Computer keeps freezing

[maureen]

Please can anybody help
I managed to get a virus the other day with an e-mail from support@microsoft.com.
My norton picked it up but said that it had already got into my pc.I followed the steps at the symantic site and norton said the virus was gone.Since then though my computer keeps freezing(the mouse and keyboard wont work)and i have to reset the pc at the switch.
Ive re-scanned the pc and have found nothing are the freezes something else or has the virus corrupted my pc.
I think it is about time i re-formatted the harddrive anyway so would now be a good time to do it.Is there any software i'll need to clean sweep the hardrive or will xp just install itself and deleate everything.
Please help im desperte its freezing more and more.
By the way the computer seems to keep functioning in the background as if its still processing stuff.(eg if i was encoding a movie it would carry on encoding even though i couldnt do anything).

[racer-x]

Hi maureen.

Sorry about your troubles. Isn't micro$oft wonderfull? Anyway before you do anything, try to save all you important files to CD or better yet DVD. Try to save as much as you can, even bookmarks because when you format you will loose everything!

Just boot up with the XP disk. Don't choose repair. Choose clean install. This would be a good time to set up multiple partitions on your HDD. You can do what you want, but this is what I do.

Create at least 2 partitions if you only have 1 HDD.
Put XP on first partion formated with NTFS.
Create second partition for backups with FAT32.
If you only have 1 HDD, make 3rd partition NTFS for video caps.

After you get XP up and running well, get a copy of Norton Ghost and make an image of XP and put it on the Backup partition. This will be for the next time that Windows is giving you troubles. You'll be able to restore a fresh XP install in about 10 - 15 min.

I dual-boot 98se and XP pro and have Ghost Images for both systems. I never worry about system failures because I get up and running in 15 min. or less. I also keep a good backup of all apps and data on a DVD+RW.

Good luck!

[Northstar]

Id probably do a full format of the drive just to be on the safe side, then install XP (well 2k cause i dont like XP :P).

The trouble with full formatting nowdays is that hardrives are so damn big and take a lot longer.

If you know what the virus was do a search on google to find out what it does and if it does actually dissapear when you killed it, as you know some dont go away that easily, may save you a full format too

[EddyH]

That wasnt from MS, it's a new email worm going around. It's got some PIF file disguised as a text document attached to it (yeah, that old chestnut) which apparently can autorun when you click on it.

This is the reason I only ever, EVER do my emailing from webmail or a text-based telnet session, so that crap can't get into my computer in the first place, let alone run before i can delete it...

I wish I could find the people that write these things and put them to work coming up with something more useful... like... i dunno. Reinforcers for CDROM drives so you really can use them to hold coffee cups. Or a cure for cancer.

Sorry I can't help much with the clear-up. Basically recover the files that you can, wipe & resintall, and be uber careful when downloading your email in future. Does outlook/whatever have an option to leave the attachments on the server until you explicitly ask for them?

Oh yeah, and patch your program against self running code. Or better yet get a replacement reader without stupid vunerabilities (again: isnt microsoft great?)

[Craig Tucker]

I recieved that email, but dis not click on the attachment, just deleted it.

[Ducatti20]

I recieved that email, but dis not click on the attachment, just deleted it.

Same here, rule of thumb is that unless you were expecting an attachment from someone you know, never open it!! Microsoft will never send you a file via e-mail unless you ask for it!!