Gateway WIndows Corrupted

OregonRob

Solid State Member
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10
Location
Oregon
Hey all, My sister's Gateway NV75S02u laptop apparently picked up a nasty virus, so bad infact, that trying to login under safemode, or run the Window's repair program isn't working.. We found a video where there's supposed to be a partition that allows us to restore the system back to factory settings completely wiping the hard drive and reinstalling windows itself... It's supposed to to be in a separate partition activated on startup by pusing ALT +F10, but that doesn't seem to be working the way it does in the video, and she has just fallen out of warranty support...

So my question is this: Does anyone know if there is any other way to access this partition that support says is supposed to be there? Or is she going to have to pay a local company to reinstall windows?


EDIT:

When I try the Alt+F10 thing it brings up Windows Boot Manager and says:

Windows has encountered a problem communicating with a device connected to your computer.

This error can be caused by unplugging a removable storage device such as an external USB drive while the device is in use, or by faulty hardware such as a hard drive or CD-ROM drive that is failing. Make sure any removable storage is properly connected and then restart your computer.

If you continue to receive this error message contact the hardware manufacturer.

Status: 0xc00000e9
Info: An unexpected I/O error has occured


When She spoke to Microsoft support they said something about maybe when she disconnected her digital camera it may have done something, but would that have caused this kind of deep corruption?
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I seriously doubt the digital camera had anything to do with it. But as for the laptop, what Windows is it running? (e.g. XP, Vista, 7, etc?)
 
Based on all the information you've given me I have a few more questions:

1. Are you certain there is a recovery partition on the drive? (Not all computers have them)

2. The error message mentions a possibility of hardware failure. Was the laptop dropped or dismantled recently?

3. Was the computer acting erractically before it stopped booting altogether?
 
1. Well, when my sister tried searching Gateway's site for recovery options, she found this site: Gateway Support - Answers, E-Mail, Chat - How do I restore my computer using the eRecovery Management program outside of Windows? which shows how to enter the partition that they put in there... (Acer owns Gateway...) So I'm guessing it has one.... When we try to load it to the regular windows recovery it does a quick BSOD then just goes blank screen

2. She says she hasn't ever dropped or damaged it in any way that would cause the issues that she's having... but she's not sure about her idiot friend she lives with and whether the friend might've stepped on it or something.... but this chick is like over 6ft and sorta 'fluffy' so I imagine if she had stepped on it there's be external damage to the system...

3. Sister says before it corrupted out on her it was being really freezy on her... She also installed a new program I think called 'PalTalk' which is apparently the new 3rd party software everyone is switchin to since yahoo did away with chat services..... Don't know if its virused or not...
http://gateway-us.custhelp.com/app/...sion/L3RpbWUvMTM1NzYzNDE3Mi9zaWQvKnY3d3JNZmw=
 
Sounds to me like you've either got a hardware failure on your hands or you've encountered some of the worst malware in existence. Here's what you can do:

If your problem is a hardware failure (the HDD), then you're pretty much out however much a new drive or laptop will cost because HDD's do fail after a certain amount of time and when they do repair isn't really possible or cost effective even if it was. This is mainly why backing up your data is recommended.

If, however, malware is to blame for this, then downloading and installing various freeware is probably where it came from. People still wonder why they're always dealing with viruses when they have things like LimeWire installed (facepalm). Although most malware can be dealt with, if this is corruption I really think an installation disk is your only way to repair this. I haven't checked prices of store-bought 7 disks recently but in my town that'll rob you of about $200.

I do not think a hardware failure is the problem here. If it was, you'd probably get a different response from the system OR it wouldn't get anywhere when trying to boot. But here's what you can do to find out: Create a bootable disk with a Linux OS (preferrably Ubuntu or LinuxMint), and boot to it. This will allow you to look through the HDD that is installed on the computer as if it were a connected flash drive. If the HDD mounts and you can look through it, odds are it's malware that's corrupted Windows. In theory a computer can't access an HDD that is failing. If you can't access it, or if it throws an error when you try to, the HDD has most likely failed, and you'll need to replace it.
 
Sounds to me like you've either got a hardware failure on your hands or you've encountered some of the worst malware in existence. Here's what you can do:

If your problem is a hardware failure (the HDD), then you're pretty much out however much a new drive or laptop will cost because HDD's do fail after a certain amount of time and when they do repair isn't really possible or cost effective even if it was. This is mainly why backing up your data is recommended.

If, however, malware is to blame for this, then downloading and installing various freeware is probably where it came from. People still wonder why they're always dealing with viruses when they have things like LimeWire installed (facepalm). Although most malware can be dealt with, if this is corruption I really think an installation disk is your only way to repair this. I haven't checked prices of store-bought 7 disks recently but in my town that'll rob you of about $200.

I do not think a hardware failure is the problem here. If it was, you'd probably get a different response from the system OR it wouldn't get anywhere when trying to boot. But here's what you can do to find out: Create a bootable disk with a Linux OS (preferrably Ubuntu or LinuxMint), and boot to it. This will allow you to look through the HDD that is installed on the computer as if it were a connected flash drive. If the HDD mounts and you can look through it, odds are it's malware that's corrupted Windows. In theory a computer can't access an HDD that is failing. If you can't access it, or if it throws an error when you try to, the HDD has most likely failed, and you'll need to replace it.

Ok.. I've got a friend that I'm going to contact to see if he has the Win 7 install disks... :) Thanks for the help!
 
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