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My PC is in trouble, and I need help.

post #1 of 26
12/18/09 at 10:05am
Thread Starter 
I am typing this from my HTC Hero, I hope someone can help...

My PC got screwed by a virus which systematically ate most of my .exe files at random.

Malwarebytes anti malware and MS Security Essentials couldn't get rid of it before it ruined explorer.exe and taskmgr.exe

As you'd expect, I have the following (and more) to lose:

Music
College coursework
Software
Movies (lots)
Game saves
Bookmarks
Half completed torrents.

My hard drives are in RAID 0 so I can't just stick em in another PC, and I obviously can't wipe em.

A friend suggested Ubuntu on an extra partition, but I know nothing about Linux, and little about partitions.

I am a student so I can get Windows 7 quite cheap, but I'd also need MS Office.

Should I somehow install an extra OS and back things up to restore after getting Windows 7, or somehow repair XP Pro, or just switch to Linux?

It would need to run Maya 2009/2010 if I got Linux, and the compatible drivers would need to make as good as or better use of my EVGA GTX 285 SSC.

Also could anyone please tell me why my 640GB RAID 0 says the capacity is only 593GB?

How do I get myself out of this mess...? I have a lot of work to do, most of which can't just be done on any old PC.

Thanks a bunch for reading this far, I hope someone can figure this out.
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post #2 of 26
12/18/09 at 10:10am
Save critical data on raid0... I'm going to lol to death! One thing you maybe can do is restore your windows installation with the windows CD or reinstall a new windows over your current installation (might lead to some data-loss).

Next time: Windows on a separate partition, don't save your data on raid0 if it's important unless you back it up on a external storage.
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post #3 of 26
12/18/09 at 10:29am
Well yeah... Raid 0 is a universe ending fail waiting to happen.
Before you do anything at all I would get some serious backups happening.
Loosing an array of data is a complete pita (personal-stupidity experience there).

Decide on your desired backup solution, get a live linux dvd (your os has a virus right?), back up that data.
Once that is done figure out a more reliable solution that fits you and use which ever os you want.
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post #4 of 26
12/18/09 at 10:32am
Thread Starter 
The PC came in RAID 0, and I didn't have an/cash for an external HDD of that size before the Windows disk disappeared from its sleeving.
I dont know how to remove this virus, as it'll wreck a repaired install within minutes. I was hoping Linux wasn't .exe based so one of its compatible antiviruses could clean it out.
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post #5 of 26
12/18/09 at 10:38am
Get a Ubuntu Live CD and use it to save your ass.
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post #6 of 26
12/18/09 at 11:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Speex View Post
Yeah pretty much. This has helped me on several client pcs. Only god knows what kind of **** they were attempting to watch
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post #7 of 26
12/18/09 at 11:00am
Thread Starter 
Thanks.
Well if I back up my data to wipe them and get a new OS I'll reformat them to individual drives, installs and OS on one, media on the other. I want to try Linux as an OS but I don't think Maya will run on it, and games/drivers might he an issue. I'll check it the Ubuntu link now.

*update*

I clear out duplicates, copy/paste/rename a lot. That link had a guide on recovering filessaying files deleted in windows would show up, AND RENAME/REORGANISE ALL MY FILES. That isn't really an option, I'm sure you music collectors/lovers will understand. It seems I need to remove the virus in Linux, fix Windows, back things up to my external, and reformat to a fresh install, with separate drives.
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post #8 of 26
12/18/09 at 2:57pm
As suggested above, download and burn an Ubuntu live cd. You'll be able to boot into Ubuntu Linux without making any changes to your computer and you should be able to see/copy all the files on your RAID array from there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by P4Z View Post
Also could anyone please tell me why my 640GB RAID 0 says the capacity is only 593GB?
~7% of capacity is lost due to the different definition of a gigabyte between the hard drive manufacturer (1000MB) and the computer (1024MB). Another source of lost space is lost due to the filesystem that keeps track of what's being stored.

And finally, please do get a backup drive. Your hard drives WILL break. It's not a matter of IF but WHEN.
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post #9 of 26
12/18/09 at 3:04pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks a lot.
Will I need to download software to burn an image file from my friends pc, or is it as simple as burning a data cd?
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post #10 of 26
12/18/09 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by P4Z View Post
Thanks a lot.
Will I need to download software to burn an image file from my friends pc, or is it as simple as burning a data cd?
You can burn a Live CD by using a program like imgburn.
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post #11 of 26
12/18/09 at 5:47pm
Thread Starter 
Can I use a DVD-R/RW?
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post #12 of 26
12/18/09 at 6:42pm
Yes, most Linux distros these days need to be written to a DVD-R.

Something very similar happened to me back in 2002. A virus laid waste to my Windows box and nothing could save it. So I took the box to a friend's place where we backed up the drive onto another drive.

Then we wiped the hard drive and installed Red Hat 7.3. From there, we pulled files off the copy and dropped them into my personal directory.

RH7.3 was a lot rougher around the edges than current distros, so it took me about a month to get up to speed. After I knew how to run Linux, I felt comfortable and kept running it. The only time Linux has given me trouble is in initial setup with new hardware. I've occasionally struggled to get video cards working and the occasional dependency. However, once you get it up it stays up.

I haven't checked for awhile, but my Linux box has somewhere north of three years of uptime. I've been meaning to upgrade the hardware and software, but you know that saying about things that ain't broke.

I've had similar good luck with OS X, as well, except that it'd force you to buy new hardware.
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post #13 of 26
12/18/09 at 8:36pm
How will he mount the raid0 partition in linux? For me my raids appears as separate drives in linux. Is it possible to use mdadm on the drives when they are formatted as ntfs without data loss?
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post #14 of 26
12/18/09 at 10:09pm
Thread Starter 
I am now really scared of attempting to use my Linux cd in case I bugger my HDDs and their contents.
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post #15 of 26
12/18/09 at 10:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bredin View Post
How will he mount the raid0 partition in linux? For me my raids appears as separate drives in linux. Is it possible to use mdadm on the drives when they are formatted as ntfs without data loss?
Many modern RAID controllers should either have support under the latest version of Ubuntu or even provide a virtual disk to the OS. Mdadm manages software RAID arrays which are an abstraction created upon individual drives that aren't paired by the system's RAID BIOS. He won't have to worry about that.
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