Computer Locksup in EVERYTHING!!

[superman22x]

My parents have a 3 year old dell. It has a P4 2.66ghz and 512mbs RAM. But recently it locksup with everything. With internet explorer running, it locksup. The processor has run at a steady 100% without a drop even as I just type this. It has locked up for a couple seconds almost every line as I write this too. I am updating mcafee, but it wasnt that old only a week or so since the last update I think. I wil also update spyware doctor. Any ideas what may be wrong?

 

[Celegorm]

it deffinatly sounds like a virus. Do the scans in safemode. Also try internet while in safemode with networking to see if it locks up.

 

[mayorredbeard]

Boot up in safe mode and run virus and anti-spyware programs. A lot of programs allow you the option to run a scan before windows boots up, so if your anti-virus or spyware program offers that option, do it.

EDIT: Poopy you beat me to it

 

[GreySteelFox]

Just reformat it if you don't have anything important on it.

 

[Starr]

Yea, a lot of viruses will use 100% of your CPU so you can't do anything. Your best bet would be to make a bootable virus scanner disk thingy with AVG. (http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10645435.html?tag=lst-0-1)

If that doesn't work then you will have to backup what you can and reformat. If it's sooo bad that you can't even get anything off of it then get a Linux Live CD and get what you can. Then you will want to reformat with something like Darik's Boot and Nuke because if it's really nasty it will be in your Master Boot Record and normal formatters don't format that.

 

[superman22x]

I'm going to run antispyware and virus scan in safemode. I just found out they havent had a real antispyware for about a month. Spyware doctor was unregistered, working on that now, and windows defender was messed up and couldnt run. So it may just be a ton of spyware.

 

[Celegorm]

for their sake, lets hope so. Virus can be a pain to remove.

 

[muz]

sounds like a virus , another thing to try is booting a, linux cd and getting avg for linux and scanning the hard disk with that but iusually if a virus looks like it is going to be realy hard to remove i just get important files off and reformat

 

[superman22x]

Running spyware doctor 5(registered) and mcafee now. Can the virus hide from them? When in safemode, I couldnt start mcafee, idk why, idk what to do either. I'll just try running these overnight and than see what happens.