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Thread ID: 86699	2008-01-25 16:49:00	Has anyone seen this before?	Speedy Gonzales (78)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
633973	2008-01-25 16:49:00	Yesterday, I fixed a mates computer. It looked pretty weird. I turned the PC on, and the only thing that appeared on the screen was: looking for cd rom looking for floppy etc It was going through the boot devices. And repeating itself. And thats as far as it went (It never booted into XP). I opened the case up, and found it had an ASUS P5PLE-2 mobo in it. This (I think) was purchased from some shop. Its got XP Home on it, and the key on the side of the case. Altho, it seemed pretty strange that this mobo was in it (It didnt have a brand name, if it was from a shop). My mate brought it over for me to check it out, because he couldnt get into XP (as above). But when I went to scan it, it had Mywebsearch on it, and a few adware programs. And a file called WPA reset on it (Which by the looks of it is used to bypass activation or registration or something). Which seemed strange, since it looked legit (The sticker with the cd key on the side of the case). Why would this file be on the hdd? Altho, Limewire was also on it, which has now been removed. The system DID have AVG on it, I removed it and installed Avast and Avast detected it as a trojan. So I deleted it. Anyway, in the end I had to download the files and BIOS update from the ASUS site, and burn them to CD on this PC (His PC has no floppy), to reflash the BIOS, which worked. I managed to get into XP after doing this. But has anyone come across something like this before (something completely corrupting the BIOS - It was dead, you couldnt even get into the BIOS). It was just lucky this was an ASUS mobo which supported Crashfree BIOS, and the reflashing of the BIOS fixed it.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
633974	2008-01-25 19:12:00	I opened the case up, and found it had an ASUS P5PLE-2 mobo in it. Altho, it seemed pretty strange that this mobo was in it (It didnt have a brand name, if it was from a shop). Why is that strange?	pctek (84)
633975	2008-01-25 19:26:00	But when I went to scan it, it had Mywebsearch on it, and a few adware programs. And a file called WPA reset on it (Which by the looks of it is used to bypass activation or registration or something). Which seemed strange, since it looked legit (The sticker with the cd key on the side of the case). Why would this file be on the hdd? And yes it seems to me its not good :( WPA reset (http:)	password (5384)
633976	2008-01-25 20:51:00	Well most PC's (thats if someone didnt build it), usually have a brand on the case, or somewhere dont they? And Windows didnt look like it had anything on it made by Dell or HP. I think I'll ask him WHERE exactly this thing came from.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
633977	2008-01-25 21:15:00	Yesterday, I fixed a mates computer. But has anyone come across something like this before (something completely corrupting the BIOS - It was dead, you couldnt even get into the BIOS). It was just lucky this was an ASUS mobo which supported Crashfree BIOS, and the reflashing of the BIOS fixed it.See my earlier post. ************************************************** ** I will not give the time of day to the worm that got into my CMOS/BIOS. It trashed it and I was sure that Lenovo would not give me access to their BIOS upgrades. A flash might of saved my motherboard, but my OS was history. Lenovo did not give me a OS CD. I did a full backup earlier that I could not test due to corrupt CMOS. The bugs are getting nastier. darroll	darroll (12090)
633978	2008-01-25 21:22:00	And a file called WPA reset on it (Which by the looks of it is used to bypass activation or registration or something). There is a legit tool that MS produce that is designed to do what you said, its mainly for system builders to build PC's and run the windows updates without having to go through the whole process as normal. You have to be registered with MS to legally obtain it. Its NOT called WPA - but for obvious reasons I cant or wont say what it is in a public forum.	wainuitech (129)
633979	2008-01-25 21:30:00	See my earlier post. ************************************************** ** I will not give the time of day to the worm that got into my CMOS/BIOS. What post? None of them were started by you. Unless your mobo supports something like crashfree BIOS, I doubt a BIOS upgrade would have worked. Whether it was on cd or floppy. Since the system wont do anything, if its dead. It was only coz most ASUS mobos support this feature, that I was able to reflash it, after I copied the BIOS rom to cd. However, if it was another motherboard (besides ASUS and maybe Gigabyte), it would have been dead as a dodo. Ah ok WT, didnt know that, now i do :D Whatever this file was or did, (and it was a trojan) its gone lol. Soon find out if it was needed. It'll probably die sooner or later. And I'll get a phonecall lol I'm pretty sure it had reset in it. It was either WMPreset, or WPAreset. As soon as Avast detected that it was trojan I deleted it lol	Speedy Gonzales (78)
633980	2008-01-26 04:16:00	Seen the boot problem a few times: 1. Old MB with socketed flash BIOS came loose from thermal creep. 2. Failed BIOS update from inside windows. 3. Rather nasty virus that corrupted BIOS.	ughnz (8297)
633981	2008-01-26 05:18:00	Read with interest, we get some sticky ones, thanks for sharing.	PENTIUM (426)
633982	2008-01-26 05:34:00	Seen the boot problem a few times: 1. Old MB with socketed flash BIOS came loose from thermal creep. 2. Failed BIOS update from inside windows. 3. Rather nasty virus that corrupted BIOS. Thats what I was thinking. I doubt the 1st (it said checking cd etc not loading), repeating itself. Its not that old, (actually I think its still under warranty, but they couldnt find the receipt). And they wouldnt have a clue on how to flash. And I doubt they'll know what program to use, let alone what the brand / model of the mobo is. To know how to use to flash the BIOS. They're not that computer-literate. However, it maybe the 3rd one. I wouldnt be surprised if Limewire or something this person downloaded using it caused it. No prob Pentium.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
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