So I turned my computer on this weekend and during it's normal boot up mode I get a message that says "If you would like to save the changes you have made to your BIOS settings, please enter "Set-Up" and then SAVE before exiting". Or something similar to that... I realized immediately that my girlfriend-the only other person with access to the computer-had downloaded something nasty.

I entered set up and one of the choices I could choose was to restore back to a point where the computer previously worked. I chose that option and it proceeded to boot up. As soon as it booted up, I logged on the internet, updated Spybot, performed a search and then killed the 3 entries for a problem. I then attempted to run my Virus scanner which is AVG anti-virus. Half-way through the search the computer just shut itself off. No warning signs at all-just a hard shut-down. I then rebooted and attempted the AVG scan again-it again shut itself off but this time the run-time was shorter than the first time. I restarted it, and same thing again. What I notice is that each time I restart it-it will run a shorter period of time before it shuts off again.

Has anyone heard of a virus that does this? Any recommendations on how I might go about getting it resolved? I am usually pretty handy with computers but if it won't run-how can I fix it?????

This is the SECOND time that my G-friend has managed to kill my computer. I told her that IF I get it fixed, she will no longer have access to the internet as I will assign a master password and she will NOT know it! I warned her the last time not to download programs, or click any "yes" boxes on any pop-up windows. I told her that if a pop-up window came up-that she could control-alt-del to close the window safely that way. I have heard that sometimes even clicking "no" on the pop-up windows will still give you a virus and that is why I close them out in Windows Task Manager.

So, I went all weekend without internet. I am at the office this morning hoping someone may have heard about this situation, or be able to recommend a fix or repair.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration..

P.S.> The good news? My car is running like a champ!

Pull the cover, check the CPU Fan on the heatsink, make sure its spinning. Sounds like the motherboard is turning the system off hard to save the cpu from overheating and damaging itself.

Thats a possibility. Its also far better to run a virus-scan under safe-mode, as there are a lotta viruses that cause anti-virus programs to run abnormally or not run at all. Just make sure your anti-virus is updated then reboot into safe-mode and run it. Hope this helps :)

So I guess I can check the fan pretty easily. I will also try booting it up in SAFE mode to see if it will continue to run.

The thing that got me was the message on the 1st boot attempt about having changed my BIOS settings... That is what made me think this was a virus..

I will post back with my results. I would like to try the restore function if I can get it to stay running...

Go69,

Internet related PC problems are becomming such a common thing. I swear they should institute a tutorial for internet use... better yet, make it like driving school!

One thing you may want to try, create a master administrator account. This account will be strictly for installing programs and other administrative tasks. then demote both yours and your girlfriends account. This prevents the user from installing programs and keeps a "blanket" around the more sensitive Windows settings.

For added security, install a firewall program on your PC. This will prevent her from getting on the internet, and allow you audit where she goes, even restrict her surfing during specific times. It also keeps your PC more secure.

There are several programs that I recommend to all of my clients.

Computer Associates (With the K9 protector)
Trend Micro (Very good! Runs seamlessly in the background)
McAfee (found almost everywhere)

This doesnt sound like virus
To boot up with "...please enter "Set-Up" and then SAVE before exiting". sometime happens when the machine is turned off at the switch...check the cpu speed settings in the bios are correct, press f10 and save.
If the fans heatsinks havre not be cleaned reg the machine can reboot suddenly...
Remove left side cover, leave power cord connected..(keeps a good earth) use a new 1" paint brush and vaccum cleaner to such /clean compnents...at all times keep your skin in contact with the metal chassis.
Use a tooth pick to stop fans spinning up.
If your vac cleaner has a blow function finsh cleaning with this

u can use a compressor with oil/water filter like when spray painting...dont get too agressive with the air thu.

The other common issuesa are
1/the PSU (power supply) is going down...replace with at least a 350 to 450 watt ..just uncrew, unplug leads andmount plug new leads in.

2/ A stick of ram is going down...If u have 2 sticks, (min of 2x 256, total 512meg) remove 1 see if it still happens..the remaining stick should be in the slot closest to the cpu...then try the other.
replacing ram is not just a matter of getting a stick of that type ram...check out your local shop to get compatable ram...and dont take for granted the know what is compatable with the mother board.
Modern mother boards have 'hyperthreading' for ram..for this to work u need 2 (or more) matching sticks of ram.
If ram it is a good opportunty to upgrade to 1gig of ram...thu this also depends on the mother board...most pre P4 machines (P3 upto 1.1 gig cpu machines, the mother boards can only handle a max of 512 meg of ram be it 1x 512 or 2x 256 or 4x 128 meg. In this case get 2 new sticks rather than use 3 or 4...many of these mother boards and early p4 mother boards where limitted to the number of 'sides' of ram ie some ram has chips on both sides (double sided and single sided)

The above is the most likely source of your problem rather than virus.

Some options regarding spyware/malware:

If you have a pretty fast PC is to run FREE VMWare player http://www.vmware.com/products/player/. This way you browse the Internet inside a virtual PC and if you get something nasty on it then just shut down the virtual session and restart it again fresh.

Or, use an alternate OS such as Linux - my favorite distro so far is Ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/.

Or, use McAfee SecurityCenter :thumbsup:

I appreciate all of the information. I have not had a chance to look at the computer since this happened but I will try and mess with it some more tonight.

The computer is a 2.3 GHZ machine (P4?) with 256K memory I believe. I have been wanting to upgrade the memory anyway so I guess I will go ahead and buy 1 Meg. of memory and install it to see if it has any effect.

Will also try all of the other suggestions mentioned.

You need to find out what motherboard your system has before upgrading. Some motherboards don't support DDR400 memory and you might need DDR266 or DDR333 memory modules to upgrade that 2.4ghz box.
When you open the case look at the main board and look for large print that identifies the make and model, I can help you from that to figure out the best suited memory to buy cheap. And what you are wanting is 1GIG of memory not 1MEG, either in a kit of 2x512mb or a single module, again depends on motherboard.