Boot up problems - Virus issue?

hi I've downloaded and saved lupu 528 to my xp's desktop. I've also saved imgburn to the desktop. So do i run install of lupu? And if so, how do i burn it to a CD with image burn. The instruction page from the lupu site is geared towards CD burner XP. thanks

Hi Loopi,
Here's the steps for you to take:
1 Open imgBurn
2 Click on "Write image file to disc"
3 Look at the bit where it says source and click on the icon Browse for a file
4 Select the file on your desktop lupu528
and follow the on screen directions (you will need to insert a "new and unused CD recordable" into your CD burner's tray or slot.
This will burn your bootable CD for you
.Good luck
Regards
paws

Thanks paws, but i don't have the confidence in my skills to do this properly. i know it is going to get much more complicated after this and i am going on 3 weeks without that computer which i desperately need. it's not in the budget, but I'm taking it in for proper service, I can't afford to mess this up. Thank you for all your help.

Hi Loopi, Yes, I understand, If you are happy with your back ups (or have no data files on the computer) that are vital to you…you could always use the discs you created earlier…. Providing there are no hardware problems they will be able to restore your computer to its state when it left the factory… This is often called a "Restore to Factory" however it is destructive in that it will clear your data files, Windows itself and then put back Windows and any other applications that were installed at the factory…( thats one of the reasons why we place the emphasis we do on having a good back up…) Good luck and let us know how you get on, irrespective of which course of action you choose Regards paws

Just heard back from the computer place and I am screwed. They said the hard drive is shot and they cannot get any data out of it via conventional methods. I am wondering if they should try the Linux puppy method but they have been in business for 25 years and so I assume they would have tried that if they could right? Is there something about about the linux puppy method that insures data can be recovered? They said it has to be sent to a data recovery service center where it is retrieved in a clean room environment and cost for data extraction alone is probably $800-900. He says that they see this quite a bit and depending on severity of damage to the hard drive, he's seen it cost $1500 or more to get data out. He says price to install a new hard drive and re-install windows is $165. $75 for hard drive and $90 for labor. Any final thoughts? Let this be a lesson to everyone who doesn't think they have to back up their data. This is my worst nightmare.

I just posted at Safer
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=67442

Evaluate what you need to keep, are a few pictures and some word docs worth the expense , this is your call, I cant make it for you.


I have been at this malware removal for many years, where I work we have over 100 employees, doing what I do I am constantly asked for help with personal computers, the first thing I ask is DO YOU HAVE ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE INSTALLED, 99.9 % of the time the answer I get is I THINK SO. This wont cut it. Then I ask if we have to re install your operating system, do you have all your pictures and documents you dont want to lose backed up , all I get is a stare ( like what are you talking about )

Most people are just to busy posting on Facebook or whatever they do and don't have the time to back up there important files, keeping there Anti Virus program updated, keeping windows updates up to date, so when I tell them they lost everything due to a faulty hard drive they look at me with a stare in there face that they cant believe it. Hard drives do fail, operating systems get corrupted, memory modules fail, graphic cards fail and the list goes on.

Back up Back up Backup all your pictures and docs so if a situation like this happens, when you have your system or a new system up and running you can copy and paste all your docs to your new system

Just my 2 cents

Ken

Hi Loopi, I think Ken has said it all, and I echo his words. Puppy is an excellent option for recovering files from a Windows installation where the operating system files are so badly damaged that the computer will not start up into Windows at all. However if electro mechanical failure is the cause of the hard drive issues (as your technician says) then it will not help. The prices you mention seem very keen and are at the bottom of the range that my own repair shop would quote for such work, and the costs for a new drive and installaing Windows also seem quite low to me… I do feel your pain, even from many thousands of miles away…. I cannot make things seem better but some Maths that I had to point out to a new customer just the other day when faced with a similar issue may help alleviate the pain. In his situation he had been using a computer for 8 years but had never got round to carrying out regular back ups… if he had "saved" himself half an hour each week (26 hours a year) by not backing up, then over 8 years he had "saved" 208 hours, and at say USD $30 per hour that had "saved" around USD $6240 ( I have converted the figures from GBP £ to USD $ for convenience.) So at least he had a reasonable sum of money that he could use towards the cost of professional data recovery. In actual fact his hourly rate was a lot higher than that ..but I just used the USD $30 as an example . It was small comfort to him and I guess it will be small comfort to you, but I do hope it will somehow help. When you are all up and running again do consider taking a disc image and making a bootable CD to allow access to it ( Keep at least one copy safe offsite on removable media, and do make a habit of backing up regularly according to your needs. Regards paws

Paws, a gal I work with in the IT department told me about a device that you can take the hard drive out and plug it into this device ( a docking station ) and hook it up a working computer via USB and access your files, is this drive to far gone for that ?

If you can't see it when mounted internally, connecting it to a USB Universal Drive Adapter won't see it either. I've used several different ones and currently have a Newertech USB 3.0 Universal Drive Adapter.

Thanks Rich, just wondering about it

Thanks Ken and Paws for all the advice and thoughts The quoted data recovery price is now $1400 after inspection by the data recovery company. They say the read/write head of the hard drive is damaged and needs replacing to recover the data. Paws - if i now begin backing up my data regularly, is it necessary to do a CD burn image. I am just confused by this concept and not sure what it does/means. I bought a 750GB external hardrive which i will now use to back up with. My computer was repaired and a new 320GB hard drive was installed, total price with labor $171. Is there a program which knows not to "re-backup" already backed up files, but only backs up what is "new" since the last backup? I haven't hooked it up yet, but the external drive only came with a usb cord. i assume if i use it the way i would use a flash drive, i would have to constantly just drag my entire "C" drive or "my documents" or whatever onto the external device. Am i then wasting boatloads of time because it is "re-copying" the same files that were already there? Or should it know they exist and only copy new ones? Is there a way to leave it connected overnight with the computer on and let it do it automatically? Thanks again guys

Loopi, did your external hard drive not come with back up software. I have a Seagate drive that uses Retrospect. What happens is this, lets say you have 100 files to back up, the software backs them up and codes them , now lets say a week later none of those files have changed but you added 10 files, when you run back up it will skip the files it already backed up but back up the new ones. Lets say a week goes by and you back up again but made changes to 10 of the files already backed up, the change changes the code so when you run back up it will back up just the files that changed..

What I do is just copy and paste the pictures and files I dont want to lose to my USB flash drive, then in the future if there are other things I want to keep I just copy and paste them to the drive .

I really cant recommend a back up program as I dont use one, you may want to Google Online Backups and this may be an economical way to go
I see a lot of people using this one
http://www.carbonite.com/lp/media/banner-d…CFVCd4AodF04Azg


Paws may have more info for you

Thanks Ken I haven't used the external hard drive yet but the box says it has backup software but there was no disk in the box. This may seem obvious to some, but not me: perhaps the software is pre-loaded in the external hard drive?

What brand and model external drive did you get ?

Sometimes the software is on the external drive. Installation will occur when you connect it. There should be some installation documentation that will tell you this.