lacking experience I have a tenatious virus and need help to remove it

[Geek2go]

Shabakthanai,

Few things.

- Can you confirm that the Windows 7 installation disc works by trying it in your other machine that is not infected.

- Seems that you are not getting to boot from the Windows 7 disc and then your grub takes over (as the machine tries to boot from your HDD). Since you barely see the menu of GRUB, there are two things we can do.
1. You will need to hold the down or up arrow keys while booting... this is negate the GRUB menu timer and show you the menu. This is the RECOMMENDED method as it requires little input. If the menu does flash even with you holding down the up or down arrow, there is something else going on.
2. If you want to extend your GRUB timer, we can discuss that too although by default, I believe it's 10 seconds so why it would be so short is beyond me (as most users use default settings) and assuming I'm not violating any rules in this forum I can post it here:
a) get into terminal by pressing CTRL-ALT-T
b) edit your grub file by typing the following command: gksu kate /etc/default/grub (it will ask for your admin user password, just type in the password you use to log into Kubuntu. Also "kate" is the default editor for Kubuntu so it doesn't work try "edit" or "gedit" in it's place.)
c) find the line that says "GRUB_TIMEOUT=" and change the number AFTER the = sign to something higher (but not too high). The time will be in seconds, so 10 means 10 seconds, so on and so forth. So it should look like this without the quotes "GRUB_TIMEOUT=30" and that will make the menu timeout in 30 seconds and select the default which is Kubuntu.
d) exit the editor and save the changes.
e) you will be back in the terminal window. type sudo update-grub and it may ask you for your password again. Go ahead and type it in.
f) reboot.... now your grub should not flash quickly for you.

We still are at a point where you cannot boot from your windows disc. At this point, I think you may need to try a Windows repair USB key. CottonBall and Layback Bear should be able to help you with this as I have yet to do this process. I did find a URL that walks you through it but it seems more complex than it needs to be.

In case CottonBall/Layback Bear or anyone else is interested Windows 7 - Create a system repair USB key is the site I found with pictures of how to do it. Since it's not my work, I didn't feel right posting it directly in this thread.

Actually that is what I did during my first failed attempt. When I made the DVDRom first to boot, then put the Windows 7 Pro installation CD in the functioning DVDRW and pressed enter, the Boot Screen flashed the Boot Sequence so fast it could not be read, then opened in my default Operating System. I tried that several times, because it did not make any sense, then finally gave up thinking it was part of the virus program.

Actually, I have never been so closed out of an Operating System. I hope there are additional things to try. In any event when you explained I would lose my other Operating System if I reinstalled Windows 7 fresh, I decided to not do that.

If that becomes the case, I have already put a feeler in the Other Operating System's forum for help getting a Virtual Machine installed in the other system. If that is possible without losing the OS in the process, it may be the required cure.

I have plenty of space on my drives to keep the infected OS in my computer, and will, just in case the virus becomes easier to deal with in the future, but it is useless for me now.

I will wait to see if anyone has anything new that I can try. Thanks again for all the kind help.

Steven

 

[Geek2go]

Shabakthanai,

I have just researched your mobo which is an Asus Sabertooth series mob and it's an EFI capable system. This is a more advanced system and maybe the reason why you cannot boot into your DVD. Some EFI systems maybe setup in both EFI and BIOS mode. I'm not sure which one you are setup as.

QUOTE from https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749064(v=ws.10).aspx:
Some EFI platforms support both UEFI and BIOS firmware. On some of those systems, it is not always clear if the default DVD boot option is an EFI or BIOS boot option. On these systems, using the EFI shell command may be required. If you do not specifically start Windows Setup by using the EFI boot entry, the default firmware boot entry for BIOS may be used. If Windows Setup starts in BIOS mode on a combined EFI/BIOS system, the ESP and MSR partitions are not created. After Windows Setup completes, use the Diskpart command to verify that the ESP and MSR partitions were created.

So it seems we are missing a setup for you. Does anyone have experience with an UEFI/EFI firmware setup?

 

[Shabakthanai]

more of the same

Shabakthanai,

Few things.

- Can you confirm that the Windows 7 installation disc works by trying it in your other machine that is not infected. I set the DVDRom to boot first prior to attempting to install my copy of Windows 7 Pro. Nonetheless, Windows did not open. The other Operating System opened by default. It is very confusing for me. My Windows 7 Pro disk is an ISO, isn't it, so with the DVDRom drive set to open first on both machines, it should have opened, shouldn't it?

I am pretty sure my repair disk was created by me from the offending application. The back-up and restore disk that I made for the ASUS laptop I gave to my neighbor is identified as such. This repair disk does not have any special identification, just that it is Windows 7 and 64 bit. Since I am careful about such things, I believe it is a repair disk I made as recommended after I installed Windows 7 Pro on my current and offending PC.

The person I obtained my Windows 7 Pro Installation Disk from was a member of my church and currently not available to talk with, but he custom makes computers and works as a technician for his living. He provided my copy from among those he purchased in bulk for when he built systems for others; he did not charge me, but we do things for each other, so he was unwilling to accept payment. Additionally, he assured me my copy is a legitimate copy and I believe him. He is a disciplined believer and would not break the rules or laws that apply to copywrite. If I thought there might be anything improper about my ownership, I would not freely talk about it on any forum. Please do not lose confidence in my integrity.

- Seems that you are not getting to boot from the Windows 7 disc and then your grub takes over (as the machine tries to boot from your HDD). Since you barely see the menu of GRUB, there are two things we can do. I can do as you suggest below, but I am confident it is not a delay problem. Every time I restart my computer I have plenty of time to make choices for the boot selection. Several seconds. In fact, I have meant to reduce the boot delay for quite some time, but fail to remember it by the time I can do something about it.
1. You will need to hold the down or up arrow keys while booting... this is negate the GRUB menu timer and show you the menu. This is the RECOMMENDED method as it requires little input. If the menu does flash even with you holding down the up or down arrow, there is something else going on.
2. If you want to extend your GRUB timer, we can discuss that too although by default, I believe it's 10 seconds so why it would be so short is beyond me (as most users use default settings) and assuming I'm not violating any rules in this forum I can post it here:
a) get into terminal by pressing CTRL-ALT-T
b) edit your grub file by typing the following command: gksu kate /etc/default/grub (it will ask for your admin user password, just type in the password you use to log into Kubuntu. Also "kate" is the default editor for Kubuntu so it doesn't work try "edit" or "gedit" in it's place.)I use sudo to open kate. Timeout is set for 10 seconds. That's like a year to me to have things happen. I really love the speed available with my new gear.
c) find the line that says "GRUB_TIMEOUT=" and change the number AFTER the = sign to something higher (but not too high). The time will be in seconds, so 10 means 10 seconds, so on and so forth. So it should look like this without the quotes "GRUB_TIMEOUT=30" and that will make the menu timeout in 30 seconds and select the default which is Kubuntu.
d) exit the editor and save the changes.
e) you will be back in the terminal window. type sudo update-grub and it may ask you for your password again. Go ahead and type it in.
f) reboot.... now your grub should not flash quickly for you.

We still are at a point where you cannot boot from your windows disc. At this point, I think you may need to try a Windows repair USB key. CottonBall and Layback Bear should be able to help you with this as I have yet to do this process. I did find a URL that walks you through it but it seems more complex than it needs to be. When Windows 7 Pro Installation CD failed to open in my laptop, a bit frustrated, I attempted to install my copy of the Windows 7 repair disk. I had the same problem; my other operating system opened instead.

I hate to appear so stupid, but since I have not had many problems with my dual-boot configuration, and because I am weak in my knowledge of computers, I thought perhaps that the dual-boot configuration was the reason my Windows 7 Pro Installation Disk was not engaging. Foolishly, I opened the offending Windows application to see if I could open the 'recovery disk' from the 'Computer' entry in the Windows GUI. It would not open from there, but one of the entries in the Computer screen for Removable Disk H was titled 'FRST64.exe'. I opened a browser in the offending OS and selected FRST64.exe; it came up as an infected executable. I suspect it may be the virus, but I did not try to remove it, not knowing if that could create even more problems.

Because the browser was acting normally still, I selected Farbar to see if I could download the repair application, but the second I clicked the download button, the screen was redirected and the virus took over aggressively.

I am ashamed to say that I briefly wondered about the authenticity of my Installation Application, but all I had to do was think about the person who gave it to me; he is even more strict in his beliefs than I, and I would definitely not give a bogus copy of the OS, even to an enemy, so it must be something else.

Should I extend the delay on my boot screen? To me, it seems unnecessary. The flash of the screen is so fast, it is not even a tenth of a second in duration. I can barely see the word of my other system's name in the first position of the list, and the screen is gone.

I can remember times when things were functioning properly, where I became distracted while facing the boot selection process, and still there was time to choose Windows before the other system opened by default. My guess is that the normal delay exceeds 10 seconds; that is a lot of time, not a flash. Whatever you suggest, I will do, though.

In case CottonBall/Layback Bear or anyone else is interested Windows 7 - Create a system repair USB key is the site I found with pictures of how to do it. Since it's not my work, I didn't feel right posting it directly in this thread. Can this be done while in my other OS? Or, will I have to do this from the offender? Let me know if this problem is taking too long; I don't want to burden others in need of help by capitalizing you guys too much. I am a never-give-up kind of guy, but not at the expense of others.

Thanks for your continued patience; kind regards to all of you, my new friends .

Actually that is what I did during my first failed attempt. When I made the DVDRom first to boot, then put the Windows 7 Pro installation CD in the functioning DVDRW and pressed enter, the Boot Screen flashed the Boot Sequence so fast it could not be read, then opened in my default Operating System. I tried that several times, because it did not make any sense, then finally gave up thinking it was part of the virus program.

Actually, I have never been so closed out of an Operating System. I hope there are additional things to try. In any event when you explained I would lose my other Operating System if I reinstalled Windows 7 fresh, I decided to not do that.

If that becomes the case, I have already put a feeler in the Other Operating System's forum for help getting a Virtual Machine installed in the other system. If that is possible without losing the OS in the process, it may be the required cure.

I have plenty of space on my drives to keep the infected OS in my computer, and will, just in case the virus becomes easier to deal with in the future, but it is useless for me now.

I will wait to see if anyone has anything new that I can try. Thanks again for all the kind help.

Steven

 

[cottonball]

I attempted to install my copy of the Windows 7 repair disk. I had the same problem; my other operating system opened instead.

Does the UEFI settings screen allows you to disable Secure Boot?
To my understanding, it prevents the Windows 7 operating systems from booting.

Looks as if a bootable System Repair USB flash drive is the last option we can try, if the Secure Boot option is already disabled and the CDs did not boot. However, the Secure Boot issue may be a factor here also...


How to Get and Use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31541-windows-7-usb-dvd-download-tool.html

How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html

 

[Shabakthanai]

I have a new problem that must be repaired prior to continuing. I purchased additional Ram for my computer. My programs open but lock up if I select any link. I have to restart many times to get the system running again. G.Skill has given me instructions that require my learning how to follow their instructions. I can remove the new memory, which will probably solve the problem, but I am old and my computer is extremely heavy, and I recently overtaxed myself physically, so I need a day or two before I even do that. Please forgive the interruption, I did not anticipate having problems with the new memory or I would have waited to install.