Posted by CharlotteTX on 7/5/07 5:21pm
Msg #198612

Help

laptop just keeps starting over & over...... can't get to do anything else

Reply by kmo on 7/5/07 5:25pm
Msg #198614

Charlotte, This happened to my laptop last week. I had to take it to staples, and they had to do seversl things to get it to work again. Was not the hard drive or the memory. Said they shut off the hyperlink and ran tests. What brand is your laptop?

Reply by CharlotteTX on 7/5/07 5:33pm
Msg #198618

It is an Alienware.

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 7/5/07 5:53pm
Msg #198637

Charlotte, what are you calling alienware?

I did a google search for "alienware+definition", and it seems that Alienware is the name of a legitimate company that has something to do with hi-definition programming, I think.

Reply by CharlotteTX on 7/5/07 5:56pm
Msg #198638

Re: Charlotte, what are you calling alienware?

They build computers to your needs. This has been a great computer, no problems. Loaded to the gills.

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 7/5/07 6:00pm
Msg #198640

OH, OK, I thought you were calling the problem Alienware LOL

I hadn't heard of Alienware computers before, but from the info I found on Google, they do have a fine reputation.

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 7/5/07 5:39pm
Msg #198626

Could be a virus

My internet/email provider uses Postini as a prefilter, and there have been a bunch of virus-laden emails trying to slip past them for several days, using stolen email addresses and "innocent" wording in the Subject line. These were all newer viruses that I haven't heard of until now.
However, there used to be something like a "Blaster" worm out a few years ago, which acted like you are talking about. It was awful to get rid of because you couldn't keep your computer on long enough to download the removal tool. It's an old worm, but you still might have picked it up from someone.
The fix was to got to START, click on RUN. In the box, type in shutdown -a
Be sure you put the space between the word "shutdown" and the dash.
Next, if you are running XP, go to MY COMPUTER, then go to SYSTEM PROPERTIES. Next go to the RESTORE tab. Put a checkmark in the box next to the Restore field to disable it.
Now you should be able to stay online long enough to go to www.symantec.com and look for information on the Blaster worm. Download the removal tool, called "FixBlast". Stay connected to the internet. Go find the FixBlast software on your computer, click on the icon, and run the removal tool. It will find and remove the worm. Run the removal tool again. When it reports that it has not found the worm, it will ask if you want to install the patch. Click Yes.
It then takes you online to the Symantec site and the page where you can search for the patch for your version of Windows. Download the patch, find it on your computer, and click on the icon to install it.
Reboot your computer.
Go back to MY COMPUTER, SYSTEM PROPERTIES, RESTORE, and uncheck the RESTORE box to re-enable it.
Run FixBlast one more time to be sure the worm is gone.
Hope this helps.

Reply by CharlotteTX on 7/5/07 5:44pm
Msg #198630

Re: Could be a virus

Thanks all, we decided to try to restore, we couldn't get anywhere near the start button. Soooo.... hopefully the disk will do the dump and restore.