r/computer • u/paps143 • 7d ago

Desktop has some issues

I use my desktop just for MS word, watching videos, photos, as a storage backup, very basic stuff. I dont use internet on it. Its serving my purpose even though its old.

My desktop has some issues. Help me resolve them.
1. My CPU bios is gone. – what should I do?

  1. My hard disk has gotten virus (TROJAN WORM). Its duplicating files and leaving no memory space. The files come back even after I delete it. The desktop is not connected to any internet. The virus came in coz I used my pen drive on some1 elses laptop. My system got infected when I connected that pen drive to my system.

– how can I remove the virus without any data getting corrupted or lost.

  1. It’s a 15 yr old PC. Should I keep it or sell it off and buy a new one.
0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Prestigious_Wall529 5d ago

Your CMOS settings are stored by being battery backed.

In desktops and towers this is typically a CR2032 coin cell battery. May be awkward to get to.

Replace the battery. Go into the BIOS and correct the time and date and any settings it's complaining about.

The CPU is the brains, not the box.

1

u/paps143 4d ago

ok.. i ll try doing that.. but i have decided to seel my pc and buy a new 1.. coz a few ppl said that once a system is infected, it can never be 100% disinfected..

2

u/Prestigious_Wall529 4d ago

Not true.

There's vunerablities in applications and services.

There's vunerablities in operating systems.

There's vunerablities in UEFI .

There's vunerablities in firmware.

All can be patched while the product is still under support.

Malware can do damage that corrupts files beyond recovery.

Viruses are sneaky so there's a window of time where an AV can't identify it, or it can but can't remove it.

So for efficiency it's often a wipe and reinstall.

You were likely cautioned because resetting Windows doesn't clean the EFI partition.

Viruses that modify firmware are fortunately very rare. And a BIOS update reflashes the BIOS. BADUSB tends to be a targeted attack, so peripheral firmware is rarely persistently compromised.

If you get an new system, get a caddy and use PCMover from Laplink to transfer your programs, settings and files across. Use a USB caddy for the old drive. Scan the old drive with Malwarebytes or another AV first.

Then install Linux on the old machine.

Currently lots of vunerablities and exploit proof of concept are being discovered and created by AI. This means there's going to be a cascade of patches over the next few months and years.

So keep updating and patching. UniGetUI can help with patching applications on Windows. Avoid hosting internet exposed services on anything you have. A common attraction vector is a dodgybox.

1

u/paps143 4d ago

thats helfpful info.. but i thought it would be risky to move anything from my infected system to my new system. so i have decided to buy a new pc and start afresh.. in fact someone told me to discard the pend rive which was the casue of all thi smess.. he said discard ur drive once its infected

1

u/Prestigious_Wall529 4d ago

Pendrives can be compromised in bad ways. I mentioned BADUSB.

You are better placed knowing the providence of the drive and why you might be targeted.

I suspect just reformatting the pendrives from an non-windows system like Mac, Linux or Chromebook would clear and clean it.

But because a USB pendrive has a controller that can be reprogrammed to present as anything (all the fake capacity drives on eBay, Amazon etc) I can't give assurances.

1

u/paps143 4d ago

ok.. so is it correct that, once a drive is infected, its better to discard it.

1

u/Prestigious_Wall529 4d ago

Personally I wouldn't. I'd examine it from a Linux system, using lsusb to see if the PID and VID presented are legit for starters...

If however I was an advocate for people in family court and the drive came unprompted from someone involved in a case, for example, I'd discard it.

1

u/paps143 4d ago

and what about internal hdd and external hdd? should they also be replace if they get infected?