computer expert question needs answering

[81artmonk]

I really need to wipe my computer clean and reformat it since I have viruses and worms and all kinds of crap messing with my comp. I am in the middle of HALO though and don't want to lose my place in the game.

IS there a way to save my saved spot on an external harddrive and wipe my computer clean and than reinstall the game and saved data and be able to pick up where I left off in the game??

[SUSkinsFan]

I really need to wipe my computer clean and reformat it since I have viruses and worms and all kinds of crap messing with my comp. I am in the middle of HALO though and don't want to lose my place in the game.

IS there a way to save my saved spot on an external harddrive and wipe my computer clean and than reinstall the game and saved data and be able to pick up where I left off in the game??

You should be able to move the entire game and all its files directly to the external hard drive, that why when you wipe the hard drive clean you can simply pick up where you left off. A good way to test if this will work or not is to hook the external HD up, move the entire Halo folder into your external, and then open the game from there and see if your progress is saved. If it is, you are good to go. If it isn't there the saved games progress is in another folder and you will have to find that and move it before you wipe the hard drive clean.

[JMS]

If you have viruses then copying the files to an external drive and wipeing the comuter won't fix the computer because it's likely the viruses have already infectied the files which you plan on copying to the external drive. Thus as you back up your Halo program and your data you are also backing up the hardrive.

Rather than wiping your hd and reinstaling the os; you should buy an anti viruse program such as Norton or Macafee and use that to disinfect your HD.

[Baculus]

Most games have save files that can be transferred, and I would doubt if these files would be infected with any type of malware of viruses. But, as suggested, I'd first attempt to clean up your computer in its current state. Try these programs:

Smitfraudfix:

http://siri.geekstogo.com/SmitfraudFix.php

(Make sure to carefully read the instructions for SmitFraudfix. I'd also recommend to disable System Restore as well, via Control Panel > System > System Restore, and selecting "Turn off System Restore on all drivers." And remember to perform your viral removal while in Safemode.)

This program is useful for removing Malware:

Spybot:

http://www.safer-networking.org/

If that doesn't fix the issues, try this as well:

(RogueFix)

http://www.internetinspiration.co.uk/roguefix.htm

Or this app.:

(SmitRem)

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/files/smitRem.php

I always recommend this free anti-virus program:

(AVG anti-virus)

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/

And this for adware:

(Ad-aware)

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2007-Free/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

Hopefully these programs will help to resolve your issue.

[Pedro]

If your internet still works (which obviously it does in this case) go to http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

There you can do an online scan and fix for virus/spyware on your PC.

Always up to date, only uses system resources when you are scanning, free of charge.

[81artmonk]

Thanks for the advice. It is probably malware or spyware that is affecting my comp. I own most of the programs you guys suggested and none of it is completely removing them.

It all started with Kaaza. I loaded it and eventually removed it only to find out that it installed over 150 spyware programs on my computer. I would recommend that NO ONE use kaaza it is a demon program!!!

I wipe my comp every year. It keeps it clean and helps it run smooth as silk. I just don't want to lose my saved progress in HALO.

[mrdoctor]

throw the save files on a floppy. if too large burn a cd. If the files are small you can just upload to your email and format that way.

OR

make a new drive. trasnfer to that new drive. and format c

[Baculus]

Thanks for the advice. It is probably malware or spyware that is affecting my comp. I own most of the programs you guys suggested and none of it is completely removing them.

It all started with Kaaza. I loaded it and eventually removed it only to find out that it installed over 150 spyware programs on my computer. I would recommend that NO ONE use kaaza it is a demon program!!!

I wipe my comp every year. It keeps it clean and helps it run smooth as silk. I just don't want to lose my saved progress in HALO.

I have yet to encounter a workstation I can't clean - try those apps I mentioned, make sure you are in Safemode, and you WILL clean up your 'puter!

[ldysknzfn1]

I have a question that maybe someone can answer for me. I had a malware about a week & half ago and used AVG and spybot to clean it. I'm assuming it's gone b/c the computer is not doing what it was doing before(thank God) but I still a lingering problem. Whenever I try to load a background(right now it's blank(white) )or whenever I come back to the computer after it's been on screensaver or power saver mode, I get this message...Cannot find 'files:///C:/windows/privacy_danger/index.htm Make sure path or internet address is correct. Any ideas on how to correct this or get rid of it?

I was upset b/c my Norton software didn't pick this thing up in the first place. So I d/l'd the AVG freebie and spybot which worked well for cleaning it. But when I researched the infection it stated that these messages like I typed above would show meaning the infection wasn't completely removed and outlined what to do to completely get rid of it. I followed that step by step and I still get this message.

I'm no computer expert so explain to me in terms I can understand please and give me step by step if you can or direct me to somewhere I can read for myself and that way you won't lose time over it.

Thanks for any help or ideas in advance

[Baculus]

You are correct - the malware is probably still present in some form. I would advise to use the Smitfraudfix I posted earlier, which you can also locate via Google. If that doesn't fix it, there are a few other attempts we can try that should resolve it. Incidentally, I'd also make sure to turn off your restore point, temporarily, to ensure the malware isn't lurking about for that reason as well.

[Baculus]

Incidentally, another "clean up" application I have used is AproposFix, which you can download from the following page, which also has additional malware removal tools:

http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/

As a suggestion, if a malware proves to be persistent, it is a good idea to install Hijackthis and post the log, which hopefully will aid in tracking down the nature of the issue.

[ldysknzfn1]

Outstanding! Thanks...I will do this when I get home and post an update. I knew someone here would know the answer to this. I posted this question before but I think it got lost in the thread somewhere. Thanks for reading and responding.