BleepingComputer.com: Critical Hard Disk Drive Error

Hey all. I'm really new to this site so I'm sorry if I posted this in the completely wrong section lol..I have this problem on my laptop (windows 7).

Virus on my laptop..how to stop/attack it?
My background screen is black and all the icons on the background are gone. My data (as in word documents) is gone all that's left is the 'C' drive with the programe files on it. I also keep getting numerous Hard Drive Failure notifications. They say 'this system has detected a problem with one or more installed IDE/SATA hard disks. It is recommended that you restart the system'. These come up whenever I turn the computer on...What kinda virus is this? How do I get rid of it ?? Any good free anti virus things out there on the net?

Thanks in advance

This post has been edited by Orange Blossom: 29 May 2011 - 11:34 PM
Reason for edit: Moved from Windows 7 to AII. ~ OB

Hi douglass.beck,

to BleepingComputer. Sorry for the delay. My name is Jason and I'll be helping you. You can call me by my screename jntkwx or Jason is fine.

Let's reboot into Safe Mode.
This can be done tapping the F8 key as soon as you start your computer
You will be brought to a menu with several options. Press the arrow keys until Safe Mode with Networking is selected. Press Enter. Please see here for additional details.

Once in Safe Mode with Networking, download Rkill

Run Rkill (iExplore.exe) If you cannot find the iExplore.exe icon that you downloaded, you can also execute the program by clicking on the Start menu and then in the search field type in: %userprofile%\desktop\iexplore.exe and then press the Enter key on your keyboard. If Windows prompts you to allow it to run, please allow it to do so.

Please be patient while the Rkill looks for various malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If it appears like Rkill did not stop the malware from running, please try running RKill again until the malware is no longer running. If you continue having problems running RKill, you can download the other renamed versions of RKill from the rkill download page. All of the files are renamed copies of RKill, which you can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new browser window or tab.

Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again!


Still in Safe Mode with Networking, please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop.

Download Link 1
Download Link 2

Malwarebytes' may "make changes to your registry" as part of its disinfection routine. If using other security programs that detect registry changes (ie Spybot's Teatimer), they may interfere or alert you. Temporarily disable such programs or permit them to allow the changes.

• Make sure you are connected to the Internet and double-click on mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
  For instructions with screenshots, please refer to this Guide.
  
• When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
  
• Malwarebytes will automatically start and you will be asked to update the program before performing a scan.
  
• If an update is found, the program will automatically update itself. Press the OK button and continue.
  
• If you encounter any problems while downloading the definition updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install.

• Under the Scanner tab, make sure the "Perform Quick Scan" option is selected.
  
• Click on the Scan button.
  
• When finished, a message box will say "The scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to display all objects found".
  
• Click OK to close the message box, then click the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found.
  
• Make sure that everything is checked and then click Remove Selected.
  
• When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad.
  
• The log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab.
  
• Copy and paste the contents of that report in your next reply. Be sure to post the complete log to include the top portion which shows the database version and your operating system.
  
• Exit Malwarebytes' when done.

Note: If Malwarebytes' encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be asked to reboot your computer so it can proceed with the disinfection process. If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot normally will prevent Malwarebytes' from removing all the malware.


Download Unhide.exe

Once the program has been downloaded, double-click on the Unhide.exe icon on your desktop and allow the program to run. This program will remove the +H, or hidden, attribute from all the files on your hard drives. If there are any files that were purposely hidden by you, you will need to hide them again after this tool is run.

douglass.beck, on 29 May 2011 - 11:26 PM, said:

If you do not already have an antivirus program installed (antivirus programs conflict with each other if there are more than one installed), there are several good free ones:

• Avira
  
• Avast
  
• Microsoft Security Essentials

In your next reply, please include:

• The Malwarebytes' log file
  
• How's the computer running now?