to remove it otherwise it just reinfects
    What you need to do is this
    Go to one of the major AV home pages and download their live discs.  This is an iso file you will need to burn onto a CD. It is an operating system in itself that also contains antivirus tools. You will need to do this on another computer. Once you have the disc you boot the infected computer from this disc. In this way your infected operating system never starts up, the viruse doesn't start so it can't protect itself.  The av on the disc will trawl through your computer and find it.. mostly ... The download is free and they are generally very effective. You will find instrctions on the av web sites on how to use them.
    A great resource for stubborn virus is Major Geeks ... Highly recommend them for very indepth guides to removing stubborn virus ... Don't hesitate to write if you need more info, ok?
    Good luck :)
      March 26, 2017 6:05 AM MDT
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  • Oh... And if you have been backing up to the cloud then that's infected also ... You'll need to scan and clean them too This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 26, 2017 6:47 PM MDT
      March 26, 2017 6:08 AM MDT
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  • 7939
    I can't do a CD because it no longer recognizes the CD drive or my USB drive.  It sees them if I want to use them, like to download something to access a file, but I cannot boot from one and use an alternate boot environment.

    As for the cloud, yes and no. On my first go round, I had everything on Google Drive, or so I thought. After wiping my system, I discovered every folder imported empty, so I lost it all. The second time, I had OneDrive and it was all there before I wiped my system. After that, my OneDrive was empty. So, I've lost everything twice and am not linked to the cloud, nor have I opened any docs from my old PC on my new one. There was no file sharing or anything.
      March 26, 2017 6:51 PM MDT
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  • The cd... When you have the cd burnt as i said above you will boot your computer from this cd ... Windows and the virus will not start up as the operating system will be on the cd itself ... They generally use a Linux system as the os ... The only reason you can't use your cd now is because the virus has taken control of it ... The only way the virus can take control is when Windows starts up ... By booting from a cd with its own os on it, Windows never starts and the virus never starts ... I hope this makes sense :)
      March 26, 2017 6:57 PM MDT
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  • 7939
    That would be so if this was a regular virus, but it's not. It's in the core of the system. I can't even select CD boot from the BIOS settings- before Windows loads.
      March 27, 2017 1:36 AM MDT
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  • OK... I didn't realise that... Sorry... Try that suits I mentioned earlier... Major geeks... They do offer  a friendly how to do things approach in how to tackle these issues... I'll do a dob some reading today and see what I can discover... Sorry I couldn't help
      March 27, 2017 11:00 AM MDT
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  • Since you have bought a new one and have gotten this virus again, I agree with the other person that it's time to take it to a Pro to work on. Too bad you don't live near me as my Tech guru could easily fix that and prevent that from happening again. I'm sorry but it's time for professional help. Check around your area for a smaller repair company and let them take care of it. There are some good ones around everywhere. You could also try to call or go online to Nerds on Call. I'm sure they have an office near you. I used to be an online Tech for them for some time.
    1-800-919-NERD or www.callnerds.com

    They have outlets all over the states or can take remote access to your Laptop and figure it out for you. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 26, 2017 6:51 PM MDT
      March 26, 2017 6:29 AM MDT
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  • 7939
    I will probably do that. Thanks.
      March 26, 2017 6:52 PM MDT
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  • 44649
    I just take my stuff to Geek Squad at Best Buy. They haven't failed me yet.
      March 26, 2017 7:38 AM MDT
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  • They're pretty good.
      March 26, 2017 7:43 AM MDT
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  • Holy crap! It sounds like you may have contracted a firmware virus. Those things are nasty and can transfer from one system to another through peripherals like flash drives. They are really dangerous and hard to get rid of because they embed themselves directly into your hardware.  

    This is the type of stuff the NSA has been using.  By all means take those things to a pro.


      March 26, 2017 8:04 AM MDT
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  • 22891
    maybe you can try a good antivirus
      March 26, 2017 3:43 PM MDT
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