Six Windows 7 Nightmares (and How to Fix Them)

[Lewis]

You sit up suddenly in a cold sweat, and scream. But you're in bed, and it was just a bad dream. Sighing with relief, you get up, get dressed, go to work, and turn on your PC.
Then you sit up suddenly in a cold sweat, and scream--but this time, it's not a dream. It's a Windows nightmare.
Compared with its predecessors, Windows 7 is remarkably secure and dependable. It's far from perfect, though: An unbootable PC, a nasty piece of malware, or a single but important file gone missing can make you lose days or even months of work. And you can't solve every nightmare by waking up.
Here are ways out of six common Windows 7 disasters. I'll tell you how to fix a PC that won't boot, retrieve files from an inaccessible hard drive, stop frequent Blue Screens of Death, restore a forgotten administrator password, remove malware, and find a missing file.
1. Your PC Won't Boot

If turning on your PC doesn't bring you into Windows, try booting from a Windows 7 DVD or a recovery disc.
Boot from a Windows 7 System Repair Disc, and you'll find tools to heal an unbootable PC.You may already have the DVD. If Windows 7 didn't come with your computer but you installed it yourself, you have the disc. If you don't have it, you can borrow someone else's disc.
Alternatively you can borrow someone else's Windows 7 computer and use it to create a System Repair Disc (you can also do this on your own PC before it has a problem). To create the disc, click Start, type system repair, select Create a System Repair Disc, and follow the prompts.
If your computer won't boot from the CD, go into its setup screen and change the boot order so that the optical or CD/DVD drive comes before the hard drive. I can't tell you exactly how to do this since it differs from one PC to another. When you first turn on the computer, look for an on-screen message telling you to press a particular key 'for setup'.
If your PC fails before you can enter setup or boot from a CD, you have a hardware problem. If you're not comfortable working inside a PC, take it to a professional.
But let's assume that the CD boots. When it does, follow the prompts. Likely the utility will tell you very soon that there's a problem, and it will ask if you want to fix the problem. You do.
If it doesn't ask you, or if the disc can't fix the issue, you'll see a menu with various options. Startup Repair and System Restore are both worth trying.
2. You Can't Access the Hard Drive

If Windows can't boot because the PC can't read the hard drive, none of the solutions above will work. But that's not the worst of it: Unless you have a very up-to-date backup (and shame on you if you don't), all of your files are locked away on a possibly dead hard drive. Secondary drives you don't boot off of, both internal and external, also can die with important data locked away on them.
If you can't access your hard drive, Recover My Files might be able to do what its name implies.If the drive is making noises that you've never heard before, shut off the PC immediately. In that case you have only one possible solution, and it's expensive: Send the drive to a data-retrieval service. Drivesavers and Kroll Ontrack are the best known, although they're not necessarily better than smaller, cheaper companies. Expect to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If your drive sounds okay, however, you may be able to recover the files for only $70 with GetData's Recover My Files.
If the sick drive is the one you use to boot Windows, you'll have to remove it from the PC and access it on another computer. You can do so by making it a secondary drive in a desktop PC, or by using a SATA-USB adapter such as the Bytecc USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Adapter Kit.
The free, demo version of Recover My Files will show you which files can be recovered (almost all of them, when I tested it) and even display their contents. Once you've paid the $70 license fee, the program can copy the files to another drive. If that doesn't work, you'll need to use a retrieval service.

 

[Lewis]

3. Blue Screens of Death Attack Your PC Regularly

BlueScreenView can show what Windows was doing before disaster struck.One second you're working productively, the next you're staring at a blue screen filled with meaningless white text. If it happens occasionally, you curse, reboot, and get on with your work. If it happens regularly, you have a problem that needs fixing.
Windows 7 keeps logs of these "Stop Errors." (That's Microsoft's term; everyone else calls them "Blue Screens of Death," or BSoDs.) To view the logs and make sense of them, download and run BlueScreenView, a free, portable program by NirSoft (portable means you don't have to install it). The program shows you what drivers were running at the time of the crash, and highlights the likeliest suspects. If the same drivers come up from multiple crashes, you should definitely update them.
Speaking of updating drivers, you should make sure that all of them are current. SlimWare Utilities' free SlimDrivers makes this chore remarkably easy, as it scans Windows and lists which drivers need to be updated. If you register (that's free, too), it will find the drivers and run the update for you. It even offers to create a restore point before each update. Don't update all of your drivers at once, however; if you do, and one of them makes things worse, you'll have a tough time figuring out which one.
Frequent BSoDs can also be a sign of hardware problems, especially bad RAM. Although Windows 7 has its own memory-diagnostics program, I prefer the free Memtest86+, which you have to boot separately. You can download the program either as an .iso file--from which you can create a bootable CD--or as an .exe file that will install the program and its bootable operating system onto a flash drive.
4. No One Has the PC's Administrator Password

If the wrong person leaves your company in a huff, one or more PCs could be left stranded. With no one in the company knowing the password to an administrator-level account, you can't install software, change important settings, or possibly access encrypted data.
Fortunately, you can remove the password, letting you log on to that account. You do that with the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, a bootable, text-based free program that you download as an .iso file. Double-click that file, and Windows 7 will start the process of burning it to a CD.
Sure your drivers are up-to-date? SlimDrivers can automate this otherwise time-consuming job.Boot the CD and follow these instructions. I've put the on-screen prompts in italics. After you type your answer, press Enter.
boot: Just press Enter.
Select: [1]: Above the prompt you'll see a list of hard-drive partitions. Select the right one by typing that number.
What is the path to the registry directory?...: The default is probably correct. Just press Enter.
[1]: 1
What to do? [1] ->: 1
or simply enter the username...: Type the name of the administrator account. If you're not sure what it is, all of the account names are listed above the prompt.
Select: [q] >: 1
Select: ! - quit...: !
What to do [1]: q
About to write file(s) back...: y
New run? [n]: n
# Remove the CD and reboot.
You should now be able to log on to the administrator account without a password. For security purposes, don't forget to create a new password for the account. Just be sure to remember what it is.

 

[Lewis]

5. You Think Your PC Is Infected

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware might catch malicious software that your regular antivirus program missed.Is your computer behaving oddly, slowing down at the wrong time, or refusing to run certain programs? It could be infected with malware. What can you do about that?

If your regular antivirus program--the one you already have up and running--hasn't stopped the questionable software, it probably can't. What you need is a second opinion--and possibly a third and a fourth.
Start with the free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, a utility with an exceptional record of finding and removing malware. Download it, install it, launch it, update the database, and then perform a full scan.
Since installing and updating a cleaning utility are tasks that the infection may interfere with, it's a good idea to follow your Malwarebytes scan with other scans that don't require an installation or even an update.
On someone else's PC, download SuperAntiSpyware Portable and copy it to a flash drive. Boot the infected PC into Safe Mode, plug in the flash drive, and run the program. Since SuperAntiSpyware.com updates the portable program every day or two, you don't need to update it before the scan.
For a fourth opinion, try the F-Secure Rescue CD. This is another .iso file from which you can burn a bootable CD. Just boot from the CD and run the scan. The program will try to update its database over the Internet. If it can't, you can download an update on another PC, put it on a flash drive, and keep that plugged in while running F-Secure on the infected PC.
6. An Important File Disappears

You've been working on a report for six weeks. You have to give the speech tomorrow. The PowerPoint presentation is beautiful. It's perfect. It's...where is it?
Maybe you just moved it to another folder. Click the Start menu, type the file's name, and see what turns up.
Can't find a file? Make sure it didn't wind up in the Recycle Bin.Nothing? Maybe you've renamed it accidentally. Click Start, type a word that's in the presentation but not in many other files, and see if that gets better results. If it pulls up a lot of results, click See more results so that you can sort the found files by date.
No luck? Try the Recycle Bin. Maybe you deleted the file.
Dead end? Don't panic. You can always restore the file from the backup you made yesterday.
You don't back up? I bet you will now. As for the file you desperately need to find today, you'll have to use file-recovery software. Before I discuss specific programs, I need to lay down one absolute rule about using them: Until you've either recovered the file or given up, do not write to your hard drive. Every time you do so, you lower the odds of successfully retrieving the lost file.
Following this rule requires you to use portable file-recovery software. Download the utility on another PC and save it to a flash drive. Plug that drive into your PC, and launch the program from there.
The rule also means that you shouldn't restore your file to its original location. Save it to the flash drive, as well.
With luck, either of the following two utilities will be able to find and recover your missing file. First, try the free Recuva Portable. It's fast and simple, it can preview image formats, and it works reliably most of the time.
If that doesn't work, try Software Shelf's File-Rescue Plus. It costs $40, but you can recover up to five files with the free demo version. Strictly speaking, File-Rescue Plus isn't portable, but you have a work-around. Install it onto another computer, and then copy the program file, FileRescuePlus.exe, to your flash drive. After you pay the $40, use Notepad to create a file called key.ini containing nothing but the license key that Software Shelf sent you after you bought the program. Place key.ini on the flash drive, in the same folder as the program file.
Lost files and other disasters happen. You can take all the proper precautions, and something could still go horribly wrong, plunging you into a Windows nightmare. But follow these tips, and you should enjoy some sweet dreams.
PC World

 

[Nick]

Mate, have I learnt some of this stuff the hard way! :/

 

[tim-from-pa]

And with all this gobbledygook, only reinforces the fixed and steadfast idea in my brain that Microsoft has been selling us overpriced junk for years, and it's time to switch to OS's like to Mac or Linux that has way less malware (usually only the Trojan variety where someone is duped into accidentally loading it as opposed to Microsoft viruses that bypass your every permission and executing without your intervention or knowing what's going on in the background).

Mark this thread and what I say now.... I'm going to make a prediction....
Windows 8 coming out is supposed to be an operating system that runs phones and other portable devices as well as PC's. You will find that "all of a sudden" there's going to be malware and people's phones destroyed and they won't know what's going on because they never had to contend with this up to now. So much for the bullsplat theory that "PC's get more viruses because more people use them so virus writers target them". Yeah, right. Microsoft should do something more useful, like going into basket-weaving.

 

[Nick]

And with all this gobbledygook, only reinforces the fixed and steadfast idea in my brain that Microsoft has been selling us overpriced junk for years, and it's time to switch to OS's like to Mac or Linux that has way less malware (usually only the Trojan variety where someone is duped into accidentally loading it as opposed to Microsoft viruses that bypass your every permission and executing without your intervention or knowing what's going on in the background).

Mark this thread and what I say now.... I'm going to make a prediction....
Windows 8 coming out is supposed to be an operating system that runs phones and other portable devices as well as PC's. You will find that "all of a sudden" there's going to be malware and people's phones destroyed and they won't know what's going on because they never had to contend with this up to now. So much for the bullsplat theory that "PC's get more viruses because more people use them so virus writers target them". Yeah, right. Microsoft should do something more useful, like going into basket-weaving.

With all respect, Windows 7 is pretty secure, and ultimately it's up to the end user to protect their PC's adequately, but Microsoft is getting better at building more secure-minded operating systems. And if the end user downloads stuff from websites without checking it out for dodgy stuff, then it's not Microsoft's problem if the user downloads a virus or trojan.

Perhaps in this regard Mac OS and some Linux distros are better built, but I don't mind paying a bit extra for virus software, as it does a great job in my experience. But I also think that Mac OS and Linux get less viruses because they have less of the market. It just makes sense. If people started targeting Mac OS more, then it would get more malware etc. Any security system can be broken.

Windows has been running phone platforms for a while now and I've yet to hear of anything you're predicting, so I'm not sure it's going to change for the worse.

If you want to be talking about overpriced products, then let's talk about Mac OS.

 

[tim-from-pa]

Anyone else here bought out by and kissing to Microsoft?

 

[Nick]

Anyone else here bought out by and kissing to Microsoft?

Hey, I'm not a blind Microsoft user. I've tried a few Linux distros and nearly bought a Macbook Pro. I've done my research on other OS's. I prefer Windows.

 

[tim-from-pa]

Gullible brother-in-law---- gets a Microsoft computer. Clicks on most anything, and has been messing up his computers and everyone else's for years by forwarding emails, in spite of virus protection.

Smart sister-in-law got tired of cleaning up his mess all the time, so she got him a Mac. He still clicks on everything and anything. So, how many viruses did he get in the last 3-4 years since his Mac? Zip, nada.

Both my kid's Microsoft laptops died with viruses. Now they have Macs for the last 2-3 years. How many viruses? Zip, nada.

Two of my desktop computers still have XP on them, but their days are numbered. Next computer I built will have Linux. When I want to look up something on the Internet that Microsoft can't handle like a sickly kid, what do I use? I use Linux (live CD). How many viruses? Nada, Zip. As a matter of fact, when my computer was once infested by sickly Microsoft and was inoperable, I just switched to Linux and browsed carelessly on the same computer until I felt like cleaning up Microsoft's typical messes!

And that's the truth. Simple as that.

 

[Nick]

Anyone else here bought out by and kissing to Microsoft?

Also, may I ask what you use?

In our house we've currently got a desktop on Windows XP, a notebook on on Windows XP, a notebook on Windows Vista Business, a netbook on Windows 7 starter and a netbook on Windows 7 Enterprise. I've also tried Linux Ubuntu, Mint and openSUSE, the latter I've still got on a partition on my notebook.

 

[Nick]

Gullible brother-in-law---- gets a Microsoft computer. Clicks on most anything, and has been messing up his computers and everyone else's for years by forwarding emails, in spite of virus protection.

Smart sister-in-law got tired of cleaning up his mess all the time, so she got him a Mac. He still clicks on everything and anything. So, how many viruses did he get in the last 3-4 years since his Mac? Zip, nada.

Both my kid's Microsoft laptops died with viruses. Now they have Macs for the last 2-3 years. How many viruses? Zip, nada.

Two of my desktop computers still have XP on them, but their days are numbered. Next computer I built will have Linux. When I want to look up something on the Internet that Microsoft can't handle like a sickly kid, what do I use? I use Linux (live CD). How many viruses? Nada, Zip. As a matter of fact, when my computer was once infested by sickly Microsoft and was inoperable, I just switched to Linux and browsed carelessly on the same computer until I felt like cleaning up Microsoft's typical messes!

And that's the truth. Simple as that.

Every single virus that has attacked our computers in the 12 years we've had them, have been caught by anti-virus software. Anything that has actually gone wrong (like, seriously wrong) has been when I've been fiddling with partitions and boot options etc. My mistakes, not Linux or Microsoft's.

In fact, we had a computer with Windows 98 on it. It was our first PC, and we got it in 1999 and it lasted us until two years ago. It never had any virus protection beyond the Windows basic one and never got a virus or the like. that is one epic machine!

I often find that it's the person operating the machine's fault when things go wrong, although I am not denying the Mac OS's ability to get rid of viruses. I am however, an example of someone who has used Windows for quite a while and has not had a major problem in this area, so I see no reason at all to change to Mac OS (or any other OS for that matter) because of security.

 

[tim-from-pa]

Also, may I ask what you use?

In our house we've currently got a desktop on Windows XP, a notebook on on Windows XP, a notebook on Windows Vista Business, a netbook on Windows 7 starter and a netbook on Windows 7 Enterprise. I've also tried Linux Ubuntu, Mint and openSUSE, the latter I've still got on a partition on my notebook.

Microsoft, Linux and Android. That latter are used when I want to surf the web for potentially hazardous material to Microsoft. As a matter of fact, I did have stuff pop up on them that I KNOW would have been an automatic 5-hour virus fix on the Microsofts but it did not hurt these OS's.

My wife still needs Microsoft to run her doctor's programs as she works out of the home for billing, but that's unfortunate. Hopefully nobody's identity will be stolen from a back door.

 

[Theofilus]

But I also think that Mac OS and Linux get less viruses because they have less of the market.

This is only true up to a certain point. The fact is that Linux and Mac OS are, as you yourself stated, built better. To install a program (a virus or trojan is just a program), you are asked to provide an administrator password. In Windows 7, all you have to do is click on an OK button, which most people will usually do without reading what it says. You can make it ask for a password, but that's not the default setting, like it is in Linux and Mac OS. Even if you do manage to install a trojan or virus on a Mac or Linux machine, the harm it can do is much more limited than what can happen to a Windows machine, because the security is better. The virus could only destroy the user's files, not the whole system.

 

[Nick]

Microsoft, Linux and Android. That latter are used when I want to surf the web for potentially hazardous material to Microsoft. As a matter of fact, I did have stuff pop up on them that I KNOW would have been an automatic 5-hour virus fix on the Microsofts but it did not hurt these OS's.

My wife still needs Microsoft to run her doctor's programs as she works out of the home for billing, but that's unfortunate. Hopefully nobody's identity will be stolen from a back door.

Actually Linux is one epic OS, I just don't have the time to explore it properly and learn the command line - or can't be bothered. Can't say I haven't given it a go, although I believe the French government have switched over to Linux. I think the distro was Ubuntu.

Since you mentioned Android, it came with my new Acer netbook that I bought the other week. I've yet to set it up, but I'd be interested to hear what it's like on the PC.

 

[Nick]

This is only true up to a certain point. The fact is that Linux and Mac OS are, as you yourself stated, built better. To install a program (a virus or trojan is just a program), you are asked to provide an administrator password. In Windows 7, all you have to do is click on an OK button, which most people will usually do without reading what it says. You can make it ask for a password, but that's not the default setting, like it is in Linux and Mac OS. Even if you do manage to install a trojan or virus on a Mac or Linux machine, the harm it can do is much more limited than what can happen to a Windows machine, because the security is better. The virus could only destroy the user's files, not the whole system.

Having used Linux, I can not deny this. But I have not had a problem so far. I'm not saying it won't happen. But I have backups and various other resources ready. That's the price I'm willing to take to go Windows. Perhaps I'll go Mac or even try Linux again some day, but at the moment I'm happy with Windows.

 

[Nick]

A thought - cloud computing! That would solve a lot of problems! :D

 

[tim-from-pa]

This is only true up to a certain point. The fact is that Linux and Mac OS are, as you yourself stated, built better. To install a program (a virus or trojan is just a program), you are asked to provide an administrator password. In Windows 7, all you have to do is click on an OK button, which most people will usually do without reading what it says. You can make it ask for a password, but that's not the default setting, like it is in Linux and Mac OS. Even if you do manage to install a trojan or virus on a Mac or Linux machine, the harm it can do is much more limited than what can happen to a Windows machine, because the security is better. The virus could only destroy the user's files, not the whole system.

Although you directed this at Nick, I agree with you wholeheartedly. The Microsoft vs Virus relation is like the chicken and the egg argument. I figure that right now all but Microsoft own the portable device market, and if virus writers would be targeting the most users, you'd hear of viruses now in these devices meant for them alone. Instead, I am predicting the opposite of that theory in that viruses will come later when Microsoft enters more on the scene. That in reality connects it to Microsoft's flaws and not "because more people use it".

Again, mark my prediction on post #5. I'd be very surprised if that did NOT happen unless Microsoft really cleans up big time and changes their fundamental operating philosophy. It's going to be very scary to have a teenage daughter break down on a deserted back road, tries to call her father for help, and then her phone with Microsoft 8 only displays porno pop-ups. I'm telling everyone now, this will catch people by surprise and they won't tolerate it because the likes of which has not occurred yet and they are use to phones that work.

 

[Pizzaguy]

... ultimately it's up to the end user to protect their PC's adequately...

You really should work for Microsoft.

 

[Nick]

You really should work for Microsoft.

How do you know that I don't? :D

In a more serious response to your statement, the whole concept and the way the OS's are done in terms of Windows and Mac are compleely different. The Windows OS is cheaper, but you end up spending more money than just the OS on Office and virus software. This seems included in the Mac OS, but you pay for it anyway becasue the Mac computers are more expensive anyway. Perhaps it is simpler on a Mac, but from where I'm sitting, it costs about the same, or possibly even more with a Mac. They're at least $1,000 more expensive over here than their Windows-compatiable competitors.