Dell M6500 & Win 7

Hi all,
I run a Dell M6500 laptop with Win7.
When connecting to the internet it starts downloading "stuff', sometimes after 5 or 10 minutes, which I have no control over or find out where it is coming from. I have disabled auto update and my anti virus etc. If I go to explorer for internet history the files in doc and settings are locked. I have wiped the hard drive twice and started again from scratch, no luck.
I tried to load Win XP but it will not load it, is that because it is a Dell?
All my software is legal, and my anti virus is updated after notifying me it is doing so. When starting from fresh without any extra programs it does it also.
Any help suggestions greatly appreciated.

Do a full clean & full format in command prompt.
SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation
Than reinstall.

Thinking out loud here...

You could install ZoneAlarm and configure it for all Internet calls to ask for permission. That way you get a pop up which identifies each program/process that attempts to access your network or the Internet. Use this for a day or two until you find what is going on. It will be a "pain" to configure and use as you will frequently be distracted with program access request pop ups but it will help you find the culprets.

If you decide to try this idea, let me know and I'll write up suggested settings (installed default will not do what you need).

Regards,
GEWB

Hello GEWB and theog,
I would like to try Zonealarm, on the web page there are several different types, which would be most suitable?

Regards

The latest and greatest malware reportedly places itself in the boot sector of the hard drive and actually loads itself before the OS does. From what I have read you have to format the drive to kill it. I'm just wondering if windows is doing a quick format during the install and thats not enough to get ride of it. If so I think I might delete the actual partition(s) and start over with a blank unformatted unpartitioned drive. Another option would be to go to the drive makers web site and have a look at the free utilities available. There should be one there that can write all zero's or all ones to the drive. The equivalent to a low level formate. If that doesn't kill it I think i would get out a big hammer.

theog said:

Do a full clean & full format in command prompt.
SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation
Than reinstall.

IMO, the above.

How to use Dell Recovery, & how to order Recovery Disks.
Dell - Support

bolster55 said:

Hello GEWB and theog,
I would like to try Zonealarm, on the web page there are several different types, which would be most suitable?

Regards

The free version is all you would need.

If you decide to do this, post in your thread you send me a PM - I'll spend some time to document some setting.

Regards,
GEWB

The other replies, re: possible infection, are valid. Running a good set of scan tools should be the first thing to do. That said, I have used the free ZoneAlarm for many years - it has taught me a lot by seeing all the program calls to the Internet and reading the logs.

Regards,
GEWB

Thanks for the replies, very helpfull, I'll update after I try these suggestions.
Thanks again.

Hello All,
I tried downloading Zone alarm but after 61mb's the meter showed that I downloaded 95mb's and starting to over run the zone alarm down load. Can I clean my hard disk, including the boot sector so I can get rid of the "virus"? Being a Dell laptop can I delete the Dell start up? Or will I need a new hard drive?
I tried to load XP but it did not work, although it is a genuine disk. A lot of the folders in Win 7 are locked and even with admin rights I cannot excess them, is this also part of the virus?

Regards