General Discussion - spyware affecting hardware

Author

spyware affecting hardware

anilgopie

2007-01-21, 10:24 pm

Is it possible for spyware to affect hardware? I was given a PC to try and repair, was told that it has spyware on it. When I went to boot it up, the display is all messed up, it's a Compaq with an onboard video card. And there's no AGP slot for me to even put another video card to try that. I tried hooking up another hard drive and installing WinXP, and then having the hard drive that came w/ the PC as the slave. I installed XP w/ no problems, but after rebooting with the new hard drive I'm getting the same display problems. (lines vertically on the screen in different sections).

Then I hooked back the hard drive that was originally with the PC, which I didn't do anything to as yet. And when I attempt to boot up I get, System32\hal.dll is either corrupt or missing.

ccomputers

2007-01-23, 10:48 am

No that I know off, excepting the case of a modem.

From the brief discription, it sounds more like a Video Card Memory Error, not the base memory, but the additional.

The Video memory could also effect the boot, but I think the Hal.dll has something to do with Ram or failing HDD.

Good Luck

EllenD2

2007-01-30, 4:29 pm

The following is from http://support.microsoft.com

SYMPTOMS
When you start your computer after you upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP, you may receive one or both of the following error messages:

Invalid Boot.ini

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
Windows\System32\Hal.dll

CAUSE
This issue may occur if the Boot.ini file is missing, damaged, or contains incorrect entries.
Back to the top

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, start the computer from the Windows XP CD, start the Recovery Console, and then use the Bootcfg.exe tool to rebuild the Boot.ini file. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Configure the computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. For information about how to do this, see your computer documentation, or contact your computer manufacturer.
2. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.
3. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
4. When you receive the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R to start the Recovery Console.
5. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.
6. When you are prompted, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
7. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press ENTER. The entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen.
8. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER. This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then displays the results. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file. For example, follow these steps to add a Windows XP installation to the Boot.ini file: a. When you receive a message that is similar to the following message, press Y:
Total Identified Windows Installs: 1

[1] C:\Windows
Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)
b. You receive a message that is similar to the following message:
Enter Load Identifier
This is the name of the operating system. When you receive this message, type the name of your operating system, and then press ENTER. This is either Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.
c. You receive a message that is similar to the following:
Enter OS Load options
When you receive this message, type /fastdetect, and then press ENTER.

Note The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.

9. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console. Your computer restarts, and the updated boot list appears when you receive the "Please select the operating system to start" message.

Hope this helps.

EllenD2

2007-01-30, 4:36 pm

Also from http://support.microsoft.com

How to start the Video Display Troubleshooter
If you are already familiar with Windows XP Help and Support Center, you can start the Video Display Troubleshooter automatically. To do so, click here (hcp://help/tshoot/tsdisp.htm).

If you are not yet familiar with Windows XP Help and Support Center, follow these steps to start the Video Display Troubleshooter. These steps will help you become familiar with this feature: 1. Click Start, and then click Help and Support.
2. Under Pick a Help Topic, click Fixing a problem.
3. In the left pane, click Games, sound, and video problems.
4. In the right pane, click Display Troubleshooter.

Hope this helps too.

ccomputers

2007-01-30, 4:46 pm

Hi There

I can forward you a System Recovery Solution that will revert you back to a known good Hold point in the Windows XP installation.

But as the original information indicated, there was a messup with the Video Card, it still leads me to belive a hardware issue.

And if its as I suspect, and something to do with Memory (Ram or Virtual), I think you will still run into hassles.

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