boot

Infopackets Reader Richard W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I took your advice and purchased Acronis True Image to backup my computer's hard drive (using disk image backups). My question is: how can I be sure the disk image backups are not corrupt and will ... properly restore, if and when I need to do a restore? What is the best way to do a test restore of a disk image backup? " My response: You are not the only person to ask me how to restore a disk image backup -- and it's an excellent question to ask. The simple answer is that you need to run through the entire process of a restore ... (view more)

Tech giant Cisco has warned that a new strain of malware is designed to render a Windows computer virtually useless if it's discovered by security software - effectively executing a boobytrap payload that eventually destroys all user data on the ... hard drive. Cisco says that Rombertik has "multiple layers of obfuscation and anti-analysis functionality" meaning that it is hard to discover and hard to examine. It's able to hide itself from both static and dynamic analysis, which respectively scan a computer's files and its currently active applications. (Source: cisco.com ) ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Anne F. writes: " Dear Dennis, After a Windows Update, my laptop rebooted and then displayed a blue screen of death (BSOD) with the error message CRITICAL SERVICE FAILED. After that, the computer reboots and goes into a continuous ... loop -- I am not able to get into Windows at all. I used various repair discs and managed to gotten rid of the CRITICAL SERVICE FAILED message, but now my computer boots into a black screen with the message No Operating System Found. When I use one of the downloaded repair disks, I see my C drive and Windows 8 is still on there, so I don' ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve W. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your articles on how to reset the admin password in Windows XP , and Windows 7 and 8 . I have a friend who is locked out of his Windows Vista machine and was wondering if the instructions ... for resetting the admin password are similar? If not can you tell me how to reset a user account password for Windows Vista? " My Response: Resetting an admin or user password for Windows Vista uses similar methods previously discussed. Note that if you can login as the "Administrator" user, you can also use this account to reset any user password ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill F. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your article on how to reset the admin password for Windows 7 and 8 . I have an old Windows XP machine and can't login because I lost my password. Do you have similar steps on how to reset ... the admin password for Windows XP? " My response: The steps to reset the administrator password for Windows XP is different than what what was previously described in the article for Windows 7 and 8. Note that if you can login as the "Administrator" user, you can also use this account to reset any user password on the system. So, the steps below ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'TNStumbler' writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running Windows 7 Pro and my computer takes too long to start -- upwards of 85 seconds or so. I am running Malware Bytes Pro (paid version) and it has not found any malware. So, it must be ... that too many programs are being loaded during boot. Which programs can I remove from my startup? " My Response: There are plenty of utilities out there that can help you remove items from the startup. I personally prefer to use msconfig because it's already part of Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. It's very simple to use, though figuring ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Frank' writes: " Dear Dennis, I was wondering if I can hire you to fix a laptop with a ransom virus infection. The reason I'm asking is because as soon as the system boots up, the virus is there [with a message stating the ... computer has been locked down]. There is no desktop, meaning I can't open anything. What can I do? " My response: Unfortunately, if you cannot boot into the Windows desktop, then I cannot dial into the laptop to fix it via remote desktop support . The virus you have may be repairable depending on what you're infected with, and whether or not the virus is ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Frank P. writes: " Dear Dennis, A friend of mine has a malware (or a virus) on his computer and can't get rid of it. He has tried to download various malware removal utilities online (such as malwarebytes antimalware, etc), but ... his web browser appears to have been hijacked and subsequently, malwarebytes won't download. What can he do to remove the malware? " My Response: Some malware will purposely block websites (such as malwarebytes) to prevent you from downloading and removing the infection. The easiest way to get rid of pervasive malware is to boot ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'rbruner' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have an older, but still viable Systemax XP computer that was upgraded to Windows 7 . The problem is that the unit powers down within a few minutes of powering on. I have already replaced the ... motherboard and power supply , kept the CPU (an AMD 4400+, circa Q4 2008). When I boot into safe mode, the unit is operational, but but if I boot up Windows 7 normally or insert a Ubuntu Linux Live CD, my PC will crash. Should I try another CPU? " My response: Based on what you're telling me, the issue might be hardware-related, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ron S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I want to do a clean re-install of Windows 7 Pro. I want the best available information [on which steps I should take during] ... the install sequence of everything, especially [how I should install] ... the motherboard drivers ... What [do you suggest]? " My response: There's plenty of step-by-step guides on the Internet that explain how to install Windows - you simply need to search Google. For the most part, re/installing Windows 7 is as easy as inserting the install media (Windows 7 DVD) into the computer, reboot the machine, ... (view more)