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Ø Things you can do when Windows XP won't boot

Ø How do I know I have a spyware on my computer?

Ø How to install Windows XP?

Ø How to Dual boot Windows XP & Windows 2000?

Ø What is a Virus or Worm?

Ø How Does My Computer Get a Virus or Worm?

Ø How Do I Know if My Computer is Infected with a Virus/Worm?

Ø What is Anti-Virus Software?

Ø What Can I Do to Prevent Viruses/Worms from Infecting My System?

Ø What Should I Do if My Computer has a Virus or Worm?

Ø How Do I Know if I Have an Anti-virus Solution Installed on My Computer?

Ø How Do I Update My Anti-Virus Software?

Ø How Do I Scan My System for Viruses?

Ø Helpful Links

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What is a Virus or Worm?

Viruses, worms, and trojan horses are all different types of harmful programs that are sometimes collectively referred to as "malware" (malicious software). If they get onto your computer and “infect” it, they can cause a variety of problems such as the loss of your data or files and the corruption of your installed software programs so they do not work properly anymore.

Viruses hide themselves in other files, which often makes them impossible to detect just by looking at the file itself. Because of this, you need anti-virus software to detect viruses.

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How Does My Computer Get a Virus or Worm?

Two of the most common ways viruses and worms get onto your computer are when files are copied to your computer from e-mail attachments and peer-to-peer file sharing networks or when a worm exploits a vulnerability in your operating system because it is not updated with the latest Windows Update patches.

• Malware Received from Copied Files - Every time you copy a file to your computer you can potentially get a virus or worm. Since the Internet makes it very easy to copy files from one computer to another, viruses have spread more easily as the Internet has become more popular. Most viruses or worms get on your computer from e-mail attachments. Whenever you open an e-mail attachment, you are basically copying the attachment to your computer first and then opening it, which makes it an easy way to spread viruses. Even if you trust the source of the e-mail, they may not know the file they are sending you is infected. Anytime you download a file (for example by using peer-to-peer file sharing programs), the downloaded file can contain malware.

• Malware Received Due to an “Unpatched” Windows Operating System  - If your computer is connected to the Internet and does not have all of the latest updates for your Windows operating system installed, it can be vulnerable to worms without even downloading anything. That is why having your Windows Automatic Updates turned on is so important.

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How Do I Know if My Computer is Infected with a Virus/Worm?

The symptoms of viruses/worms are not consistent so it can be hard to tell if you are infected. Some of the following symptoms may (but do not always) indicate you have a virus:

• Your system suddenly runs much slower
• Your system crashes or locks up often
• Your system restarts often without any interaction
• You see strange error messages or pop-up boxes

The only sure way to tell if your computer is infected, is to run a virus scan of your computer using an up-to-date anti-virus program (see “What is Anti-Virus Software?” section below). It’s very important to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date since new viruses are discovered daily.

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What is Anti-Virus Software?

Anti-virus software is a program that runs on your system that looks for viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. It can prevent them from getting onto your computer, and it can also remove them if they are already there. Anti-virus programs use lists of known viruses to find them on your system. Since new viruses are found daily, it is very important that the anti-virus software has its virus list updated frequently so it can detect the latest viruses. Most anti-virus programs require you to subscribe to receive their up-to-date virus lists. If you have an anti-virus program installed but it is not up-to-date, your system is vulnerable to all new viruses that are in the wild.

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What Can I Do to Prevent Viruses/Worms from Infecting My System?

The best way to prevent viruses is to have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on your system. The anti-virus software can automatically detect the virus and delete it if you have allowed the anti-virus software to run in auto-protect mode. This means that the anti-virus software will automatically scan when you download, open, or install files. In addition to having updated anti-virus software, you can also prevent viruses from infecting your computer by using caution when viewing e-mail attachments or downloading files from the Internet. Only view attachments from people you trust and only download programs from reputable sources

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What Should I Do if My Computer has a Virus or Worm?

Anti-virus software will also assist you in the removal of the virus from your system. In the case of a bad infection, you may need to download a special removal tool that is usually provided by your anti-virus software provider.

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How Do I Know if I Have an Anti-virus Solution Installed on My Computer?

1. First, check to see if you already have an anti-virus application on your computer.

2. If you do not have a subscription to a McAfee, Symantec, or Trend Micro anti-virus application, or you are running a limited time trial anti-virus application, your best option is to upgrade your current security software. Dell recommends the following applications:

3. If you are running an anti-virus application other than McAfee, Symantec, or Trend Micro but you do not have a subscription, your best option is to upgrade your current security software by visiting the website of the software manufacturer of the application you're running. If you prefer, you may purchase a security solution from Dell's Electronics & Accessories website. Dell recommends the following applications:

Note: Do not run more than one anti-virus program at the same time. If you want to try a new anti-virus program, un-install your current program first. Click here for more information on uninstalling software programs.

4. If you do not have an anti-virus solution on your system at all, Dell recommends the following applications:

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How Do I Update My Anti-Virus Software?

Running the update service every couple days will ensure that your computer will detect the most recent viruses and install any program updates that may be available.

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How Do I Scan My System for Viruses?

For information on scanning for viruses, click here.

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Helpful Links

Virus Information from Microsoft

Download Windows Defender

McAfee Technical Support Site

Symantec (Norton) Technical Support Site

Trend Micro Technical Support Site

Scan your system with Windows defender

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If your computer starts to behave strangely or displays any of the symptoms listed below, you may have spyware or other unwanted software installed on your computer.

Here are some signs that you may have spyware or unwanted software on your computer:

· I see pop-up advertisements all the time. Some unwanted software will bombard you with pop-up ads that aren't related to the Web site you're visiting. These ads are often for adult material or other Web sites you may find objectionable. If you see pop-up ads as soon as you turn on your computer or when you're not even browsing the Web, you may have spyware or other unwanted software on your computer.

· My settings have changed and I can't change them back to the way they were. Some unwanted software has the ability to change your home page or search page settings. This means that the page that opens first when you start your Internet browser or the page that appears when you select "search" may be pages that you do not recognize. Even if you know how to adjust these settings, you may find that they revert back every time you restart your computer.

· My Web browser contains additional components that I don't remember downloading. Spyware and other unwanted software can add additional toolbars to your Web browser that you don't want or need. Even if you know how to remove these toolbars, they may return each time you restart your computer.

· My computer seems sluggish. Spyware and other unwanted software are not necessarily designed to be efficient. The resources these programs use to track your activities and deliver advertisements can slow down your computer, and errors in the unwanted software can make your computer crash. If you notice a sudden increase in the number of times a certain program crashes, or if your computer is slower than normal at performing routine tasks, you may have spyware or other unwanted software on your machine.

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1. Use a Windows startup disk

2. Use Last Known Good Configuration.

3. Use System Restore

4. Use Recovery Console

5. Fix a corrupt Boot.ini

6. Fix a corrupt partition boot sector

7. Fix a corrupt master boot record

8. Disable automatic restart

9. Restore from a backup

10. Perform an in-place upgrade

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1:Use a Windows startup disk
Copy the following three files from the drive C to the startup disk:

· Boot.ini

· NTLDR

· Ntdetect.com
Insert the startup disk and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to reboot the computer.

Use Last Known Good Configuration

· Press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete]. To reboot your computer

· when you see a message on the screen or hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options menu.

· Select the Last Known Good Configuration from the menu and press [Enter].
You get only one shot with the Last Known Good Configuration feature. In other words, if it fails to revive your Windows XP on the first attempt, the backup copy is also corrupt.

Use System Restore
With system Restore, you can revert your system and configuration to an earlier date.

· To access System restore, Click the Start menu button, All Programs | Accessories | System Tools menu, and select System Restore.

Use Recovery Console

· Boot from the Windows XP CD, insert it into the CD-ROM and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to reboot the computer

· Once you are at the windows XP setup screen , press R to start the Recovery Console.

· It displays the default windows folder and prompts you to choose the operating system.

· Press the menu number on the keyboard, and you’ll be prompted to enter the Administrator’s password. You’ll then find yourself at the main Recovery Console prompt.

Fix a corrupt Boot.ini

· As Windows XP starts to load, the Ntldr program refers to the Boot.ini file to determine where the operating system files reside and which options to enable.

· So if there’s a problem in the Boot.ini file, it can render Windows XP incapable of booting correctly.
If Windows XP won’t boot, it is because Boot.ini has been corrupted, you can use the special Recovery Console version of the Bootcfg tool to fix it.

· To use the Bootcfg tool, from the Recovery Console command prompt, type Bootcfg /parameter
Where /parameter is one of these required parameters:

o /Add–Scans the disk for all Windows installations and allows you to add any new ones to the Boot.ini file.

o /Scan–Scans the disk for all Windows installations.

o /List–Lists each entry in the Boot.ini file.

o /Default–Sets the default operating system as the main boot entry.

o /Rebuild–Completely re-creates the Boot.ini file. The user must confirm each step.

o /Redirect–Allows the boot operation to be redirected to a specific port when using the Headless Administration feature
The Redirect parameter takes two parameters of its own, [Port Baudrate ] | [UseBiosSettings].

o /Disableredirect–Disables the redirection.

Fix a corrupt partition boot sector

o The partition boot sector is a small section of the hard disk that contains information about the operating system’s file system (NTFS or FAT32), and a very small machine language program that is crucial in assisting the operating system as it loads.

o If y Windows XP won’t boot because the partition boot sector has been corrupted, use a special Recovery Console tool called Fixboot to fix it.

o To use the Fixboot tool, from the Recovery Console command prompt, type Fixboot [drive]:
Where [drive] is the letter of the drive to which you want to write a new partition boot sector.

Fix a corrupt master boot record

o The master boot record occupies the first sector on the hard disk and is responsible for initiating the Windows boot procedure. The master boot record contains the partition table for the disk.and a small program called the master boot code, responsible for locating the active, or bootable, partition, in the partition table.

o Once this occurs, the partition boot sector takes over and begins loading Windows. If the master boot record is corrupt, the partition boot sector can’t do its job and Windows won’t boot.

o If Windows XP won’t boot because the master boot record, use the Recovery Console tool Fixmbr to fix it.

o To use the Fixmbr tool, from the Recovery Console command prompt, type Fixmbr [device_name]
Where [device_name] is the device pathname of the drive to which you want to write a new master boot record.

Disable automatic restart

o When Windows XP encounters a fatal error, the default setting for handling such an error is to automatically reboo.

o When Windows XP begins to boot and you hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options Menu. Then, select the Disable The Automatic Restart On System Failure item and press [Enter].

Restore from a backup

o If you can’t repair a Windows XP you have a recent backup, you can restore the system from the backup media.

o The method you use to restore the system will depend on what backup utility you used

Perform an in-place upgrade

o If you can’t repair Windows XP and you don’t have a recent backup, you can perform an in-place upgrade and reinstall the operating system into the same folder

o Boot from the Windows XP CD. Once you are at the Windows XP Setup screen. Press [Enter] to launch the Windows XP Setup.

o Then press [F8] to acknowledge the License Agreement.

o Setup will then search for previous Windows XP. When it finds the previous installation, you’ll see a second Windows XP Setup screen, as shown.

o It will prompt you to press R to repair the selected installation or to press [Esc] to install a fresh copy of Windows XP. In this case, you’ll need to press R. When you do so, Setup will examine the disk drives in the system. It will then begin performing the in-place upgrade.
Keep in mind that after you perform an in-place upgrade or repair installation, you must reinstall all updates to Windows