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Hellbent

Reviving Windows Vista via Ubuntu?

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so my Windows Vista computer eventually became so ransacked by so many spyware, malware (viruses?) that it one day failed to boot. In order to finish up finals, I picked up an Ubuntu disk from the IT department at my school and have been using Ubuntu from the CD Rom. I am wondering if it's possible to remove the malware using Search and Destroy from Ubuntu? Will that find and remove all the malware and allow me to boot my computer from windwos again? That would sure be sweeeeeeeeeeet.

thanks.

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I don't know about tools like search and destroy. But Avast! offers a Linux version of their virus scanner for this purpose.

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I know there's a Linux version of AVG Antivirus that can be installed through Ubuntu, and will detect Windows viruses. As for spyware, I honestly haven't looked for anything like that yet...

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All you can really do at this point is back up your important files (which can be done from Ubuntu) and reinstall Windows.

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you can remove some shit that might make it boot again, but I don't know why you would want to.
Ubuuntu is a better and faster OS.

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KuriKai said:

you can remove some shit that might make it boot again, but I don't know why you would want to.
Ubuuntu is a better and faster OS.

yeah, but I don't have the brains or patience to figure out how to get deepsea or doom to run on it. Plus ALT + NUMPAD doesn't seem to work in Ubuntu.

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Just don't make the mistake that, because you've just run a repair install, that your system will be free of crap. The VERY FIRST THING you should do upon getting back into your OS is to run a complete virus and spyware scan, just to make sure none of the non-OS-related files got infected. I once had a run-in with an irritating little worm - can't remember the name of it - but it kept randomly appending itself to EXE files that I'd been running.

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Super Jamie said:

Stop letting viruses and spyware clog your computer to the point of no return. Problem solved.


Fixed.

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Super Jamie said:

Stop using Vista, start using Ubuntu.

Super Jamie said:

Stop letting viruses and spyware clog your computer to the point of no return.

Aren't they the same thing? :)

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Definitely not. I have kept my Vista system malware-free for more than 2 years now.

Also, suggesting to use Linux when someone asks how to clean up his Windows is just ignoring the problem, not solving it.

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Hellbent said:

yeah, but I don't have the brains or patience to figure out how to get deepsea or doom to run on it. Plus ALT + NUMPAD doesn't seem to work in Ubuntu.

if you don't have the brains to get deepsea or doom running in linux then you have no hope of fixing your windows install

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Graf Zahl said:

Definitely not. I have kept my Vista system malware-free for more than 2 years now.

Also, suggesting to use Linux when someone asks how to clean up his Windows is just ignoring the problem, not solving it.

I was being facetious, implying that Windows Vista is more akin to a virus or spyware than an operating system, to elicit a humorous response in the reader.


Seriously tho HB, just back your data up to external storage, wipe and reload. I've argued this in other topics but a repair install doesn't really improve things, at best it will just get your tired old fragmented system back to how it was before it stopped booting. Like WW said, nasties may still be lurking which requires additional searching and may just destroy your install again anyway.

I think it takes less time, is less frustrating, and produces a better end result to wipe/reload and setup a PC again from scratch than it does to piss around trying to clean some cleverly-hidden piece of spyware to end up right back where you started.

There's me not ignoring the problem.

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My experience with linux has been nothing but endless driver issues and jumping through hoops to get things to work that should just work.

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My experience with Windows has been nothing but jumping through hoops to get things to work that should just work, and still end up not working.

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arrrgh said:

My experience with linux has been nothing but endless driver issues and jumping through hoops to get things to work that should just work.

really? on my new hp dm3 laptop everything just worked with linux, no need to install drivers at all.

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KuriKai said:

if you don't have the brains to get deepsea or doom running in linux then you have no hope of fixing your windows install

I know how to do a windows install--but, if you really think it's so straight forward, i'm willing to take a stab at it....

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Super Jamie said:

elicit a humorous response in the reader.

And I can see how one would opt to use an 8-year-old joke to that end! I also like the one that goes, "To get to the other side."

KuriKai said:

really? on my new hp dm3 laptop everything just worked with linux, no need to install drivers at all.

Trust me when I say I believe you.
Linux Tech Support: "Works for me!"

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Bucket said:

Trust me when I say I believe you.
Linux Tech Support: "Works for me!"


Nice opinion

Hellbent said:

I know how to do a windows install--but, if you really think it's so straight forward, i'm willing to take a stab at it....

what is your IM account info, pm it to me and I will help you as much as I can

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KuriKai said:

Nice opinion

Opinion of what...? What you said? I'd love to hear what you actually meant by saying "everything just worked on my laptop".

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Super Jamie said:

Agree. Stop using Vista, start using Ubuntu. Problem solved.

can't stream the TV series Lost off of ABC.com under Ubuntu :(

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Hellbent said:

I know how to do a windows install--but, if you really think it's so straight forward, i'm willing to take a stab at it....


And that's why he said "fix" your Windows install. It's perfectly possible to repair non-booting Vista installs, especially if you have the Vista CD on hand. Vista made doing that easier than XP, but doing that and removing all the crap would be a lot of effort. It's usually just more worth it to back up your stuff and wipe it.

After that, it's important not to let it get that way again. Having an antivirus and spyware scanner is not a bad idea (not one of the ones that runs all the time, preferably). Most importantly, do ALL the high-priority Windows updates and if you're going to surf any dodgy websites of any kind use a browser with a plugin like NoScript.

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Hellbent said:

can't stream the TV series Lost off of ABC.com under Ubuntu :(

Consider setting up a dual-boot system, with Vista for the stuff you can't run under Linux and whatever-happens-to-be-flavour-of-the-month-in-Linux-distros for everything else. If you decide to backup and reinstall - which is the most sensible course of action if Windows is refusing to boot - don't forget to scan your data for malware before putting it back on the drive.

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Bucket said:

Opinion of what...? What you said? I'd love to hear what you actually meant by saying "everything just worked on my laptop".

exactly that, all the hardware just worked, that's a fact. boots in half the time of win7 as well.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/nz/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-4011360-4044755.html this is the laptop and it lists what hardware is in it. didn't have to install any drivers.

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Super Jamie said:

I think it takes less time, is less frustrating, and produces a better end result to wipe/reload and setup a PC again from scratch than it does to piss around trying to clean some cleverly-hidden piece of spyware to end up right back where you started.


How about just removing a not-so-cleverly hidden piece of spyware? Or not wiping a system that's hard to restore to the status quo antem without spending a week putting every file and program back where it was?

Bucket said:

Opinion of what...? What you said? I'd love to hear what you actually meant by saying "everything just worked on my laptop".


Maybe he meant it was a Macbook :-(

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Maes said:

How about just removing a not-so-cleverly hidden piece of spyware? Or not wiping a system that's hard to restore to the status quo antem without spending a week putting every file and program back where it was?

We have had this discussion before. My viewpoint remains unaltered.

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