Everybody please help! My self-built computer has got crazy. Please seriously read this post and help me. I appreciate everyone who attempts to help me. Spec: (built in 2010 summer) [mobo] MSI 880gma-e45 (latest BIOS version modded long time ago) [cpu] AMD Athlon II x4 (2.8GHz/core), no OC [hdd] Hitachi 500GB (C, D, E drives) [ram] Kingston 2GB*4 dual-channel [power] Antec NeoEco 450w 80plus [dvd] Lite-on DVD writer 24X Symptom of problem: First, I felt that there were detection problems with my mouse. Then I installed Kaspersky IS 2011 with the latest virus definition and carried out a long complete scan on my HDD. It was found that there were 2 trojan horses in the AppData folder so I removed them in Kaspersky. I carried out another scan and I had set it to shut down my PC after scan. However, it had scanned for approx. 8 hours and it NEVER stopped (showing 98%)! I manually stopped it and started another complete virus scan. I was watching some videos and surfing the Internet meanwhile. Then the monitor immediately TURNED BLACK and DISPLAYED NOTHING... WTF!!! The Num Lock key could still be switched on/off but pressing any keys such as Ctrl+Alt+Del was meaningless at all. I was forced to press the reboot button on my PC case but there was still no response. Therefore, I held the power button on my PC case and my PC was finally switched off. Discription of problem: After I switched off my PC, I could NEVER boot my PC to the BIOS screen! Normally, when it booted to the BIOS screen, there was a "beep" sound from the motherboard. However, there was no such "beep" sound after I switched on my PC. The PC was on but NOTHING happened to the monitor screen, the keyboard lights, only the optical mouse' light was on and the light on my PC case. The DVD writer could be opened. Question: How can I help my PC from booting? I want to get at least my data back. Did Kaspersky IS 2011 mess things up? Was my PC infected with BIOS viruses? How to tackle the problem? Was there a possibility that there were bad sectors in my HDD? Please suggest some ways to fix it. Thank you!!!
Boot from windows PE. This can be the win7 disk or usb or any other pe like MS-DART. You can also use Hiren CD or active@boot. Basically anything that provides a command line/ graphical interface so that you can copy off your data to an external device (that data may be infected, so scan it later). After that, reinstall windows and your drivers and apps.
Thank you venu for your quick reply but I have to ensure that you know my situation, which is, my PC cannot enter BIOS. Given that I have tried pressing F2, F10, F11, Tab, Delete after switching it on, I still cannot let the monitor show something up. There is no "beep" sound which should be played everytime BIOS is accessed. I think this is greatly related to Kaspersky's scans or BIOS issues. Do you think that I should change/upgrade my motherboard? (or at least get a working BIOS in a motherboard) Is there any way to connect an internal HDD and view its contents on another PC? Thanks in advance.
Open the case and turn on your computer. If the cpu and psu fan is running, psu seems to be OK. If not check psu connectors for bad contact. Assuming psu is running, nail down to cpu and mobo, eliminate by plugging in another cpu (if you have another one). No POST messages usually caused by dead cpu and/or mobo, or under-powering of cpu. Other problems will cause your computer to beep or show messages in POST. Normal software should not cause your problem, or cause your bios to corrupt.
Thank you danny3456 for your reply. Yes, the 2 fans, CPU fan and Power Supply fan, plus another fan in the case (totally 3) are running. Sorry that I'm not so sure what is meant by nail down. I just press the CPU and mobo with some stress, and suddenly the screen pops up the BIOS graphical screen. However, there is nothing more, i.e. my monitor is still displaying the BIOS graphical screen.
Okay, my PC managed to reboot and the monitor displays something like POST messages (I assume I get the meaning of POST message right). Now it says CMOS Checksum Bad. I have 2 options, F1 to run steup or F2 to load default values and continue. Which should I opt? Update: it can run the OS now. Perhaps I really need to update the harware. Thanks for all your help.
I recommend you select F2 load defaults.... Running the OS, then I recommend - at least reboot 2 times to insure reboot to OS works proper. move to Hardware and 1 at a time, delete the drivers, then reboot and let Default drivers be installed... recommend you only do 1 device at a time.... interesting reading on what happened and why... I supect your Full TOTAL SCAN by Kaspersky's is the master problem...
I was also wondering whats going on... I am a "low power user" as I set Windows 7 to optimize for the best performance instead of appearance. Also, I don't play high performance PC games. I use it for surfing the net, sometimes watching videos offline and VMware virtualization. Everything was in good condition before I installed Kaspersky. At that time, the situation was even better than after the 2 trojans were deleted. Later I was able to reboot and I immediately reinstalled Windows 7. Then I tried installing Kaspersky again to see if it was the problem. I updated it to the latest virus definition and did a full scan again. The problem really happened again, totally the same. So now I suspect Kaspersky was the problem. However, I had tried Kaspersky before but no such problem occurs - the system did not crash! Perhaps I should ask for help from the Kaspersky Lab.
Your hardware config seems to be OK, unless your psu has aged. First, clear your CMOS by shortening jumpers. Reboot your system. If not fixed, suspected to be contact problem between cpu and mobo socket. Suggest you to re-install your cpu. Scratch away the AMD thermal grease and re-apply some good one. Release your cpu. Re-position and re-lock it carefully again. When you put back your heat sink and fan, make sure you have not dragged your cpu sideways to create bad contacts.