I am baffled once again; can malware stay in a computer even with the hard drive replaced?
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I am baffled once again; can malware stay in a computer even with the hard drive replaced?
I have a computer that completely froze up. I had to unplug it to shut it off. This computer never shut off even after many months of just sitting in a corner. Recently I took it to Best Buy to have the hard drive replaced. I have the computer back but it is still stuck " on " as it is plug in and therefore still completely useless. I thought it best to seek advice here at LQ. Can malware completely freeze up a computer even after the hard drive has been replaced? Thanks!
Can malware completely freeze up a computer even after the hard drive has been replaced?
Not saying this is what happened to you, but yes, that's possible.
Other places can contain data & software, or rather firmware. The BIOS can be hacked. CPUs can contain a whole separate OS, completely invisible to you (sometimes Minix-based iirc), though I'm not sure that's hackable.
Not saying this is what happened to you, but yes, that's possible.
Other places can contain data & software, or rather firmware. The BIOS can be hacked. CPUs can contain a whole separate OS, completely invisible to you (sometimes Minix-based iirc), though I'm not sure that's hackable.
Wow, that must be where it is then. Can the BIOS be removed and replaced?
My Dell's power button lights up for a couple of seconds when electrical power is first applied. It also goes through a PSU diagnostic test and the button light color displays yellow if bad.
Does the computer boot at all?
I suspect a hardware error versus BIOS malware. Somethin in power on switch circuit could be bad.
It is just not possible for the computer to be on when there is no power connected. As for now, the blue light may only mean that power is connected, not that it's on. Try using the power button and see if it comes on.
It is just not possible for the computer to be on when there is no power connected. As for now, the blue light may only mean that power is connected, not that it's on. Try using the power button and see if it comes on.
The blue button is the " power button ". The blue light is not supposed to come on until I depress it to turn on the computer. The computer stays in the " on " position whether it has power or not. I am terribly sorry that you are unable to understand what I am describing here.
Not saying this is what happened to you, but yes, that's possible.
Other places can contain data & software, or rather firmware. The BIOS can be hacked. CPUs can contain a whole separate OS, completely invisible to you (sometimes Minix-based iirc), though I'm not sure that's hackable.
Will I need to replace the whole motherboard to get a new BIOS?
Could just be a bad switch/button...in fact I’d think that to be more likely than a BIOS problem.
Plugging it in and pressing and holding the power button for several seconds would be how to test that.
I’m presuming you went to Best Buy and asked them to install a new herd drive instead of asking them to troubleshoot the power-always-on problem. Suggest you take it back to Best Buy. We can’t really help much more if you’re not going to answer our questions (Does the computer boot?) or try our suggestions.
For what it's worth, most computer include a small button battery, usually a CR2032, referred to as a CMOS battery, to support certain memory while power is off or disconnected. That's how computers remember the date/time while powered down.
Whether that relates to this issue or not, I do not know, but just sayin'.
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