winXP not installing....help!!!!

CDsDontBurn · May 18, 2009, 11:15 AM

ok, so this windows install is by far being the most difficult one i've EVER had done!

this is a Dell Latitude D620 laptop that i'm working with.

basically, i install windows XP without any problems. i install drivers, no problem. as soon as i put in my login info for my router, a wep page opens up automatically of a porn site and then it starts to install "anti-virus" software (a program called "CoreGuard Antivirus) of its own shortly thereafter closing the window down.

i've done several things here already to install windows.

i've done a quick install (no low-level format) boot to windows (Dell's disk of winXP sp3), install drivers, and bam! the above description.

i've done a low level format boot to windows, install drivers, and i get the above description.

i've done a low level format and completely formatted the 100MB partition that comes along with the machine and still, i get the same issue.

i've even used my bootleg (yes, i'm saying it that word) copy of winXP sp2 for testing purposes of this issue. i did the same low level format and everything again, and still once i get the drivers installed and get connected online, the same BS pops up with that SAME pornographic web page and then a few momments later i get that "Anti-Virus" software thing to start auto-installing itself.

idk guys. i'm at my wits end here on this.

OldBuzzard · May 18, 2009, 11:50 AM

Does that Dell have a hidden partition for restoring the original system? If so, maybe the virus/trojan is in there. You may have to do a low level format of the entire HDD.

The only other place that I can think of would be the BIOS.

Have you tried Vista or Win 7 to see if they will install?

**temeteus82** · May 18, 2009, 11:58 AM

Are you sure that the router isn't cracked? Since it sure sounds like it has been cracked.

CDsDontBurn · May 18, 2009, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

Does that Dell have a hidden partition for restoring the original system? If so, maybe the virus/trojan is in there. You may have to do a low level format of the entire HDD.

The only other place that I can think of would be the BIOS.

Have you tried Vista or Win 7 to see if they will install?

it does, and i already did. it was about 100MB in size or so.

I have not tried Vista on this machine yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

Are you sure that the router isn't cracked? Since it sure sounds like it has been cracked.

idk if it's cracked or not. it's the one i got from Verizon when they installed FIOS here at home. if it were to be cracked, wouldn't the issue be persistent on all of the other machines as well? i have 6 computers (4 have winXP, 2 have Vista), my 360, my sister's Wii, and both my sisters' DS connected to the router via wired and wireless. something else somewhere should show some signs somewhere that something is cracked, no?

**temeteus82** · May 18, 2009, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

idk if it's cracked or not. it's the one i got from Verizon when they installed FIOS here at home. if it were to be cracked, wouldn't the issue be persistent on all of the other machines as well? i have 6 computers (4 have winXP, 2 have Vista), my 360, my sister's Wii, and both my sisters' DS connected to the router via wired and wireless. something else somewhere should show some signs somewhere that something is cracked, no?

Well there is still very small change (~0.01%) that it is cracked. There were some news about some targeted attacks against broadband routers in the US. But you have any partition tools that you can use to delete all partitions on the HDD and create a new one? And do have firewall on the router?

Tyrsonswood · May 18, 2009, 01:03 PM

any chance this thing is living in NVRAM? It's a lappy, maybe it's got some non-volatile ram used for standby.

Just a stab CD's because I don't have a clue otherwise.......

GigaWatt · May 18, 2009, 01:15 PM

are you sure the linux OS on that router is not some sort of a russian mod... i've seen this happen...

try reinstalling the linux frimware on the router... it could be infected... i'm sure you can find it from the manufacturers site...

also, your IP might be a targeted IP by some malicious web page... every time you log in to the web, the IP get's bombarded by this web page... a change of IP wouldn't hurt also...

OldBuzzard · May 18, 2009, 03:22 PM

When you said 'low level format', did you mean that you used something like Seatools, or MaxBlast to totally wipe the HDD? If not I'd try doing that.

A bit more extreme would be to replace the HDD with a new one, as a temporary measure, and try installing again. If the virus still shows up, you would at least know that you need to look at your router or other memory areas in the lappy.

CDsDontBurn · May 18, 2009, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

Well there is still very small change (~0.01%) that it is cracked. There were some news about some targeted attacks against broadband routers in the US. But you have any partition tools that you can use to delete all partitions on the HDD and create a new one? And do have firewall on the router?

All partitions on the HDD are deleted AFAIK. Unless there's another partition that i'm being held blind about because it's not being reported.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

any chance this thing is living in NVRAM? It's a lappy, maybe it's got some non-volatile ram used for standby.

Just a stab CD's because I don't have a clue otherwise.......

yea, idk. imna go to work early today to try and get this installed at work just to see if it's really an issue with my router at home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

are you sure the linux OS on that router is not some sort of a russian mod... i've seen this happen...

try reinstalling the linux frimware on the router... it could be infected... i'm sure you can find it from the manufacturers site...

also, your IP might be a targeted IP by some malicious web page... every time you log in to the web, the IP get's bombarded by this web page... a change of IP wouldn't hurt also...

idk. i don't think so, but if my router got hacked by some dude, then it's quite possible. My Verizon FIOS router is an Actiontec MI424-WR router. that's all i have for a make/model. but doing some quick googleing, i have been able to find out some information about a firmware update from here. my current firmware version is 4.0.16.1.56.0.10.11.6 and there is mention by a user there, that the newest firmware version is 10.11.6.....i'll go ahead and give that a look-see later today. i have some other things i gotta do right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

When you said 'low level format', did you mean that you used something like Seatools, or MaxBlast to totally wipe the HDD? If not I'd try doing that.

A bit more extreme would be to replace the HDD with a new one, as a temporary measure, and try installing again. If the virus still shows up, you would at least know that you need to look at your router or other memory areas in the lappy.

when i said "low level format" i didn't mean using any 3rd party tools. i meant using the option "Format NTFS" and not the "Format NTFS (QUICK)" option through the windows installation process. i know it's probably not the best low level format, but it's better than the quick format.

like i said, we have these same model laptops at work. imna try and go in early to work today to see if i can borrow a hard drive from one that's under repair and take it's HDD temporarily to see if it's an issue with the HDD. or even just do the install at work in it's current configuration to see if it's an issue with my router.

Judas · May 18, 2009, 05:32 PM

find out exactly what model your hardrive is..

get the Utlity FOR that hardrive from that hardrive manufacturer. Use it's Erase disk feature..... this is a true low level format.... (by the sounds of it, the format your doing is via windows disk or something)

Makes the drive your using or disks your using for that laptop's drivers doesn't have rogue viruses on it either. I've seen someone walk around with a flash drive that was packed full of viruses yet they didn't know or thought it wasn't their drive because there 2 machines wasn't exhibiting the symptoms exactly.

GigaWatt · May 18, 2009, 07:15 PM

regarding the IP and router firmware, you could also try blocking the isass.exe service and the primary system32 service (i think it's some sort of a kernel service)... here is how i blocked it (cuz my IP was targeted too... i had to renistall Windows every 2 weeks on this rig

) using NetLimiter 2 Pro...

i think those 2 services are responsible for most of my trojan and worm attacks... they seem to use them as a backdoor or something... since i blocked them, i haven't had one single intrusion by any kind of malicious software...

anyway, wouldn't hurt to try...

CDsDontBurn · May 18, 2009, 09:07 PM

@ judas: it's a SeaGate drive. I'm currently running the quick test for SeaTools. I think i may have an older version of SeaTools, i'll look for a newer version of it to see if there are more options of this diagnostic program.

@ GigaWatt: if the SeaTools test doesn't find something, i'll look into that for my router.

**temeteus82** · May 18, 2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

@ GigaWatt: if the SeaTools test doesn't find something, i'll look into that for my router.

if you do find some thing in your router it means that I was right....

CDsDontBurn · May 18, 2009, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

if you do find some thing in your router it means that I was right....

lol, yea. but, SeaGate SeaTools does not format the drive. I found out just now that SeaGate DiskWizard formats the HDD. but, when i d/led from SeaGate's website, it came as an EXE file. imna install it here on my main machine to see why it did that. i hope it can provide me with an ISO file for me to burn to a CD for this laptop and do a format with that.

GigaWatt · May 18, 2009, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

if you do find some thing in your router it means that I was right....

yep...

... i think this thing is definitely "targeted IP" related... i had the same problem... i believe me, i had some hard time figuring out the problem and which program/service was responsible for the attacks... took me 3 weeks and about 10 resinstalls of XP before i pinpointed the problem...

CDsDontBurn · May 18, 2009, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

yep...

... i think this thing is definitely "targeted IP" related... i had the same problem... i believe me, i had some hard time figuring out the problem and which program/service was responsible for the attacks... took me 3 weeks and about 10 resinstalls of XP before i pinpointed the problem...

yea, i'm talking to a friend of mine right now on AIM, and he has stated for me to manually assign an IP address to this laptop prior to connecting to the internetz. it's an idea i'll give a try.

oh, and i've got SeaGate DiskWizard installed and i'm currently burning the ISO it provided me. i'm going to boot up using that, and then i'll see what happens with that.

Judas · May 18, 2009, 11:01 PM

you want Seagate DOS Tools.... it's a bootable ISO in which it gives you a rather limited set of options.... short/long and accoustic tests.... followed by low level formats and the sort.

Mac Daddy · May 18, 2009, 11:38 PM

CD's hope ya get it sorted Bro been following along but haven't had much to add

CDsDontBurn · May 19, 2009, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

you want Seagate DOS Tools.... it's a bootable ISO in which it gives you a rather limited set of options.... short/long and accoustic tests.... followed by low level formats and the sort.

didn't find that. the DiskWizard thing is what i found through some googleing. didn't have time to install windows prior to starting work. but, i did give it to one of the other IT guys here at work to look at it, and he said he had never heard of anything like that before. he had windows installed on it, and it was working fine here at work through work's wireless network. it seemed to be working just fine. but, i just finished another reinstall....i know, i know. "if it was just working, why did you do another reinstall?!" well, i just wanted to do this as a "double-check" kinda thing. i'll let everybody know how it's going after i finish up the drivers and everything for here at work again.

and somebody mentioned here earlier that something similar had happened to them because it was on their flash drive. and now that i think of it, this entire time, the drivers i was installing were coming from an external HDD, with the exception of the last two installs. so, i don't think it was from my flash drive. and i already had the drivers on my flash drive prior to doing this, and i moved them onto the external HDD before i did any of his file backup, so my flash drive is clean i know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mac Daddy

CD's hope ya get it sorted Bro been following along but haven't had much to add

lol, no worries man.

Judas · May 19, 2009, 07:17 AM

hmm...

what's the model of the seagate drive?

CDsDontBurn · May 20, 2009, 02:51 AM

so you guys know i have this resolved, and TBH, i'm not sure if it's a router thing or a hard drive/virus thing.

We all know that the windows' "low-level format" (which i had been performing) isn't a true low-level format. So, i ended up going to SeaGate's website (the hard drive in the laptop), and downloaded SeaGate DiskWizard for partitioning and formatting options. I had previously run SeaGate SeaTools to check the HDD and SATA controller, which both came back fine. So, I then went to go run DiskWizard to perform a true low-level format. i did that at home. After that had been done, i took the laptop to work and continuted to work on it from there.

Once i got on desktop, i installed the drivers and everything and connected to my works wireless network. everything worked fine. Now, as to the reason why i'm not sure if it's a HDD/virus thing or a router thing is because i didn't perform the windows install at home. Had i performed the windows install at home after using DiskWizard boot disk to format the HDD, would have told me for sure if it was a router issue or not. But since i didn't do that, i'm not sure, it could have been either or of the two possibilities.

When i took it home from work, i already had windows installed along with all the drivers, and pretty much all of the windows update stuff as well. so, when i took it home to and went online with the laptop, everything was still working just fine as it did at work.

Mac Daddy · May 20, 2009, 03:06 AM

Glad you got it sorted mate

GigaWatt · May 20, 2009, 04:20 AM

i guess we will never know... but, this is one of the little mysteries in life that makes life worth living... hahahaha

well, at least the issue is out of the way...

Tyrsonswood · May 20, 2009, 01:09 PM

Nothing can hide from a low level format.......

GigaWatt · May 20, 2009, 02:15 PM

yep... that's true...

Tyrsonswood · May 20, 2009, 02:56 PM

I know..... I grew up with MFM and RLL drives..... low level format was part of the game

May 18, 2009, 11:15 AM	#1
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,794 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	winXP not installing....help!!!! ok, so this windows install is by far being the most difficult one i've EVER had done! this is a Dell Latitude D620 laptop that i'm working with. basically, i install windows XP without any problems. i install drivers, no problem. as soon as i put in my login info for my router, a wep page opens up automatically of a porn site and then it starts to install "anti-virus" software (a program called "CoreGuard Antivirus) of its own shortly thereafter closing the window down. i've done several things here already to install windows. i've done a quick install (no low-level format) boot to windows (Dell's disk of winXP sp3), install drivers, and bam! the above description. i've done a low level format boot to windows, install drivers, and i get the above description. i've done a low level format and completely formatted the 100MB partition that comes along with the machine and still, i get the same issue. i've even used my bootleg (yes, i'm saying it that word) copy of winXP sp2 for testing purposes of this issue. i did the same low level format and everything again, and still once i get the drivers installed and get connected online, the same BS pops up with that SAME pornographic web page and then a few momments later i get that "Anti-Virus" software thing to start auto-installing itself. idk guys. i'm at my wits end here on this. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

May 18, 2009, 11:50 AM	#2
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! Does that Dell have a hidden partition for restoring the original system? If so, maybe the virus/trojan is in there. You may have to do a low level format of the entire HDD. The only other place that I can think of would be the BIOS. Have you tried Vista or Win 7 to see if they will install? __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

May 18, 2009, 01:15 PM	#7
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! are you sure the linux OS on that router is not some sort of a russian mod... i've seen this happen... try reinstalling the linux frimware on the router... it could be infected... i'm sure you can find it from the manufacturers site... also, your IP might be a targeted IP by some malicious web page... every time you log in to the web, the IP get's bombarded by this web page... a change of IP wouldn't hurt also... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

May 18, 2009, 03:22 PM	#8
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! When you said 'low level format', did you mean that you used something like Seatools, or MaxBlast to totally wipe the HDD? If not I'd try doing that. A bit more extreme would be to replace the HDD with a new one, as a temporary measure, and try installing again. If the virus still shows up, you would at least know that you need to look at your router or other memory areas in the lappy. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

May 18, 2009, 07:15 PM	#11
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! regarding the IP and router firmware, you could also try blocking the isass.exe service and the primary system32 service (i think it's some sort of a kernel service)... here is how i blocked it (cuz my IP was targeted too... i had to renistall Windows every 2 weeks on this rig ) using NetLimiter 2 Pro... i think those 2 services are responsible for most of my trojan and worm attacks... they seem to use them as a backdoor or something... since i blocked them, i haven't had one single intrusion by any kind of malicious software... anyway, wouldn't hurt to try... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

May 18, 2009, 09:07 PM	Thread Starter #12
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,794 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! @ judas: it's a SeaGate drive. I'm currently running the quick test for SeaTools. I think i may have an older version of SeaTools, i'll look for a newer version of it to see if there are more options of this diagnostic program. @ GigaWatt: if the SeaTools test doesn't find something, i'll look into that for my router. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

May 18, 2009, 11:38 PM	#18
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! CD's hope ya get it sorted Bro been following along but haven't had much to add __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

May 20, 2009, 02:51 AM	Thread Starter #21
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,794 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! so you guys know i have this resolved, and TBH, i'm not sure if it's a router thing or a hard drive/virus thing. We all know that the windows' "low-level format" (which i had been performing) isn't a true low-level format. So, i ended up going to SeaGate's website (the hard drive in the laptop), and downloaded SeaGate DiskWizard for partitioning and formatting options. I had previously run SeaGate SeaTools to check the HDD and SATA controller, which both came back fine. So, I then went to go run DiskWizard to perform a true low-level format. i did that at home. After that had been done, i took the laptop to work and continuted to work on it from there. Once i got on desktop, i installed the drivers and everything and connected to my works wireless network. everything worked fine. Now, as to the reason why i'm not sure if it's a HDD/virus thing or a router thing is because i didn't perform the windows install at home. Had i performed the windows install at home after using DiskWizard boot disk to format the HDD, would have told me for sure if it was a router issue or not. But since i didn't do that, i'm not sure, it could have been either or of the two possibilities. When i took it home from work, i already had windows installed along with all the drivers, and pretty much all of the windows update stuff as well. so, when i took it home to and went online with the laptop, everything was still working just fine as it did at work. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

May 20, 2009, 03:06 AM	#22
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! Glad you got it sorted mate __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

May 20, 2009, 04:20 AM	#23
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! i guess we will never know... but, this is one of the little mysteries in life that makes life worth living... hahahaha well, at least the issue is out of the way... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

May 20, 2009, 02:15 PM	#25
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	Re: winXP not installing....help!!!! yep... that's true... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...