PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime itshuts down

  • Thread starter Thread starter Roy
  • Start date Start date
R

Roy

Guest
Hello group

A friend of mine asks how come his PC bought from second hand is

weird .have anything that was made by him( documents, saved downloaded

files, and programs installed recently by him was erased everytime the

PC is shut down . He can't even instal an antivirus in it for the

same reason



The OS is WinXP SP2

Can anybody provide me some tips to sort it out so I can relay it to

him.

He is keen to instal programs that he needs including antivirus and

want his pc to behave normally .

TIA

Roy
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

Advise him that a 2nd-hand PC should always be restored to it's factory

state. Depending on the age of the PC this process is either a "Hidden"

partition that holds the image or a disk ( or set of disks ) to restore the

PC.

He can visit the manufacturer's website and ether the PC's unique S/N

or service tag to find information on how to restore the unit.



Using a 2nd-hand PC with the original owner's profile & data is risky.



"Roy" wrote in message

news:43f89470-0b5b-42d0-b46d-6c68dedd24d3@m27g2000prl.googlegroups.com...

> Hello group

> A friend of mine asks how come his PC bought from second hand is

> weird .have anything that was made by him( documents, saved downloaded

> files, and programs installed recently by him was erased everytime the

> PC is shut down . He can't even instal an antivirus in it for the

> same reason

>

> The OS is WinXP SP2

> Can anybody provide me some tips to sort it out so I can relay it to

> him.

> He is keen to instal programs that he needs including antivirus and

> want his pc to behave normally .

> TIA

> Roy
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytimeit shuts down

Roy wrote:

> Hello group

> A friend of mine asks how come his PC bought from second hand is

> weird, have anything that was made by him (documents, saved downloaded

> files, and programs installed recently by him was erased every time the

> PC is shut down). He can't even install an antivirus in it for the

> same reason.

>

> The OS is WinXP SP2

> Can anybody provide me some tips to sort it out so I can relay it to

> him?

> He is keen to install programs that he needs including antivirus and

> wants his pc to behave normally .

> TIA

> Roy



Here are two things to try:



1. http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Line 30. Windows XP Doesn't Save User Settings



2. Download this Avira Antivir Rescue System program which will burn a

CD image to a blank CD. It's updated a few times per day. Insert the

CD into the damaged machine and let it do a scan of your system. Before

starting the scan, select "Configuration" and set to repair or rename

the infected files. Sometimes your machine won't restart after such a

repair process, so you might want to save needed files to another system

before using this. If you can't, then you can move the hard drive to

another machine to copy needed files. You can do that before, or after

this scan.



http://www.free-av.com/en/tools/12/avira_antivir_rescue_system.html



Then run these:



Malwarebytes© Corporation

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe



SuperAntispyware

http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html



You can try of the CD's mentioned at the following site. BitDefender

was my favorite, but if the infected machine can't connect to the

internet to get updates, Avira comes with current virus definitions.

Also, some of these just won't run on some systems, perhaps because

there's no drivers available for some system devices, motherboard,

graphics card, etc. So try a few of these till you find one that works:



Burn BitDefender, or another program listed at the link below, to a CD

(using a working machine) and test the infected machine with it.

BitDefender also has a Rootkit checker on the Linux Desktop; run it if

you think that's the problem:



http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-list/



Download the executable rather than the .iso image, if one is available,

(though no .exe is available for BitDefender).



After the scan is run, if you elect to quarantine files, they're

quarantined to RAM and lost after you reboot. You'll need to copy any

quarantined files to the hard drive, a thumb drive or elsewhere before

exiting.



--

Joe =o)
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

Roy wrote:

> A friend of mine asks how come his PC bought from second hand is

> weird .have anything that was made by him( documents, saved

> downloaded files, and programs installed recently by him was erased

> everytime the PC is shut down . He can't even instal an antivirus

> in it for the same reason

>

> The OS is WinXP SP2

> Can anybody provide me some tips to sort it out so I can relay it

> to him.

> He is keen to instal programs that he needs including antivirus and

> want his pc to behave normally .



Then have him format the system and install everything from scratch.



Second-hand machine - it isn't really *his* until he wipes it clean and

installs everything himself.



--

Shenan Stanley

MS-MVP

--

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytimeit shuts down

Roy wrote:

> Hello group

> A friend of mine asks how come his PC bought from second hand is

> weird .have anything that was made by him( documents, saved downloaded

> files, and programs installed recently by him was erased everytime the

> PC is shut down . He can't even instal an antivirus in it for the

> same reason

>

> The OS is WinXP SP2

> Can anybody provide me some tips to sort it out so I can relay it to

> him.

> He is keen to instal programs that he needs including antivirus and

> want his pc to behave normally .

> TIA

> Roy





From where did your friend acquire this computer? It sounds, from your

brief description, that it has a utility/feature such as SteadyState (a

program designed to return the computer to its original state after each

use, and commonly used in Internet cafes, schools, hotels, etc.)

installed on it.



Regardless, with second-hand computers, especially if acquired from

strangers but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or friend,

your friend's wisest course of action would definitely be to format the

hard drives and start fresh. He don't want to get in trouble because

the original owner may have filled the hard drive with kiddie porn, or

have problems because the original owner downloaded/installed viruses or

other malware.





--



Bruce Chambers



Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html



http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin



Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell



The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

+1



R. McCarty wrote:

> Advise him that a 2nd-hand PC should always be restored to it's factory

> state. Depending on the age of the PC this process is either a "Hidden"

> partition that holds the image or a disk ( or set of disks ) to restore

> the

> PC.

> He can visit the manufacturer's website and ether the PC's unique S/N

> or service tag to find information on how to restore the unit.

>

> Using a 2nd-hand PC with the original owner's profile & data is risky.

>

> "Roy" wrote in message

> news:43f89470-0b5b-42d0-b46d-6c68dedd24d3@m27g2000prl.googlegroups.com...

>> Hello group

>> A friend of mine asks how come his PC bought from second hand is

>> weird .have anything that was made by him( documents, saved downloaded

>> files, and programs installed recently by him was erased everytime the

>> PC is shut down . He can't even instal an antivirus in it for the

>> same reason

>>

>> The OS is WinXP SP2

>> Can anybody provide me some tips to sort it out so I can relay it to

>> him.

>> He is keen to instal programs that he needs including antivirus and

>> want his pc to behave normally .

>> TIA

>> Roy
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytimeit shuts down

On Feb 16, 2:20 am, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

Al



Thanks for all the comments...



I have asked him (by email) recently where did he buy it and indeed

it was from the lot of computers in the internet cafe that closed

down as the owner relocated and changed business and it was bought

at a bargain knowing that the PC is a high performance type already

core2 duo extreme with 1 gig of dedicated graphics card.

When he started using it after bringing it to his home

He tried to instal antivirus in it( avira 9 free edition) made a

thorough scan and found a few minor malware that was then removed so

he think it was clean.

Therefore he was pleased with it and did not format it anymore as it

too much work for him going from the scratch and he has no time to

spare for it now.

He was thinking that there might be is something to do with the

administrative settings , or registry that makes the PC run that

way so it will prevent any malware that might have infected the PC

from taking a firm hold.

I think this is the way he want it sorted, minimum effort from his

part ......

Any ideas....?

Roy
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

The security of the computer (and his data, including online banking

usernames & passwords) cannot be guaranteed unless he formats the HDD and

does a clean install of Windows.





Roy wrote:

> On Feb 16, 2:20 am, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> Al

>

> Thanks for all the comments...

>

> I have asked him (by email) recently where did he buy it and indeed

> it was from the lot of computers in the internet cafe that closed

> down as the owner relocated and changed business and it was bought

> at a bargain knowing that the PC is a high performance type already

> core2 duo extreme with 1 gig of dedicated graphics card.

> When he started using it after bringing it to his home

> He tried to instal antivirus in it( avira 9 free edition) made a

> thorough scan and found a few minor malware that was then removed so

> he think it was clean.

> Therefore he was pleased with it and did not format it anymore as it

> too much work for him going from the scratch and he has no time to

> spare for it now.

> He was thinking that there might be is something to do with the

> administrative settings , or registry that makes the PC run that

> way so it will prevent any malware that might have infected the PC

> from taking a firm hold.

> I think this is the way he want it sorted, minimum effort from his

> part ......

> Any ideas....?

> Roy
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytimeit shuts down

On Feb 16, 6:50 am, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> The security of the computer (and his data, including online banking

> usernames & passwords) cannot be guaranteed unless he formats the HDD and

> does a clean install of Windows.

>

>

> - Show quoted text -



Hmm I relayed it to him, and acording to him at the moment that

was not his real concern as he conduct internet banking with his

favorite laptop. BTW He is aware of the perils you mentioned.

This desktop is just for gaming, video encoding and general internet

surfing, etc

He insisted there is nothing wrong with that PC (except for that fault

enumerated above ) that it needs formating and something like that...

Just want a simple solution with minimal effort..from his side . if

that can be possible.



Roy
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

Also tell him that the computer's a thread to the entire online community

and to run a Google search on the word 'botnet.'



Roy wrote:

> On Feb 16, 6:50 am, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

>> The security of the computer (and his data, including online banking

>> usernames & passwords) cannot be guaranteed unless he formats the HDD and

>> does a clean install of Windows.

>>

> Hmm I relayed it to him, and acording to him at the moment that

> was not his real concern as he conduct internet banking with his

> favorite laptop. BTW He is aware of the perils you mentioned.

> This desktop is just for gaming, video encoding and general internet

> surfing, etc

> He insisted there is nothing wrong with that PC (except for that fault

> enumerated above ) that it needs formating and something like that...

> Just want a simple solution with minimal effort..from his side . if

> that can be possible.

>

> Roy
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytimeit shuts down

On Feb 16, 10:47 pm, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> Also tell him that the computer's a thread to the entire online community

> and to run a Google search on the word 'botnet.'

>

>

>

> Roy wrote:

> > On Feb 16, 6:50 am, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> >> The security of the computer (and his data, including online banking

> >> usernames & passwords) cannot be guaranteed unless he formats the HDD and

> >> does a clean install of Windows.

>

> > Hmm I relayed it to  him,   and  acording to him at the moment that

> > was not his real concern as he conduct internet banking with his

> > favorite laptop. BTW  He is aware of  the perils you mentioned.

> > This desktop is just for gaming, video encoding and general  internet

> > surfing, etc

> > He insisted there is nothing wrong with that PC (except for that fault

> > enumerated above ) that it needs formating and something like that...

> > Just want a simple solution with minimal effort..from his side . if

> > that can be possible.

>

> > Roy- Hide quoted text -

>

> - Show quoted text -



Hmm so it implies that there is no simple solution to this problem?
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down









http://groups.google.com/group/micr...p.general/browse_frm/thread/53e73f0faca047a6/





Roy wrote:

> A friend of mine asks how come his PC bought from second hand is

> weird .have anything that was made by him( documents, saved

> downloaded files, and programs installed recently by him was erased

> everytime the PC is shut down . He can't even instal an antivirus

> in it for the same reason

>

> The OS is WinXP SP2

> Can anybody provide me some tips to sort it out so I can relay it

> to him.

> He is keen to instal programs that he needs including antivirus and

> want his pc to behave normally .



R. McCarty wrote:

> Advise him that a 2nd-hand PC should always be restored to it's

> factory state. Depending on the age of the PC this process is

> either a "Hidden" partition that holds the image or a disk ( or set

> of disks ) to restore the PC.

> He can visit the manufacturer's website and ether the PC's unique

> S/N

> or service tag to find information on how to restore the unit.

>

> Using a 2nd-hand PC with the original owner's profile & data is

> risky.



PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

> +1



Roy wrote:

> Thanks for all the comments...

>

> I have asked him (by email) recently where did he buy it and indeed

> it was from the lot of computers in the internet cafe that closed

> down as the owner relocated and changed business and it was bought

> at a bargain knowing that the PC is a high performance type already

> core2 duo extreme with 1 gig of dedicated graphics card.

> When he started using it after bringing it to his home

> He tried to instal antivirus in it( avira 9 free edition) made a

> thorough scan and found a few minor malware that was then removed so

> he think it was clean.

> Therefore he was pleased with it and did not format it anymore as it

> too much work for him going from the scratch and he has no time to

> spare for it now.

> He was thinking that there might be is something to do with the

> administrative settings , or registry that makes the PC run that

> way so it will prevent any malware that might have infected the PC

> from taking a firm hold.

> I think this is the way he want it sorted, minimum effort from his

> part ......

> Any ideas....?



PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

> The security of the computer (and his data, including online

> banking usernames & passwords) cannot be guaranteed unless he

> formats the HDD and does a clean install of Windows.



Roy wrote:

> Hmm I relayed it to him, and acording to him at the moment that

> was not his real concern as he conduct internet banking with his

> favorite laptop. BTW He is aware of the perils you mentioned.

> This desktop is just for gaming, video encoding and general

> internet surfing, etc

> He insisted there is nothing wrong with that PC (except for that

> fault enumerated above ) that it needs formating and something

> like that... Just want a simple solution with minimal

> effort..from his side . if that can be possible.



PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

> Also tell him that the computer's a thread to the entire online

> community and to run a Google search on the word 'botnet.'



Roy wrote:

> Hmm so it implies that there is no simple solution to this problem?



If that PC/the stuff currently on it is not all that important to them - is

just to be used for gaming, viodeo encoding, etc - then the *simple*

solution is the *best* solution as well. Format and install Windows XP

fresh and clean. Update the drivers so the gaming and video encoding

performance is the *best* it can be for that system (no unknown/strange

overhead - just the bare minimal to do what they want on said system.)



It has been setup to do this. Undoubtedly the Internet Cafe set it up to

revert back all changes (either for the user profile or for the entire

computer) using something - there are many ways of doing this.



The best fix is to set it up to do what the new owner wants. That is a

format/install thing. Since there is no data to recover, no loss of

anything possible - this is a no-brainer in my mind. Start the installation

process, walk away. Come back and download the latest hardware drivers for

the system and install them and then - it's a matter of installing the

things the new owner wants - and ONLY the things the new owner wants.



It doesn't get much more simple or straight-forward.



--

Shenan Stanley

MS-MVP

--

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytimeit shuts down

On Feb 17, 12:11 am, "Shenan Stanley" wrote:

>



>

> It has been setup to do this.  .





> Shenan Stanley

>      MS-MVP

> --

I have shown him the threads of his post and he called me and

underlined this the paragraph that he wants more

information as this is the remedy he wants it done.





'>Undoubtedly the Internet Cafe set it up to

> revert back all changes (either for the user profile or for the entire

> computer) using something - there are many ways of doing this





What are the many ways of doing such? Can't he not reverse the

process?



He is still reluctant to do that formatting job.....
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

Roy wrote:

> I have shown him the threads of his post and he called me and

> underlined this the paragraph that he wants more

> information as this is the remedy he wants it done.

>

> What are the many ways of doing such? Can't he not reverse the

> process?

>

> He is still reluctant to do that formatting job.....



All the time is being wasted asking questions when a format/installation

would have been over with days ago.



Does he just not have the original media - is that the problem?



--

Shenan Stanley

MS-MVP

--

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

Roy wrote:

> I have shown him the threads of his post and he called me and

> underlined this the paragraph that he wants more

> information as this is the remedy he wants it done.

>

> What are the many ways of doing such? Can't he not reverse the

> process?

>

> He is still reluctant to do that formatting job.....



I'll give a few popular examples...



http://www.faronics.com/html/deepfreeze.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/whatis/default.mspx

http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com/products



The fact is - even if the 'freeze' is undone/turned off - the *best* course

of action is and will remain being that the computer is actually formatted

and installed from scratch by your friend.



This is not a technical issue - this is one of getting something and not

knowing what you paid for and then being stubborn about what you should do

to know you have remedied any and all such problems that may arise from not

knowing what all was done to a machine via software in one fell swoop.



Just because the system gets unfrozen, there may be (probably is) other

protections in place that will make the computer difficult to use for what

you have mentioned it will be used for. It would only make sense that an

Internet Cafe would not only reset the computers configurations each

restart - but also lock down many other features - turning the machine into

a fancy kiosk to protect themselves and their customers.



--

Shenan Stanley

MS-MVP

--

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

[TYPO CORRECTED]



PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

> Also tell him that the computer's a [THREAT] to the entire online

> community

> and to run a Google search on the word 'botnet.'
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytime it shuts down

The solution is quite simple: Format the HDD & reinstall Windows.



Back-up any personal data (none of which should be considered 100%

trustworthy at this point) then format the HDD & do a clean install of

Windows. Please note that a Repair Install (AKA in-place upgrade) will NOT

fix this!



HOW TO do a clean install of WinXP: See

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html#steps and/or Method 1 in

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978307



After the clean install, you'll have the equivalent of a "new computer" so

take care of everything on the following page before otherwise connecting

the machine to the internet or a local network (i.e., other computers) and

before using a flash drive or SDCard that isn't brand-new or hasn't been

freshly formatted:



4 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online

http://www.microsoft.com/security/pypc.aspx



Other helpful references include:



HOW TO get a computer running WinXP Gold (no Service Packs) fully patched

(after a clean install)

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/msg/3f5afa8ed33e121c



HOW TO get a computer running WinXP SP1(a) or SP2 fully patched (after a

clean install)

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a066ae41add7dd2b



Tip: After getting the computer fully-patched, download/install KB971029

manually: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971029



NB: Any Norton or McAfee free-trial that came preinstalled on the computer

when you bought it will be reinstalled (but invalid) when Windows is

reinstalled. You MUST uninstall the free-trial and download/run the

appropriate removal tool before installing any updates, Windows Service

Packs or IE upgrades and before installing your new anti-virus application

(which will require WinXP SP3 to be installed).



Norton Removal Tool

ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/Norton_Removal_Tool.exe



McAfee Consumer Products Removal Tool

http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe



Also see:



Steps To Help Prevent Spyware

http://www.microsoft.com/security/spyware/prevent.aspx



Steps to Help Prevent Computer Worms

http://www.microsoft.com/security/worms/prevent.aspx



Avoid Rogue Security Software!

http://www.microsoft.com/security/antivirus/rogue.aspx



If these procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting

this isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and

independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA or Geek Squad) computer repair shop.





Roy wrote:

> On Feb 16, 10:47 pm, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

>> Also tell him that the computer's a thread to the entire online

>> community>> and to run a Google search on the word 'botnet.'

>>

>> Roy wrote:

>>> On Feb 16, 6:50 am, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

>>>> The security of the computer (and his data, including online banking

>>>> usernames & passwords) cannot be guaranteed unless he formats the HDD

>>>> and

>>>> does a clean install of Windows.

>>

>>> Hmm I relayed it to him, and acording to him at the moment that

>>> was not his real concern as he conduct internet banking with his

>>> favorite laptop. BTW He is aware of the perils you mentioned.

>>> This desktop is just for gaming, video encoding and general internet

>>> surfing, etc

>>> He insisted there is nothing wrong with that PC (except for that fault

>>> enumerated above ) that it needs formating and something like that...

>>> Just want a simple solution with minimal effort..from his side . if

>>> that can be possible.

>>

> Hmm so it implies that there is no simple solution to this problem?
 
PC that erases freshly installed program, prepared docs everytimeit shuts down

On Feb 17, 12:35 pm, "Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> Roy wrote:

> > I have shown him the threads  of his post and he called me and

> > underlined  this the paragraph that he wants more

> > information as this is the remedy he wants it done.

>

> > What are the many ways of doing such? Can't he not reverse the

> > process?

>

> > He is still reluctant to do that formatting job.....

>

> All the time is being wasted asking questions when a format/installation

> would have been over with days ago.

>

> Does he just not have the original media - is that the problem?

>

> --

> Shenan Stanley

>      MS-MVP

> --

> How To Ask Questions The Smart Wayhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html



I think some of the original media is missing and that is the likely

reason that he does not want to exert effort in doing a fresh start.

He did not tell me about it but that is how I see it as he is

stubborn to say that if there is away of sorting this out without

doing alots of effort from his side then he would do it.

Now if he can't do it by himself I just sent him an email asking him

to bring that PC to a repair shop and have the dirty work done

there....



Roy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top