The Gang of Five

Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => Hobbies and Recreation => Computer and Electronics => Topic started by: Shinji-Lee on February 06, 2009, 04:42:08 PM

Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on February 06, 2009, 04:42:08 PM
short and to the point:
a few minutes ago, the entire screen of my laptop turned into pink, darker in shade to the top, lighter to the bottom of the screen. what could it have been and is it serious?
could it have been overheating? my laptop usually gets almost hot after a time...
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: DarkHououmon on February 06, 2009, 05:02:30 PM
I wonder if it means you need a new monitor. But since it's a laptop, not sure if it's possible to change the monitor. Then again, Kylie sent her laptop in to get the keyboard fixed (she had to get a whole new keyboard after one key broke off) so it might be possible.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: landbeforetimelover on February 06, 2009, 05:15:47 PM
It can be one of three problems.  1:  The LCD connector is loose on the motherboard.  This is relatively simple to fix.  2:  The LCD display is going out.  This will cost anywhere from $60 to $300 just for the screen.  3:  The graphics card is going out on your motherboard.  Unless you bought an insanely expensive laptop, the graphics card is probably built into the motherboard.  In that case you'll have to replace the motherboard which will cost anywhere from $100 to $450 depending on your model.  Screen issues with laptops aren't a small thing.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on February 06, 2009, 05:19:57 PM
T_T
if i still have guarantee and send them my laptop, will they fix it 4 free? and am i to expect data loss?
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: landbeforetimelover on February 06, 2009, 05:25:54 PM
Quote
if i still have guarantee and send them my laptop, will they fix it 4 free? and am i to expect data loss?

They'll fix it for free if it's still under warranty.  There should be no danger of data loss in this procedure (unless one of the idiots drops it or something). :p
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on February 06, 2009, 05:29:01 PM
it's a dell and i think those guys know what they do.
but thank you.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Petrie. on February 06, 2009, 08:18:58 PM
Quote from: Shinji-Lee,Feb 6 2009 on  04:29 PM
it's a dell and i think those guys know what they do.
but thank you.
Dell will tell you this but once you turn the computer off, take the hard drive out.  They don't need it and provided you don't do anything stupid (like drop it) you won't lose data.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on July 21, 2009, 05:58:01 AM
A new issue came up.
A window keeps appearing, telling me about Win32.Brontok. I read, it's a worm but i didn't read how to get  rid of it.
my avg free 8.5 atm runs a slow computer scan.

any help, experience or tips? (aside from using linux...)
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Petrie. on July 21, 2009, 08:39:01 AM
I'm pretty sure an antivirus program won't kill a worm.  You'll need something else to get rid of it.  Try Spybot Search and Destroy or AVG's own spyware program.  Those are free.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: DarkHououmon on July 21, 2009, 08:39:55 AM
My best advice for you is to either get Superantispyware or Malwarebytes, make sure they are updated before you run the scan, and perform a full system scan. They should be able to detect the virus and remove it. Or you could let AVG run through the scan, despite it taking so long, and see if it can catch the virus.

Oh and another piece of advice: when running any of the scans, make sure you do it in Safe Mode. Reboot the computer and press F8. If done right, you should get the option to load into Safe Mode. Loading into Safe Mode only loads enough drivers to run the computer. This can disable some malware and make them easier to find and remove.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Petrie. on July 21, 2009, 09:59:30 AM
Correct on SafeMode. :)  Same goes for viruses if you get a virus.  It'll be much slower, but you might have a chance of catching the rogue.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on July 21, 2009, 04:39:30 PM
well, i let both, avg and spybot s&d, run twice.

then i started a scan in safe mode. during that scan the laptop just went off without anything. i started again and first thing i saw was the window telling me the worm again...
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: DarkHououmon on July 21, 2009, 04:46:24 PM
The laptop just turned off? Strange...

Try downloading this tool and running it.

http://www.bitdefender.com/VIRUS-157247-en...ontok.A@mm.html (http://www.bitdefender.com/VIRUS-157247-en--Win32.Brontok.A@mm.html)
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Alex on July 21, 2009, 05:52:10 PM
It's a common worm, simple to get rid of. DarkHououmon already said the solution. Download this :

http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/ (http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/)

Update it before you run it.

If you don't like that one, Avira anti-virus has also been proven to kill it.

OR if the anti-viruses don't work (they will, I'm just being annoying), do this:

Ok I figured it out, I used Process Monitor from Sysinternals available on Microsoft's website. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinte...s/bb896645.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx)

I found a process running that process explorer or task manager will never tell you about. It was called sxkzw965566.exe and was hiding out in the D:\Documents and Settings\Eli\Application Data\Google directory.

I restarted in safe mode (F8) and went to the above path and deleted that file by holding down shift and then pressing delete. Just pressing delete will put it in the recycle bin which you don't want to do.

It also has 4 entries that I found in the registry when I searched for "sxkzw". It is possible it will be named the same but more likely it will have a different name.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\W…

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\nView\WindowManagemen…

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\…

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-515967899-10850312…
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on July 21, 2009, 06:38:31 PM
I just tried the bitdefender and it told something like 'viral hook was found and successfully removed'.
The certain window didn't have appeared since.
I'm praying to the god of the internet that it will stay away.

Thank you guys. seems i'm deeply in your debt.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on July 21, 2009, 06:39:36 PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

it just appeared again...T_T
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: DarkHououmon on July 21, 2009, 06:44:50 PM
Hmm...that's not good. Maybe you could try Malwarebytes next. You might have better luck with it.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Petrie. on July 21, 2009, 07:49:05 PM
Try Malwarebytes first...if it doesn't work, then go and sign up for a free trial of Kaspersky from http://www.kaspersky.com (http://www.kaspersky.com)  I've yet to see anything that Kaspersky cannot kill.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: Shinji-Lee on July 22, 2009, 10:37:25 AM
the scan of bitdefender showed nothing. not even a suspicion.

but malwarebytes just finished and it looks good.

gentlemen, you solved this problem.
Title: kind of a problem, i think
Post by: DarkHououmon on July 22, 2009, 10:44:08 AM
Glad to see things worked out for you. :)