- Feb 10, 2013
- 2
- 0
- 10,510
Please... all the answers to similar questions are written with the assumption that we all know how to do a lot more than most OPs know. I don't low what "boy to the os disc and do a startup repair" or "HIRENS" means. I'm panicking. I don't have a cd drive in that acer aspire laptop or in the iMac I'm using to type this. I don't trust cloud services so it has gotten to be an ordeal to backup things. I still would do that but both parents are in hospital. I don't need pity, I'm just explaining how I got here.
I was running through the list from the malware tips site, on dealing with trojans. I was attempting to be sure that I didn't have an infection because the AVG installation I'd had was suddenly just gone... suspecting a virus or hack, I was starting that malware process with the Kaspersky TDSSKiller app. I set it up as directed then went to bed. I woke up to no bootable disk. I have HOURS of non-repeatable audio recordings, interviews... hours and hours... gone unless there is a chance it is still there.
Please don't abbreviate terms unless it is something like hard drive, etc. I don't know what the steps are or what "diags" to run or how if the disk won't boot.
1. what do I do in the F2 menu I was able to get into? I *think* it can see the HD... it lists a number for one. I have no clue what options to select to attempt a reboot. I'm afraid i'll accidentally wipe the drive when all I want is to boot safely.
2. If it does reboot, how do I know what caused this and should I send it back to Acer? I mean, if it a file that did this then I don't send it to them, right? I cannot take the thing apart bc it is under warranty. I just don't know if it is something I can or should try to fix.
3. If it doesn't reboot... does that mean the data is gone?
4. Is there a way to check for this sort of problem beforehand so I don't end up here again?
Thanks for all responses, but especially those in plain English.
Also, please don't close the topic if you've responded with acronyms. I saw someone did that with an OP who obviously had less of an idea how to proceed than I do... and that's saying something. 
I was running through the list from the malware tips site, on dealing with trojans. I was attempting to be sure that I didn't have an infection because the AVG installation I'd had was suddenly just gone... suspecting a virus or hack, I was starting that malware process with the Kaspersky TDSSKiller app. I set it up as directed then went to bed. I woke up to no bootable disk. I have HOURS of non-repeatable audio recordings, interviews... hours and hours... gone unless there is a chance it is still there.
Please don't abbreviate terms unless it is something like hard drive, etc. I don't know what the steps are or what "diags" to run or how if the disk won't boot.
1. what do I do in the F2 menu I was able to get into? I *think* it can see the HD... it lists a number for one. I have no clue what options to select to attempt a reboot. I'm afraid i'll accidentally wipe the drive when all I want is to boot safely.
2. If it does reboot, how do I know what caused this and should I send it back to Acer? I mean, if it a file that did this then I don't send it to them, right? I cannot take the thing apart bc it is under warranty. I just don't know if it is something I can or should try to fix.
3. If it doesn't reboot... does that mean the data is gone?
4. Is there a way to check for this sort of problem beforehand so I don't end up here again?
Thanks for all responses, but especially those in plain English.
Also, please don't close the topic if you've responded with acronyms. I saw someone did that with an OP who obviously had less of an idea how to proceed than I do... and that's saying something. 
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