Fixing my own computer

8:30PM So I've learned that fixing other people's computers seems to be so much easier then fixing my own. I guess this typically goes to the fact that I do more with my computers then most people do so I spend more time with a brick then I do with a functional computer. For example I'm trying to reinstall windows onto my gaming PC so that I can go back to my favorite games that I have spent so much of my time on and just don't play well on my laptop. Among these are STO (Star Trek Online), Diablo 3, TF2 (Team Fortress 2) and a few others that are more casual games that I pick up and put down many times. Well the most recent issue is that the OS (windows 7) installs onto the C drive without any issues but because the drive is partitioned I run into so many issues with fixing the master boot record and since I don't really mess with that kind of stuff I run into so many issues with having to Google the next step so I quit before I get to far. Hopefully this post will be the beginning of the end of these issues. I don't plan on just typing this up all in one go it's going to be more a chronological run through the night which each new paragraph being that time between looking up steps and testing them out. hopefully I don't brick my 1TB hard drive or loss all my data since I really can't back up the information. Surgeon General doesn't suggest doing this if you don't have a clue what to do. I probably learn how true that is before the end of the night.

9:45PM So I've gone through the whole type this type that check and that had no effect on how the system is set up. So now I'm going to the format both the MBR partition and the c drive partition I hope this is what does it. This will teach me to no make a recovery disk for my system. <.<

11:14PM so yeah that was a waste of time data and so much more. i formatted both the partitions that i thought were the issue then tried to reinstall which failed after that I made a second attempt to install and that failed too. so i then decided to remove the 1 TB hard drive and install a spare 80gb SATA that I have booted up the system and watched as windows 7 ultimate popped up on the screen before my very eyes. now let us remember that i formatted 2 of the partitions on the 1 TB and here I insert 1x80GB SATA hard drive that some how has windows 7 ultimate on it. Needless to say I'm still kicking myself for this because I have accomplished the most stupid act ever. maybe I didn't loss everything on that format and fixing my new issue will be easier then this last one.



That was so stupid. By the way this is a how my night went. So yeah going to tuck my tail between my legs and go fix the new issue of trying to make my system boot with the hard drive in it. Then reinstall all my games since i know that is a possibility.

The point when you know you've almost lost your mind.

Dear WiFi card,

I know this comes at a great disappointment to both of us but I'm going to have to let you go. You have lost to many connections in the past month and I'm tired of having to hit the refresh button 30 times just to view a site. If you straighten up your act and start working right I won't be required to find a replacement for you.

Sincerely;
Your Owner

I posted this to FaceBook but realized it was more suited for Blogger.

Caffeine plus 3am work schedule makes for a very good time to post random and seemingly stupid things for the world to see. I find this extremely stress relieving and it's funny how it puts stuff into perspective.

The FBI moneypak ransom Trojan/Virus scare

     So about a month ago I got the greatest scare I could have ever imagined. My trusted laptop that I use for research, tech work, and various other task came under the attack of a very annoying lockout virus/Trojan. I read through the text carefully then plugged in my trusty boot-able thumb drive, running the newest version of Ubuntu. After rebooting my laptop, I started researching what could have locked me out of my laptop. Using keywords like FBI, MoneyPak, ransom, and so on. I came across a few pictures that looked like the screen that had locked me out of my system so I began researching the title that was given on the webpage "FBI MoneyPak Ransom Virus". I went through a few websites that said to just run a virus scanner on a boot-able drive or other childish nonsense like paying the fee because it was from the FBI. 

     After a few days of running scans from all manners of different thumb drive sources none of which had any effect, which I still find odd, the system wasn't fixed. I decided to make a few attempts to log on to the computer and start a virus scan before the computer finished running through the boot-up process. On the last attempt I noticed that the wireless switch was in the off position on the laptop and since I hadn't tried this approach to fixing my issue I allowed it to fully boot. Ten minutes later the lockout virus/Trojan still hadn't popped up. This allowed me to understand the basic running of the virus/Trojan.

Basically:

1. As soon as the computer attempts to connect to the internet it prompts the virus/Trojan to activate.
2. Once a connection is established it runs the next portion which is to lock you out, but if the connection is not made it halts the virus.(This lets me know that the virus doesn't store IP information on infected system or if it does it needs an open connection to fully activate)
3. Once active it blocks out all other programs to do anything but look pretty on the hard drive.
4. This is very annoying and it has to be destroyed.

This whole story brings me to the easiest fix so far:

1. Disconnect the computer from the internet so that when it attempts to connect it can't. Best thing to do is remove the wireless card, ethernet cable, flip the switch or any other means of a physically disconnecting from the internet. (This is so far the only quick means of getting through the boot process without being locked out.
2. Next, open up network settings and proceed to remove the current connection settings from your system. For example if your at John Doe's house and his network connection information is saved under that name delete that information and then reconnect. This will reset your IP address. (fast and efficient for the moment). 
3. Search for a virus scanner online since you probably don't have one installed (I do now, I'm running malwarebytes free edition all I really need)
4.  Before the virus can catch up run a virus scan using your favorite scanner. The virus should pop up in the scanners result section. After that just go ahead and remove the virus from the system, allow the system to reboot and you're done.

As I said this happened to me about a month ago and my system is still running nicely which is why I am writing up this blog about it. If you know of anything better that would help out in the future please leave a comment. Please share this with your friends, techs, and just help to spread the knowledge.