32 replies to this topic

[Anileve]

Whatever rocks your boat...

By the way I refuse Azat (your are so evil sometimes, Gawd!) to reinstall windows, I mean it's only a stupid browser hijacker and it is active through IE and I always use firefox. The problem is that I still get occasional popups, and that's very unusual for firefox. I haven't tried purging my registry in safe mode, that's my next step when I get to work tomorrow.

Garo thanks for the tips, I will definitely try them and report to you immediately, and I think repairing might do the trick.

Fadyush, it's weird that you have contracted that same filth, aren't you using Linux?

[DominO]

Whatever rocks your boat...

By the way I refuse Azat (your are so evil sometimes, Gawd!) to reinstall windows, I mean it's only a stupid browser hijacker and it is active through IE and I always use firefox. The problem is that I still get occasional popups, and that's very unusual for firefox. I haven't tried purging my registry in safe mode, that's my next step when I get to work tomorrow. 

Garo thanks for the tips, I will definitely try them and report to you immediately, and I think repairing might do the trick.

Fadyush, it's weird that you have contracted that same filth, aren't you using Linux?

Never had the time to install Linux finally. You know how lazzy I am.

[Anileve]

Jes, you are so lazy that you spell "lazzy" with two "z's". Now that's LAZY!

[Anileve]

Well I didn't succeed in removing the darn thing. I have a Trojan start page that gets deleted by my firewall every time it loads. For know I have to live with it. I spend hours with my Safe mode cleaning the registry, it was fine for a while then it loaded again. There is something running that I cannot detect.

Now a different question. I promised my friend that I was going to install a dvd burner into his Gateway laptop. Now I realize that it may be not as simple as I first thought. Has anyone done this? Should I attempt to do it myself or have it done? What do you guys recommend? I think the shop he took his laptop to offered to install a CD burner for a $100, I was the one to talk him out of it. So what do you computer geniuses recommend? Thanks for all of your input! You kick arse.

[vava]

I installed a DVD burner for a friend of mine - followed the instructions out of the box, and didn't run into any real problems. Mind you, I was replacing a DVD burner with another one. I don't know if that made things easier.

[Anileve]

Thanx vava. There is an existing CD drive, so that will make things easier. Can you recommend any DVD burners that are good for laptops? I have an excellent Plextor for my PC, but I don't think they produce those for laptops. Plus, would a Gateway laptop be compatible with other hardware? I know, I have to do my research, but I figured some of you experts may save me some time.

[armjan]

Well I didn't succeed in removing the darn thing.  I have a Trojan start page that gets deleted by my firewall every time it loads. For know I have to live with it. I spend hours with my Safe mode cleaning the registry, it was fine for a while then it loaded again. There is something running that I cannot detect.

Now a different question. I promised my friend that I was going to install a dvd burner into his Gateway laptop. Now I realize that it may be not as simple as I first thought. Has anyone done this? Should I attempt to do it myself or have it done? What do you guys recommend? I think the shop he took his laptop to offered to install a CD burner for a $100, I was the one to talk him out of it. So what do you computer geniuses recommend? Thanks for all of your input! You kick arse.

i should really know my role and not comment on hardware, but it looks like this might help.
aren't most external cd drives using some usb/firewire connectivity?
the good news is, if it's not usb/firewire, there is a very small subset of hardware that is compatible with the laptop in question. The best thing to do is to buy it from the manufacturer of the laptop.

Edited by armjan, 25 May 2005 - 08:03 PM.

[vava]

Doh! Wait!! You're talking about replacing the DVD in a laptop??
Sorry, I must have misread - I have only worked with laptop/hardware when replaceing hard drives, adding memory, and adding an internal wifi card. That's it. I was referring to a desktop - and this seems like it may be more complicated (and it'll take little nimble fingers which I don't have.)

[Anileve]

Vava jan, I've installed several DVD burners on desktops it's a thrill. However, I never ever did anything with laptops. I own a super ancient one myself which is buried under my bed. My desktops are the only ones I utilize, I like big machines. Aaaand I have little fingers, but due to my inexperience I don't want to feck it up.

Armjan, so you suggest that I purchase one from Gateway? Is it better to just take it to the manufacturer and let them upgrade it? I've never worked with Gateway so I don't know how to deal with their products, let alone a laptop. I can always get an external usb one, but the question of compatibility arises again. Should I call Gateway and question them?

[vava]

I have a feeling that with laptops, form factor and cable placement/cable type are a big deal. I had purchased a CDWR for one of our servers (in a 1U box) and had to buy a different cable since the form of the new one wasn't exactly like the old one. It was a bit longer, so the cable had to 'fold' around a corner and the old one was a couple of mm too short.

With laptops, I imagine you may run into similar problems. Not to mention that in some laptos, the plastic casing and cover is built right onto the drive - essentially forcing you to replace it with the original manufacturer's equipment. I would suggest seeing what gateway has to offer for that particular model of laptop to ensure the right fit and compatibility...

100$ doesn't seem like a steep price to pay to avoid all the hassle IMO.

v

[Anileve]

You have a good point. I think the right solution would be to go through Gateway. I don't want to mess up his laptop.

By the way $100 is only for a CD burner, not a DVD burner. Do you think it's worth it?

Edited by Anileve, 26 May 2005 - 11:43 AM.

[Anileve]

Here are some thing you can try
- Keep System Restore off while you're cleaning up your computer
- Use System Restore to rollback any system changes made recently
- Create a new user account and see if it keeps loading the module
- Connect you hard drive to another computer and then scan it or
you can try to make BartPE bootable CD with anti-virus and anti-spyware modules included and use it to access your drive and scan it without loading your infected Windows. http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

- Reinstall Windows with Repair option

Never heard of BartPE, sounds interesting. Those are some great tips Garo, I think I'll take the shortcut and reinstall windows with repair option. I found that that option seems to work for many other things. I remember when I was transferring a HD from one PC to the next, I kept getting the blue screen, with that option I got it working like a charm.

[armjan]

Armjan, so you suggest that I purchase one from Gateway? Is it better to just take it to the manufacturer and let them upgrade it? I've never worked with Gateway so I don't know how to deal with their products, let alone a laptop. I can always get an external usb one, but the question of compatibility arises again. Should I call Gateway and question them?

hi,
most usb devices sold today is usb 2.0 compatible. If the laptop is over 1.5 yr old, it may be using usb 1.x.

usb connectivity will suffer speed delays, but you don't have any alternative.
firewire is bit faster but then most non-mac laptops don't support it.

my recommendation would be to buy a usb external driver if usb 2.0 is supported by laptop.