15 replies to this topic

[mayday]

My son recently gave me his 'old' desktop computer. I have had one of my own for many years now and have always enjoyed using it for many different applications, I only mention this to explain that I have a little knowledge concerning them. My sons computer is running on Windows Vista Home Premium and it runs just fine. Yesterday I downloaded a mod for a game he has installed and requested it download to the Desktop. When the mod finished downloading however it did not appear on my screen so I went through ... Hdd..Users Folder...User Folder...Desktop Folder and inside was my mod but also another Desktop Folder which contained all the Icons etc. which I have on my Desktop screen. I tried copying all the Icons into the first Desktop Folder hoping to be able to delete the second one but I then ended up with a third Desktop Folder. Things then went from bad to worse as every time I tried something else like renaming a folder I was gaining another Desktop Folder. In the end I did a System Restore which brought me back to the original two folders and that's the situation as I write. I do not know how long the two folders have been on the system so it seems pointless going back farther with another System Restore. I would be grateful for any advice. Thanks in advance. Regards.

[8210GUY]

To start with do not try to delete stuff blindly, or as your finding it can make things worse, what would help me is if you could take a screenshot of the various folders, what I need to know is just what folders inside what link, I suggest not moving anything, or downloading any more stuff until we know whats going on.

[mayday]

8210GUY. Thanks for your very prompt reply. I will do as you say.

[mayday]

8210GUY. I have (hopefully) uploaded the screenshots you asked for. I have labelled them 1st, 2nd etc this being the order in which I opened them. Regards

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[mayday]

I think I hit the upload limit with the previous post. This is the 6th image inside the last Dektop Folder. Regards

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[Lee]

It sounds like you may have either downloaded some malware or you have opened the mod folder and used it's contents incorrectly (installing mods is often quite tricky).

For the inexperienced mod user, trying to add a game mod can somtimes be an accidental way to add malware to a PC. Producing game mods is a highly creative and skilled endeavor, but it also attracts a few disturbed individuals who's mind-set (sense of humour?) is in fact, quite malicious. Endlessly replicating desktop folders sounds typical.

Always look for user recommendations from reputable gaming sources that are forum reviewed before downloading a game mod. and it helps to use a sandbox when downloading so it can be scanned with anti-virus and melware protection apps.

Cheers,
Lee

Edited by Lee, 13 January 2012 - 01:23 PM.

[mayday]

Thanks for your reply Lee. I'll take your advice. Regards.

[8210GUY]

Well it never hurts to do the above, gives peace of mind if nothing more, but more importantly if this is an issue, trying to reset the folders etc could mess things up even more, so for now do the above, and when you get the all clear we can move on. As to the duplicate folder, my best guess is it was a simple drag and drop\copy error, one you did not know you were doing, nor were you aware of doing it as it can be done so fast and so easily by accident, numerous times I've lost a file\folder, only to find it moved into another folder, more so if you have a sensitive mouse, but defo get a check up first to be safe as suggested above, once you get the all clear we should be able to sort this quite easily, I hope anyway lol. There is 1 thing I would ask of you to b e safe though, if\when you download\save anything, or if you can recall saving something that has ended up somewhere it was not supposed to, please make a note of it, eg what application did it, I simply want to check that x program(s) don't have the incorrect save location, otherwise it will auto recreate this again, but in the mean time I will experiment on my system on what I think will work, pretty sure it will, but I will make sure it's safe first, just holla when you get the all clear.

[mayday]

Thanks 8210GUY. I'll run a full scan and a few other things tomorrow and get back to you. Regards

[mayday]

OK I've done a full System scan, ran Malwarebytes, used Advance Defrag to clean the Registry and got rid of temporary files with TFC and everything seems fine.

[8210GUY]

To be honest registry tools are best left alone, more damage can be done using them than just leaving them alone, and running scans is good, and the positive results are also good, but have you actually had a check up by the pro's for max safety ?

[mayday]

but have you actually had a check up by the pro's for max safety ?

No I haven't.

[8210GUY]

Well the above suggestion by Lee is a very sound one, as he says doing such things can be a way in for nasties, so a check up from the pro's is a sound suggestion, and if you go for this as you said you would above, then you need the all clear from them before proceeding here, so it's your call, but if going that route just holla once you have the all clear then we can move on.

[mayday]

8210GUY. I apologise for my ignorance but what exactly do you mean when you say " a checkup from the pro's"?

[8210GUY]

No need to apologise, I should of been clearer, sorry for any confusion, anyway the pro's are the people in the Virus, Spyware & Malware Removal section, please take note of the guides pinned at the top to help you get the best\fastest results, but please bare in mind these guys are very busy, and it may take a few days for them to get to you, the pinned threads at the top of the section instruct on what, how and when to post etc, hope this helps, once you get the all clear we can move forward.