Author Topic: XP Got Fried  (Read 7677 times)

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billnc

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XP Got Fried
« on: February 25, 2004, 11:48:22 PM »
Hey,

      Sunday Night, I had my daughter install avast! on her laptop at school.  The installation locked her computer running XP.   We managed to boot in safe mode & uninstall avast! and the computer worked fine again.  

     I've been running avast! for a few months on my home computer.  (No connection to my daughter's.)  Tuesday, after the automatic update installed, MY computer locked up and eventually I had to reinstall XP.   I lost 10 years worth of .doc files.

    I have been highly recommending avast! to friends and neighbors, but this has really shell-shocked me.  Did anyone else have this problem, or was it just me?

-Bill

whocares

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #1 on: February 25, 2004, 11:55:13 PM »
Hi,

do or did you have another antivirus on the 2 PC's ?

why did you lose DOC-Files?
if you didn't have a backup, it would have been wise to either REPAIR or over-install XP, not format the disk or overwrite it with the rescuedisk
 ???

billnc

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2004, 12:26:53 AM »
Thanks for the reply.

No, I did not have another anti-virus on either computer as far as I know

I have no clue as to how I lost the .doc files.  I did not reformat the hard drive and I did not use the rescue disk.  I simply restarted my computer with my Windows XP Upgrade CD in the machine.

I reinstalled XP once before, about 5 months ago & didn't lose a thing.  That's why I was shocked that my .doc files were gone.

All of my other files and other programs are there intact.

I've never partioned my hard drive, but would XP have done this?  Is it possible that those files are still somewhere on my drive?

Thanks again for your reply.


MHJ

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2004, 12:30:47 AM »
@ Bill

Losing your .doc files is not a problem of the avast! creators, sorry.
It's your failure as it's always recommended to do backup's. If you have only 1 harddrive, you could make 2 partitions (C:/D:) and safe your .doc files etc. to your d: directory, as it's normally that the operating system is installed at drive c:
If you have to do a clean install you can easily do a format c: and nothing is lost!

Even that's not a perfect solution but better than nothing.
You can use any other media to backup too (CD-R's, disks etc.)

Offline Lisandro

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2004, 02:08:07 AM »
Bill, we fell sorry with you  :'(
But you said: I've been running avast! for a few months on my home computer... This problem could not be related to avast!

Can we do anything for you now?  :-\
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Offline Vlk

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2004, 07:21:56 AM »
Bill,

1. Since youre daughter's laptop locked up immediately after avast installation I pretty much guess there was some other AV software installed on that machine (NAV2003?). Anyway, the problem that is of greater concern now is your machine and your docs, right?

2. In most cases, it's still possible to recover lost data. There are couple of rules you need to follow:

    a) prevent writing any files to the disk
    b) don't surf too much as the browser needs to maintain the cache and this means writing to disk
    c) don't run scandisk/checkdisk or any disk defragmenter!!! (btw do you use any disk defragmenter?)

Tell us more about the config: in which folder were the DOC files stored? One or multiple folders? Are these folders still accessible or are they also gone? Are all the files that were inside the folders gone, or is it just some of them?

Thanks
Vlk
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Offline RejZoR

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2004, 07:27:40 AM »
Use this free tool to recover lost files:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html

You can search for lost files by filename or by doc wildcard (*.doc).
Hope this will help.

And read Vlks advice,because its very important,so you won't lost even more possibly recoverable data!
« Last Edit: February 26, 2004, 07:28:02 AM by RejZoR »
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Offline Vlk

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2004, 07:49:15 AM »
You can use Kato's Restoration -- it's OK (but definitely not the best) BUT following my advice a) above, you should download it on another machine and 'install' it to a floppy (or a seconday disk or USB flash or something, if you have one). Otherwise you're risking you'll overwrite the data.
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving's not for you.

billnc

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2004, 11:23:07 AM »
Praise the Lord and Props to People with Technical Smarts!

The restoration program worked!!!!!!  It found my .doc files - all 2044 of them!  I had to copy them to my wife's computer one by one, and it took about 4 hours, but was it ever worth it.

Thanks for everyone's emphathy and especially to RejZoR for your post.

My original motive for posting was to be a head's up, in case there was some problem with the lastest avast! update.  I know that avast! didn't lose my files, but I did experience back to back severe lock-ups on two separate computers - one immediately after a new avast! install and the other within an hour of the latest avast! update.  

I am just so grateful that y'all were able to help.  Thanks again!!

Offline Vlk

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2004, 11:33:40 AM »
Quote
but I did experience back to back severe lock-ups on two separate computers - one immediately after a new avast! install and the other within an hour of the latest avast! update.  


OK I'm glad you've got the data back. Now let's focus on the locks up.

As about your daughters laptop, I'd like to know if there's some other AV installed or not. That's a vital question here.

About the lock up of your machine... well, it happened just after the virus database update (yesterday)? Is this the first time it happened? Are you using avast home or pro? what mail client do you use?

Thanks
Vlk
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Ragnar

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2004, 08:35:19 PM »
Hmm planning on trying out avast on xp, lots of trouble with norton i think.
should i uninstall spysweeper adaware etc, or only strict anti-virus programs?

Offline RejZoR

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2004, 08:48:57 PM »
No,no need to remove Ad-aware and similar programs! They work great with Avast!
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billnc

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #12 on: February 26, 2004, 10:56:23 PM »
Dear Vlk,

     I'll have to check my daughter's computer when she comes home from school.  She definitely had no other anti-virus software visibly running.  It's a laptop purchased 07/2002.  It's conceivable that it had some "free-trial" anti-virus on it and it's conceivable that it was somehow running in the background.

   As for my computer, it happened within an hour of the avast! update on Tuesday, February24th.  It is the first time it had happened.  I was running avast! Home.  I use Pegasus Mail connecting to a  pop3 server.   I did not have Outlook protection running, but all of the others.  

     I greatly appreciate everyone's respones and efforts.  My goal, again, is to help.  I want avast! to be wildly successful.  It's clearly a great program and it's an awesome thing that an individual user can get it & keep it current for free.

Datagg

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #13 on: February 27, 2004, 12:53:47 AM »
Vik just a thought,  some of those free virus scan sites that actual force you to install some code on your computer to apply the free scans. It wouldnt show up as a program installed, but like a hidden plugin. Maybe this could be a problem that he may have had.  Just thinking of some possible scenerios....
« Last Edit: February 27, 2004, 12:57:20 AM by Datagg »

Summoner Yuna

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Re:XP Got Fried
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2004, 12:58:16 AM »
Quote
some of those free virus scan sites that actual force you to install some code on your computer to apply the free scans. It wouldnt show up as a program installed, but like a hidden plugin.

I have used bitdefender and trend's online scanners and they caused no problems