Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Shekaenah on February 23, 2004, 04:54:27 pm

Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: Shekaenah on February 23, 2004, 04:54:27 pm: I need some help here guys. I'm running Windows 98 SE and have some major problems with it. First off, to say the least, it's Microsoft, so that should be some indication of why these things are going wrong. There are a bunch of random .exe files in C:\. Things like mlqddfpfd.exe and [insert random number].exe, and if I try to delete them, they keep coming back. There's problems with rundll32.exe, too. When running AIM, it says something about rundll32.exe not being a valid MS-DOS file and that it may be damaged. So...my question is...well...there's really not a question I must ask except for...CAN ANYONE HELP ME!!?!

Oh and...about formatting. Should formatting be a last resort or should I go ahead and do it now? There's some complications, though..I don't have my original Windows 98 CD's. Is there a way to like restore it back to factory settings? Like format my hard drive but keep my OS. Thanks! :)
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: Odyssey on February 23, 2004, 05:01:02 pm: [color=cc9900]I'm afraid there is no 'factory settings' mode. If you don't have the CDs for a reinstall, a format would leave you up **** creek without a paddle.

As for what's happening, I'd recommend a virus scanner. Try the Trend Housecall online scanner (I'd provide a link, but their server seems to be down. Try here (http://housecall.antivirus.com) later) if you don't have one installed.[/color]
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: aldo_14 on February 23, 2004, 05:07:33 pm: Or AVG http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: Solatar on February 23, 2004, 05:17:15 pm: He's been having trouble lately with a nasty worm tearing apart his HD and has run adaware, spybot, AVG, and a few other random ones but they have all failed to fix it. The control panel is pretty much destroyed, among other things.

I know him personally, and referred him here. We've been trying to fix it for quite some time, but there isn't much we can do.
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: aldo_14 on February 23, 2004, 05:19:07 pm: Sounds like a reinstall is required..... unfortunately can;t think of a way to Id the worm and see what Symantec has to offer on it.
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: Liberator on February 23, 2004, 06:09:52 pm: Do a search for *.cabs in the Windows directory.

They should be in c:\windows\system\options\cabs

Try and get a clean burn of these and you should be able to reinty Windows okay, you'll need your manual.

You may want to start looking for a copy of Windows 2000.
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: kasperl on February 24, 2004, 04:01:52 am: or use Knoppix if you have any files to rescue and a CD-Burner, FTP webspace or a network computer available.
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: StratComm on February 24, 2004, 01:04:59 pm: If it were WinME, I'd say giving System Restore a shot might be worth your time. I don't like it personally and have it turned off on all the machines I work on, but it would provide a shred of hope for fixing the problem. But, with Win98SE, you really don't have that option. It's time for you to find a new OS install, and you're going to have to either buy the full version (not the upgrade one most stores stock) or borrow a friends Windows disks.
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: kasperl on February 24, 2004, 01:45:37 pm: or download redhat.
Title: My computer is royally f*cked.
Post by: SuperCoolAl on February 24, 2004, 04:09:57 pm: Quote
Originally posted by kasperl
or download redhat.

redhat is obsolete, get fedora