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After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging out

J

John Wunderlich

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

daviddschool <daviddschool@gmail.com> wrote in
news:f1903c64-65d8-40b6-87ee-90fbbc80e814@z17g2000yqh.googlegroups.co
m:

>> IMHO, your best approach at this point would be to boot your
>> computer
>>> from one of the free Live Linux CDs (such as Knoppix).  Since
>>> the OS will be on a CD, it can't be corrupted and since it isn't
>>> Windows, there's little chance of the virus moving over on its
>>> own unless you explicitly copy it.  After you boot from the
>>> Linux CD, back up your files to either a USB drive or a network
>>> drive.  Then you can reinsta ll Windows on your hard drive.

>>
>>> Knoppix:  <http://knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html>

>>
>>> HTH,
>>>   John
>>> .

>
> I was just worried about virus scanning on a system that might
> already be infected. Trying to dl Knoppix now. I did already
> download a copy and found out it was in German. The menu system
> is weird as well - is there a straight boot? There was choices
> like WWW, CHAT, email etc. I tried a few and nothing happened so I
> wasn't sure if it was the German language that threw me or there
> is something special about booting to Knoppix...


Look at the filenames when you download Knoppix. The german versions
have a "-DE" in the name. English versions have a "-EN" in the name.
The lastest english version is version 6.2:
KNOPPIX_V6.2DVD-2009-11-18-EN.iso

-- John
 
D

daviddschool

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

The file on the USB flash drive are mostly word docs, pdf, jpg and the
like. Nothing exe, so I am hoping they are safe.

>
> Linux disks do not fix Windows problems very well, so you might
> consider checking into freeware "Ultimate Boot CD for Windows" at
>
> <http://www.ubcd4win.org>


The site is password protected? Where can I sign up? I just hit the
url and it asked me for a password and login....
>
> Where you can create a "Live Windows" CD which is very helpful for
> recovering from situations like you are in. It is more work to
> generate than the Live Linux CD because you have to create the .iso
> yourself instead of simply just downloading it. But once you make the
> disk it is a very helpful thing to keep around. I believe it even
> includes some virus checkers.
>
> HTH,
> John


That is great, if I can get into it, I will try the Live Windows CD
thing. Again, thanks for your patience on this.n
>
> Look at the filenames when you download Knoppix.  The german versions
> have a "-DE" in the name.  English versions have a "-EN" in the name.
> The lastest english version is version 6.2:
>    KNOPPIX_V6.2DVD-2009-11-18-EN.iso
>
> -- John
 
J

John Wunderlich

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

daviddschool <daviddschool@gmail.com> wrote in
news:e6a221f5-8b8a-4b03-9a07-aa7e8f3f4e39@l26g2000yqd.googlegroups.co
m:

>> <http://www.ubcd4win.org>

>
> The site is password protected? Where can I sign up? I just hit
> the url and it asked me for a password and login....


Not here. I get connected directly to the site. You might try
Googling for it. Sometimes Google will cache the page and you can
get to it that way.

> That is great, if I can get into it, I will try the Live Windows
> CD thing. Again, thanks for your patience on this.n
>


Another site that has roughly the equivalent is "Bart PE". Try that
site:
<http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/>

HTH,
John
 
S

sgopus

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

How are you getting to the repair console? hopefully by booting to the
install cd and stating repair when asked?

"daviddschool" wrote:

> Tried and use ENTER - and it just reboots. I am not getting the
> command prompt for recovery like I should. Sucks. Why?
>
> Ok, looks like I am going to buy a new HD tomorrow and recover
> everything to it and use the other HD as a spare. I have Ubuntu
> running and I am going to use the online ONTRACK virus checker to
> search the drives for issues. Lastly, I am guessing there really
> isn't a fix for this and getting my XP back up and running that
> doesn't involve reinstallation, right?
> >
> > Don't put in a password and then hit Enter.
> >
> > --
> > C

>
> .
>
 
M

mm

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

On Mon, 8 Feb 2010 19:07:09 -0800 (PST), daviddschool
<daviddschool@gmail.com> wrote:

>The file on the USB flash drive are mostly word docs, pdf, jpg and the
>like. Nothing exe, so I am hoping they are safe.


yOU DO HAVE, "Hide extension for known file types" turned off, don't
you? For some idiotic reason no one has explained to me, up to and
including Windows Vista, the way it comes from Microsoft, the default,
is to have that "feature" turned on. Maybe windows 7 also.

IF you have it turned on, then manual.doc.exe appears in windows
Explorer as manual.doc . Same for whatever other extension it
considers for "known file types", which might include .jpg and .pdr.

YOu'll find the setting in Folder Options, iirc.


If you back up all your files now, after the problem has started, it
will be good that you have any particular file you need, but if you
reinstall windows and then copy back every file from the backup, won't
you have your original problem back?
 
D

daviddschool

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o


> yOU DO HAVE, "Hide extension for known file types" turned off, don't
> you?  For some idiotic reason no one has explained to me, up to and
> including Windows Vista, the way it comes from Microsoft, the default,
> is to have that "feature" turned on.  Maybe windows 7 also.


I am not sure about this.

>
> IF you have it turned on, then manual.doc.exe appears in windows
> Explorer as manual.doc .   Same for whatever other extension it
> considers for "known file types", which might include .jpg and .pdr.


IS this the file I want to get rid of?

> YOu'll find the setting in Folder Options, iirc.


Ok, will do, I will turn on the extensions.

> If you back up all your files now, after the problem has started, it
> will be good that you have any particular file you need, but if you
> reinstall windows and then copy back every file from the backup, won't
> you have your original problem back?


I have some success with this. I used the repair module and it still
didn't work when booting - but it does NOW boot in Safe mode. I am
hoping that is a very good sign.
I tried to run the Trendmicro Online virus checker using Ubuntu, but
it won't let me open the file. I haven't tried it using Knoppix yet
as I am still downloading the english version. I can see all the
files and ran a Virus check last night in Safemode, but I went to bed
before it finished. I will leave it on today and see what happens. I
have not yet tried booting to REGULAR mode yet since I found out that
Safe mode works.
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
daviddschool wrote:

>> <http://www.ubcd4win.org>

>
> The site is password protected? Where can I sign up? I just hit the
> url and it asked me for a password and login....


Try this page:

http://www.ubcd4win.com/

Also, you can create a bootable AV checking CD:

http://www.techmixer.com/bitdefender-rescue-cd-with-auto-update-virus-definition-features/

More info:

http://www.bitdefender.com/KB417-en--Using-the-BitDefender-Rescue-CD.html

Others:

http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-list/
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

mm wrote:

> yOU DO HAVE, "Hide extension for known file types" turned off, don't
> you? For some idiotic reason no one has explained to me, up to and
> including Windows Vista, the way it comes from Microsoft, the default,
> is to have that "feature" turned on. Maybe windows 7 also.


I agree 100%. When working on a PC, one of the first things I do is show
the extensions. I hate the default of having them hidden!
 
D

daviddschool

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

On Feb 9, 9:10 am, "Daave" <da...@example.com> wrote:
> mm wrote:
> > yOU DO HAVE, "Hide extension for known file types" turned off, don't
> > you?  For some idiotic reason no one has explained to me, up to and
> > including Windows Vista, the way it comes from Microsoft, the default,
> > is to have that "feature" turned on.  Maybe windows 7 also.

>
> I agree 100%. When working on a PC, one of the first things I do is show
> the extensions. I hate the default of having them hidden!


I am trying to Bart Windows live cd as well, although I can't seem to
get it to be an ISO using Nero Essentials. I have created the ISO and
when I burned it, it did not boot properly. I think I will ahve to
download a freeware version of ISO maker.

The AV checking Cd is key. I will do that right away on my other
computer.

Now, if I still have an issue booting to regular mode, will the
Ultimate Boot CD help? I am just wondering what my next steps will be
(I am at work now and will try later).
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

daviddschool wrote:
> On Feb 9, 9:10 am, "Daave" <da...@example.com> wrote:
>> mm wrote:
>>> yOU DO HAVE, "Hide extension for known file types" turned off, don't
>>> you? For some idiotic reason no one has explained to me, up to and
>>> including Windows Vista, the way it comes from Microsoft, the
>>> default, is to have that "feature" turned on. Maybe windows 7 also.

>>
>> I agree 100%. When working on a PC, one of the first things I do is
>> show the extensions. I hate the default of having them hidden!

>
> I am trying to Bart Windows live cd as well, although I can't seem to
> get it to be an ISO using Nero Essentials. I have created the ISO and
> when I burned it, it did not boot properly. I think I will ahve to
> download a freeware version of ISO maker.


Surely, Nero Essentials has the ability to burn a CD from an .iso.

Yes, here is the method:

http://www.hiren.info/pages/how-to-burn-iso

FWIW, I don't use Nero. I have had success using ImgBurn:

http://www.imgburn.com/
 
M

mm

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps logging o

On Tue, 9 Feb 2010 04:12:41 -0800 (PST), daviddschool
<daviddschool@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>> yOU DO HAVE, "Hide extension for known file types" turned off, don't
>> you?  For some idiotic reason no one has explained to me, up to and


I do know part of the reason, I thihk. They want the system to be
friendly to non-computer types. They think people will be scared of
a file named AnnualReport2010.doc and will like more a file named
AnnualReport2010. That might well have been a valid position when
computers first started and no one had written a virus yet, and
perhaps no one foresaw the future existence of viruses, but now it is
just stupid.

To be user friendly is, I think, they went out of their way to permit
spaces in file names. Now it's actually possible to call a file
Annual Report 2010.doc , (but I don't do that.) I think the whole
goal of this is to make non-computer types, especially businessmen,
more comfortable with file names.

>> including Windows Vista, the way it comes from Microsoft, the default,
>> is to have that "feature" turned on.  Maybe windows 7 also.

>
>I am not sure about this.


In Xp it's control panel, folder options, view, about 11 lines down.

>> IF you have it turned on, then manual.doc.exe appears in windows
>> Explorer as manual.doc .   Same for whatever other extension it
>> considers for "known file types", which might include .jpg and .pdr.

>
>IS this the file I want to get rid of?


I should have said "for example". What this all means is that any
executable file, such as a virus, whose name ends in .exe , can be
given some innocuous name, like MyMemories.doc or
HistoryOfTheCivilWar.doc but those aren't the full names if they
actually end in .exe but that part is hidden.

Now you can rename any file so it ends in .exe and when you click on
the file, the OS will try to execute it. But in the case of
manual.doc.exe, for example, it IS an executable file and it just
looks like a .doc file if you can't see the .exe part.

and the system will try to executebecause the actual extension is
hidden. And if you saw that it was actually .exe, one would realize
it's much more likely to be a virus than a real doc file or pdf file.
BTW, file names are not limited to having only one period in t he
middle. Valid file names include manual.2010.doc or partA.doc.jpg. I
don't know how many dots are allowed but it's at least 2 or 3.

There are scores of other extensions that are executable. You can
find a list somewhere in the settings of most anti-virus programs.
But most of them don't get hidden if when that terrible setting is on,
I think. But it doesn't have to hide all of them. It only has to
hide .exe which is I think the most common ending.
>
>> YOu'll find the setting in Folder Options, iirc.

>
>Ok, will do, I will turn on the extensions.
>
>> If you back up all your files now, after the problem has started, it
>> will be good that you have any particular file you need, but if you
>> reinstall windows and then copy back every file from the backup, won't
>> you have your original problem back?

>
>I have some success with this. I used the repair module and it still
>didn't work when booting - but it does NOW boot in Safe mode. I am
>hoping that is a very good sign.
>I tried to run the Trendmicro Online virus checker using Ubuntu, but
>it won't let me open the file. I haven't tried it using Knoppix yet
>as I am still downloading the english version. I can see all the
>files and ran a Virus check last night in Safemode, but I went to bed
>before it finished. I will leave it on today and see what happens. I
>have not yet tried booting to REGULAR mode yet since I found out that
>Safe mode works.
 
M

mm

Flightless Bird
On Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:33:30 GMT, John Wunderlich
<jwunderlich@lycos.com> wrote:

>
>
>Most cases of viruses spreading from USB drives are a result of
>"Autoplay" which causes a program to execute when the disk or drive is
>inserted. In Windows, you can disable Autoplay with TweakUI or simply
>hold down the shift key when you insert the drive (you have to hold it
>down until after it is completely mounted).


Wow. I never knew that before, and I read whatever came with or on
the flashdrive. Thanks a lot.
 
D

daviddschool

Flightless Bird
Also, you can create a bootable AV checking CD:
>
> http://www.techmixer.com/bitdefender-rescue-cd-with-auto-update-virus...
>
> More info:
>
> http://www.bitdefender.com/KB417-en--Using-the-BitDefender-Rescue-CD....
>
> Others:
>
> http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-...


I made a ISO for bitdefender following the instructions. When I
booted, the bitdefender (based on Knoppix) came up. I tried to run it
and it said "Cannot find Knoppix on the system", only a limited menu
available. I went back to the links and read up again and can't see
what I am doing wrong here.
I downloaded the 2008 with internet update. I am going to try the 2009
version next and see what happens, but why do you think this is
occurring?
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
daviddschool wrote:
> Also, you can create a bootable AV checking CD:
>>
>> http://www.techmixer.com/bitdefender-rescue-cd-with-auto-update-virus...
>>
>> More info:
>>
>> http://www.bitdefender.com/KB417-en--Using-the-BitDefender-Rescue-CD....
>>
>> Others:
>>
>> http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-...

>
> I made a ISO for bitdefender following the instructions. When I
> booted, the bitdefender (based on Knoppix) came up. I tried to run it
> and it said "Cannot find Knoppix on the system", only a limited menu
> available. I went back to the links and read up again and can't see
> what I am doing wrong here.
> I downloaded the 2008 with internet update. I am going to try the 2009
> version next and see what happens, but why do you think this is
> occurring?


I've seen this problem before. Apparently the live CD doesn't work on
every system. Some people have reported success by pressing the Tab
button and entering dma (once the penguins are displayed). This forum
may help:

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?s=95ccfb0cb46e6a95eb41e53160928e10&showforum=185

Also, you can try other live CDs. Avira is one.
 
M

mm

Flightless Bird
On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:32:12 -0800 (PST), daviddschool
<daviddschool@gmail.com> wrote:

> Also, you can create a bootable AV checking CD:
>>
>> http://www.techmixer.com/bitdefender-rescue-cd-with-auto-update-virus...
>>
>> More info:
>>
>> http://www.bitdefender.com/KB417-en--Using-the-BitDefender-Rescue-CD....
>>
>> Others:
>>
>> http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-...

>
>I made a ISO for bitdefender following the instructions. When I
>booted, the bitdefender (based on Knoppix) came up. I tried to run it
>and it said "Cannot find Knoppix on the system", only a limited menu
>available. I went back to the links and read up again and can't see
>what I am doing wrong here.
>I downloaded the 2008 with internet update. I am going to try the 2009
>version next and see what happens, but why do you think this is
>occurring?


I used BitDefender once, from a booting CD, and it gave me the
opportunity to quarantine several files. So I did. Then when I
rebooted to winXP, I found out that the quarantine file was on a RAM
disk, that disappears as soon as one turns off the computer or does
Restart. So all the files were gone. They shouldn't have used the
word quarantine.

If I hand't looked at their names somewhat, I would have had no idea
what they were. So I'd recommend considering Quarantine as if it were
Delete. Either examine the file names so closely you're sure you want
to delete them, or just write down their full (usually very long)
names and then don't quarantine/delete them until you're back in
Windows. Many such files are tracking cookies, but some may be
worse.

I didn't see any other email address so I posted comments to the Bit
Defender home page/forums and to the page from which I dl'd, but after
more than a week, no one had replied. And certainly no one emailed
me.
 
P

Paul

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps loggingout

daviddschool wrote:
> Also, you can create a bootable AV checking CD:
>> http://www.techmixer.com/bitdefender-rescue-cd-with-auto-update-virus...
>>
>> More info:
>>
>> http://www.bitdefender.com/KB417-en--Using-the-BitDefender-Rescue-CD....
>>
>> Others:
>>
>> http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-...

>
> I made a ISO for bitdefender following the instructions. When I
> booted, the bitdefender (based on Knoppix) came up. I tried to run it
> and it said "Cannot find Knoppix on the system", only a limited menu
> available. I went back to the links and read up again and can't see
> what I am doing wrong here.
> I downloaded the 2008 with internet update. I am going to try the 2009
> version next and see what happens, but why do you think this is
> occurring?


Bitdefender used a poor choice of colors for the background. The boot
command is black text on a dark background.

By using Isomaster in another Linux distro, I replaced "splash.png" with
an all-white background image, so I can see the text. When you press "tab",
the boot line should look like:

linux ramdisk_size=131072 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791
initrd=minirt.gz nomce loglevel=0 quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix

That text is virtually invisible, on the unmodified Bitdefender boot screen.

When the CD boots, normally the Knoppix image would be somewhere like

/cdrom/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX

That is the thing the boot CD could be complaining about, not being
able to find the large "knoppix" file that holds the entire file
system in a compressed form.

On other, later versions of Knoppix, than the 5.0.1 that Bitdefender CD is
based on, you could use the "fromhd" command line option, to "help" the
booting process along. For example, my Knoppix 6.0.2 CD is brain-dead
and cannot find the CD once the booting process starts. A fix is to do

knoppix fromhd=/dev/sdd1

where the part on the end could be sdc1, sdd1, sde1 - it really
varies according to how many disks you have. My CD drive is addressed
in a similar way to my hard drives.

On older versions of Knoppix, it might even be /dev/sr or /dev/sr0
or /dev/cdrom or /dev/cdrom1 or the like.

I can't say exactly what is busted in your situation right now,
but that is what my testing of the Bitdefender ISO file in
VPC2007 (Virtual PC) is showing me. (I use Virtual PC as a quick
test vehicle for ISO9660 files, before wasting an actual CD
on the download. That has saved me a few CDs, on things that
aren't worth burning.)

The version of Isomaster I used, was in Knoppix 5.3.1, which is a
DVD sized download. Some people in Japan, managed to remaster the
5.3.1 DVD version, and make a CD out of it, and that may be a
better compromise version, than having to download a 4GB+ file for
the DVD version. If you have some other way to make modifications
to an ISO9660 file, that might be a more pragmatic option.

If you want to take a quick look at the files inside your downloaded
ISO9660 file, the 7zip program knows how to read an ISO9660. Using that
program, you can quickly explore the ISO9660 file, and see the
/boot/isolinux/splash.png file I'm referring to. While you could take
the ISO9660 apart into its separate files, I don't know if that would
really help you at all. Isomaster is the tool I use, for quick surgery
jobs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7zip

HTH,
Paul
 
D

daviddschool

Flightless Bird
> Bitdefender used a poor choice of colors for the background. The boot
> command is black text on a dark background.


It seems to boot ok, it does the test for RAM etc, I get the penguins
(linux) but it says it cannot find the file structure for Knoppix.
BUT when I read the instructions, it did not say to ADD Knoppix to
the ISO - is that something I should have done?
It never does give me a chance to PICK or choose from a MENU using the
Bitdefender ISO that I download (newest version 2009 and the 2008
version).
Both are iso and both burned, yet both cannot find the file structure
for Knoppix. I assumed it was included with Bit Defender, but maybe
that is what I am wrong.

> I can't say exactly what is busted in your situation right now,
> but that is what my testing of the Bitdefender ISO file in
> VPC2007 (Virtual PC) is showing me. (I use Virtual PC as a quick
> test vehicle for ISO9660 files, before wasting an actual CD
> on the download. That has saved me a few CDs, on things that
> aren't worth burning.)


Again, I took the information and the steps right from the Bitdefender
page, but I thought I might have missed something. No where does it
say to include KNOPPIX in the ISO. It just says to download the ISO
for bitdefender and burn to an ISO and it should be good to go, but it
is not.

> If you want to take a quick look at the files inside your downloaded
> ISO9660 file, the 7zip program knows how to read an ISO9660. Using that
> program, you can quickly explore the ISO9660 file, and see the
> /boot/isolinux/splash.png file I'm referring to. While you could take
> the ISO9660 apart into its separate files, I don't know if that would
> really help you at all. Isomaster is the tool I use, for quick surgery
> jobs.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7zip
>
> HTH,


I will look inside the ISO and see if there is a file structure for
Knoppix. If not, how should I go about adding it?
 
P

Paul

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps loggingout

daviddschool wrote:
>> Bitdefender used a poor choice of colors for the background. The boot
>> command is black text on a dark background.

>
> It seems to boot ok, it does the test for RAM etc, I get the penguins
> (linux) but it says it cannot find the file structure for Knoppix.
> BUT when I read the instructions, it did not say to ADD Knoppix to
> the ISO - is that something I should have done?
> It never does give me a chance to PICK or choose from a MENU using the
> Bitdefender ISO that I download (newest version 2009 and the 2008
> version).
> Both are iso and both burned, yet both cannot find the file structure
> for Knoppix. I assumed it was included with Bit Defender, but maybe
> that is what I am wrong.


It is included. "KNOPPIX" is a file within the ISO. That file
contains an entire compressed file system, and the boot loader
cannot go any further, unless the stuff that makes up the OS
is available to it.

>
>> I can't say exactly what is busted in your situation right now,
>> but that is what my testing of the Bitdefender ISO file in
>> VPC2007 (Virtual PC) is showing me. (I use Virtual PC as a quick
>> test vehicle for ISO9660 files, before wasting an actual CD
>> on the download. That has saved me a few CDs, on things that
>> aren't worth burning.)

>
> Again, I took the information and the steps right from the Bitdefender
> page, but I thought I might have missed something. No where does it
> say to include KNOPPIX in the ISO. It just says to download the ISO
> for bitdefender and burn to an ISO and it should be good to go, but it
> is not.
>
>> If you want to take a quick look at the files inside your downloaded
>> ISO9660 file, the 7zip program knows how to read an ISO9660. Using that
>> program, you can quickly explore the ISO9660 file, and see the
>> /boot/isolinux/splash.png file I'm referring to. While you could take
>> the ISO9660 apart into its separate files, I don't know if that would
>> really help you at all. Isomaster is the tool I use, for quick surgery
>> jobs.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7zip
>>
>> HTH,

>
> I will look inside the ISO and see if there is a file structure for
> Knoppix. If not, how should I go about adding it?


My theory is, that the boot loader has become confused, and is looking
in the wrong place for the KNOPPIX file. My suggestion to try the
"fromhd=/dev/somedevice" kind of boot option, is a workaround for
whatever problem is causing it.

If you look in this sample screenshot, of Knoppix 5.0.1 or similar starting,
you can see a line

Found primary KNOPPIX compressed image at /cdrom/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX

and that would be an example of a successful attempt to find the
file system container. There are at least two mount operations
going on there - /dev/cdrom is mounted at mount point /cdrom, so that
the contents of the CD are visible to the OS. Then, the /cdrom/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX
file is accessed, and the contents are mounted on /, to give /bin, /usr
and all the rest of a Linux environment. That "KNOPPIX" file remains
compressed, and only the sections needed at the moment are decompressed
and loaded into RAM. It allows a Knoppix CD to hold more than double
the normal size constraints of a CD - that is why they do it that way.

http://img.f.hatena.ne.jp/images/fotolife/l/lugia/20080723/20080723233739.png

I'm only a Linux noob - I use Linux CDs mainly for maintenance, and
have learned a couple tricks for making my collection of CDs work.

Do you happen to have a partition on your hard drive, of type
EXT2 or EXT3 ? In one case, that was what was causing the boot
CD to latch onto the wrong partition and become confused. Whacking
the distro over the head with "fromhd=/dev/somedevice" gets it
looking in the right place again.

Paul
 
P

Paul

Flightless Bird
Re: After running spyware - XP won't let me boot - keeps loggingout

Paul wrote:

>
> I'm only a Linux noob - I use Linux CDs mainly for maintenance, and
> have learned a couple tricks for making my collection of CDs work.
>
> Do you happen to have a partition on your hard drive, of type
> EXT2 or EXT3 ? In one case, that was what was causing the boot
> CD to latch onto the wrong partition and become confused. Whacking
> the distro over the head with "fromhd=/dev/somedevice" gets it
> looking in the right place again.
>
> Paul


There is another way to get a copy of Bitdefender. If you already
have a working Linux environment of some kind, you can run a particular
download from within Linux. (I.e. Use a web browser in Linux, download the .run
file and execute it. That should result in the files inside being installed.)

http://download.bitdefender.com/SMB..._Scanner_for_Unices/Unix/Current/EN_FR_BR_RO/

Since my collection of Knoppix CDs are based on Debian, I'd probably
download this file. Inside is a script plus inline binary data, which
represents a set of files for the install. If you were using a
Linux LiveCD, those files would be stored in RAM, and would disappear
when the computer reboots. So you'd want to save this file somewhere,
if you expect to use it a second time. (Perhaps why I have a copy
of this sitting in my downloads folder.)

BitDefender-Antivirus-Scanner-7.6-4.linux-gcc4x.i586.deb.run

The permissions on the file should be executable.

chmod 755 BitDefender-Antivirus-Scanner-7.6-4.linux-gcc4x.i586.deb.run

Then, execute it.

./BitDefender-Antivirus-Scanner-7.6-4.linux-gcc4x.i586.deb.run

One of the disadvantages of Linux LiveCDs for maintenance, is if
things aren't "ready-to-go", you need to know your way around a
terminal window, to correct whatever is screwed up. Which isn't very
convenient.

Paul
 
D

daviddschool

Flightless Bird
> It is included. "KNOPPIX" is a file within the ISO. That file
> contains an entire compressed file system, and the boot loader
> cannot go any further, unless the stuff that makes up the OS
> is available to it.


Ok, I am home now and wrote down everything it says when booting. I
have win Xp running on an 80gig HD, that is it. There are no
partitions.
I have another 250 gig drive, slave and a DVD writer that is running
the Bitdefender.

I am including this because maybe I left out something important.
Ok, burned the Bitdefender ISO on 2 different discs -
Disc 1 . 2008
Disc 2. 2009

Tried both and here is what comes up (I wrote this down from the
screen)
Menu options :

START KNOPPIX ENGLISH
START KNOPPIX FRENCH
START CONSOLE MODE
MEMORY TEST
BOOT FROM HD


>
>
>
>
>
> >> I can't say exactly what is busted in your situation right now,
> >> but that is what my testing of the Bitdefender ISO file in
> >> VPC2007 (Virtual PC) is showing me. (I use Virtual PC as a quick
> >> test vehicle for ISO9660 files, before wasting an actual CD
> >> on the download. That has saved me a few CDs, on things that
> >> aren't worth burning.)

>
> > Again, I took the information and the steps right from the Bitdefender
> > page, but I thought I might have missed something.  No where does it
> > say to include KNOPPIX in the ISO.  It just says to download the ISO
> > for bitdefender and burn to an ISO and it should be good to go, but it
> > is not.

>
> >> If you want to take a quick look at the files inside your downloaded
> >> ISO9660 file, the 7zip program knows how to read an ISO9660. Using that
> >> program, you can quickly explore the ISO9660 file, and see the
> >> /boot/isolinux/splash.png file I'm referring to. While you could take
> >> the ISO9660 apart into its separate files, I don't know if that would
> >> really help you at all. Isomaster is the tool I use, for quick surgery
> >> jobs.

>
> >>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7zip

>
> >> HTH,

>
> > I will look inside the ISO and see if there is a file structure for
> > Knoppix.  If not, how should I go about adding it?

>
> My theory is, that the boot loader has become confused, and is looking
> in the wrong place for the KNOPPIX file. My suggestion to try the
> "fromhd=/dev/somedevice" kind of boot option, is a workaround for
> whatever problem is causing it.
>
> If you look in this sample screenshot, of Knoppix 5.0.1 or similar starting,
> you can see a line
>
>     Found primary KNOPPIX compressed image at /cdrom/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX
>
> and that would be an example of a successful attempt to find the
> file system container. There are at least two mount operations
> going on there - /dev/cdrom is mounted at mount point /cdrom, so that
> the contents of the CD are visible to the OS. Then, the /cdrom/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX
> file is accessed, and the contents are mounted on /, to give /bin, /usr
> and all the rest of a Linux environment. That "KNOPPIX" file remains
> compressed, and only the sections needed at the moment are decompressed
> and loaded into RAM. It allows a Knoppix CD to hold more than double
> the normal size constraints of a CD - that is why they do it that way.
>
> http://img.f.hatena.ne.jp/images/fotolife/l/lugia/20080723/2008072323...
>
> I'm only a Linux noob - I use Linux CDs mainly for maintenance, and
> have learned a couple tricks for making my collection of CDs work.
>
> Do you happen to have a partition on your hard drive, of type
> EXT2 or EXT3 ? In one case, that was what was causing the boot
> CD to latch onto the wrong partition and become confused. Whacking
> the distro over the head with "fromhd=/dev/somedevice" gets it
> looking in the right place again.
>
>     Paul
 
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