Question

URGENT: download.trojan has caused my computer not to boot up

Asked by: bkloth

Last night I got a Norton Antivirus realtime protection message stating that it has found the download.trojan virus on my machine.  I followed the link to the Symantec webpage (URL below) detailing the steps to get rid of it.

Symantec webpage: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/download.trojan.html

Step 1) Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP). >> DONE
Step 2) Update the virus definitions. >> DONE
Step 3) Restart the computer in Safe mode. >> I cannot boot up!!

Note that after running LiveUpate, Norton prompted me that I would have to restart my computer for some of the changes to take effect.  I was unsure whether restarting is Safe Mode would finish off the installation, but unfortunately I never got that far.  When my computer rebooted, the Dell BIOS screen came up with the BIOS progress bar and the option for me to press F2 to enter Setup or F12 to enter the Boot Menu (where I can pick Safe Mode).  I thought I would reboot in Regular Mode first to ensure the Norton installation finished, then reboot into Safe Mode.  However, when the BIOS progress bar reaches about 90%, it stops, and my computer has never finished booting.

I rebooted and tried pressing F12:  the message "Preparing one time Boot Menu" appeared, but the BIOS bar still stopped at 90%, and the boot menu never came up.

I rebooted and tried pressing F2:  the message "Preparing to enter Setup" appeared, but the BIOS bar still stopped at 90%, and the boot menu never came up.

I rebooted with my WinXP disc in the CD drive, but this had no effect--still hung up at 90% BIOS.

Finally I tried re-booting and pressing F8, but this did nothing, either.

Once the boot process is hung, if I leave the computer alone for a while (15-30 minutes, I think), it just turns off.

I have searched and searched but cannot find reference anywhere to anyone having the same problem.  Can anyone help me, please??  I am pulling my hair out over here!!!

Thanks so much in advance.

--Brad

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Asked On
2006-01-10 at 16:25:37ID21691784
Tags

boot

,

dell

,

one

Topic

Windows Network Security

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
11

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Answers

 

by: cjinsocal581Posted on 2006-01-10 at 17:02:04ID: 15667247

If it is not getting past the BIOS, then there may be a problem with the BIOS itself. Who knows what the trojan did but it sounds like you may be down on this one.

Try taking the BIOS battery out and leaving it out for 30 to 45 seconds then put it back it and try rebooting.

 

by: bklothPosted on 2006-01-11 at 09:34:52ID: 15672955

Thank you!  Taking out the battery and then putting it back in worked.  Also, when flipping the computer over to remove the battery, I noticed the fan intake was almost completely covered in cat fur (gross).  I cleared this, replaced the battery, and restarted.  This time the machine booted no problem!  However, I did get a message stating the computer had been shut down previously because it was in danger of overheating due to the fan being blocked.

So now my issue has changed a little--I am handling to download.trojan virus, but if I turn my computer off (or restart), I have to remove to battery for 30-60 seconds and replace it before it will boot back up.  What can I do about this?

 

by: cjinsocal581Posted on 2006-01-11 at 09:37:29ID: 15672975

One of two things:

Update the BIOD from the manufacturers website

or

Replace the motherboard.

 

by: bklothPosted on 2006-01-11 at 11:39:06ID: 15674315

To clarify:  is "Update the BIOD" a misspelling for "Update the BIOS"?

 

by: bklothPosted on 2006-01-11 at 14:56:18ID: 15676681

OK, so like an idiot I restarted my computer again before I tried to update the BIOS (Windows installed a security patch and needed to restart; I forgot about all of the issues I was having and did so).  Now I am getting hung up again on the boot up, and even removing the battery for five minutes does not fix it.

Do I have any recourse besides sending my laptop back to Dell for a new motherboard?  Is it difficult to pick out a new motherboard  and replace it myself?  (I am an IT professional--a Business Intelligence Consultant, to be exact--so I can handle most fixes/upgrades/etc. as long as I have the proper guidance.)  I am guessing it would be cheaper to do so myself than to send it to Dell (sending it to Dell will cost about $250 plus an additional charge for the motherboard).

BTW cjinsocal581, I am definitely giving you the 500 points for this answer, I just haven't yet because I didn't want to close the thread and risk not having you respond anymore. :)

 

by: cjinsocal581Posted on 2006-01-11 at 16:53:19ID: 15677683

no worries... I did mean BIOS.... sorry bout that.


How old is the Dell?

 

by: bklothPosted on 2006-01-11 at 19:54:56ID: 15678592

It is a Dell Inspiron 5160 that is almost exactly 1 year and 1 month old.  I opted for just the 1-year warranty, of course.  Doing research today I found a ton of other folks who had their 5160 motherboard conk out after just over 1 year of use.

Does replacing the motherboard wipe out the hard drive?

 

by: alwayssmilingPosted on 2006-01-13 at 20:28:44ID: 15698558

It shouldn't wipe out the hard drive.  since, they are two separate animals, if you will.

However, you should contact Dell's support and at least start a ticket with them.  The reason I say this is, if you purchase a new motherboard, and six months from now Dell issues a recall on the computer, you may be able to get the cost reimbursed.  

I wouldn't be surprised if they do issue a recall at some point in time.  Because I'm pretty sure they don't have a setting in there that says "shortly after the warranty runs out, conk out."  So (please forgive that sarcasm, you'll understand the reasoning in a second), more then likely they're having a lot of people who are still under warranty contacting them with this issue.

Also, if you do get into the setup for the BIOS, could you make sure that you have the antivirus disabled (if it has that option?  That could be part of the issue, if the download.trojan installed itself into the boot member.  The antivirus on the BIOS could be preventing you from starting up.

HTH.
Patrick.

 

by: bklothPosted on 2006-01-16 at 21:03:45ID: 15717147

So I left the computer off this weekend as I went out of town for four days, and I when I returned, I removed the battery for 30 seconds, put it back in, turned the machine on, and lo and behold I was able to boot into Setup!!  Unfortunately, I made some changes on page 3 of 6 in Setup--before I found anything referring to Anitvirus--and I was not able to look at oages 4, 5 or 6 to see if they had the antiviurs setting.  But the good news is I am now fully booted into my machine!  (And I have performed a full backup, phew!)

Any advice on what to do now to check whether it is indeed the motherboard that is the problem or if download.trojan is causing all of this to happen?  I am afraid to update my BIOS before hearing back from you guys, because I don't want to upgrade it and be told to reboot if there are some things I can check beforehand.

Note that at some point I did manage to boot into Safe Mode, and when I ran a Norton VirusScan, it came back all clear.

THANKS!!!

 

by: alwayssmilingPosted on 2006-01-17 at 06:01:45ID: 15719265

Hi there bkloth,

In your earlier post, you mentioned that you did some research and found other people having their motherboards conk out shortly after 1 year of use.  My recommendation right now at least is, go back to those sites, and find out what exactly they meant by 'conk out'.  If they give symptoms, then that's what you need to watch for.  If you can post replies to their threads, I would inquire as to what exactly happened with their boards.

Otherwise, it could have been a lot of things.  The fact that you left it sit.  The removing of the battery again.  Something that you changed in BIOS.  I believe, but could be wrong, that you would have seen the antivirus setting on page one or two.  Of course, that depends on the BIOS version, and whether or not they even offer it with the motherboard.  Short of rebooting the computer, I can't say for sure what you should do here.  So, I'll back out of this and let one of the other experts take over.  

Patrick.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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