I think my computer hates me...

[J-M]

Yeah, so anyway, I just got through with a system reboot of my computer which just crashed on me, and upon rebooting it, I discovered that all my files are gone. That plainly sucks, and I'm not even sure where I got the virus. Also, every 15 minutes or so, me computer will restart on me, probably not a good thing.
In any case, has something like this happened to any of you guys?

 

[cantab]

If you want any hope of getting your files back, and you have access to another computer, the first and most important thing to do is stop using your computer. Turn it straight off, now. Then there may be a hope of retrieving your files.

Also what makes you think you have a virus? If your computer is crashing, and you're hard-rebooting (pushing the power or reset switch on the computer itself), that's a good way to get filesystem corruption.

Since I see this is your first post, you might be better off posting on a computer forum.

 

[BlakBlastoise]

If your computer is crashing, and you're hard-rebooting (pushing the power or reset switch on the computer itself), that's a good way to get filesystem corruption.

I used to do this to my desktop computer. It always froze so i always pushed the power button to restart it. Now the damn thing wont even begin to start. When i push the button nothing happens even though everything is connected properly.

 

[cantab]

Absolutely nothing happens when you try and power it up? Not even, say, the sound of the fans starting to spin up, or lights on the case? That does seem unusual, but I guess a terminal failure of the motherboard or PSU could do that, and hard power-cycling electronic equipment can stress it and lead to earlier failure.

 

[cantab]

Overheating could explain the problem. It's more likely with laptops I think. While fans can fail (the computer I'm using now has a failed PSU fan - it's got two, so it's still running fine) and heatsinks dislodge, just as likely an explanation is dust. Clean it out with canned air.

Mains voltage in developed countries is pretty stable. The lights will normally make drops apparent too. And voltage fluctuations, provided it doesn't spike above a certain limit, won't bother laptops. So I doubt that's the source of OPs problems, unless he lives in a less developed country - but if his electricity was unreliable I think he'd already know.

It could just be down to general windows rubbishness. I don't find it that implausible for a windows system to restart due to malware - maybe not one piece of malware, but rather the accumulated burden I've seen on ill-used systems.

 

[Force Majeure]

Overheating could explain the problem. It's more likely with laptops I think. While fans can fail (the computer I'm using now has a failed PSU fan - it's got two, so it's still running fine) and heatsinks dislodge, just as likely an explanation is dust. Clean it out with canned air.

It's definitely not out of the question for desktops to overheat; I actually think it's a little more common since a lot of people keep their desktops around *forever* and many that come from the factory have simply awful fans and cooling systems generally. Most fans have adjustable speeds, though, so you can always crank up the speed. Of course, it'll be a lot louder. Eck.

I second the canned air idea; just make sure you don't hold the can right against any circuitry while you're spraying it.

 

[J-M]

Yeah, there's a lot of replies, so I'm just gonna reply to the people instead of quoting you all.
Also, warning! Tl;dr post ahead.

@all, This wasn't really intended as a help thread, just a discussion/share stories kind of thread.

@cantab, Well, first, yeah I'm a new time poster, but I've been lurking a while already. Longer than your join date(not saying anything about you). In any case, this just happened to become my first post.
So my virus checker was netting me up to 150 of the same virus and even after deleting them they'd come back. I assumed it was faulty, even if I wanted to check, the virus was in the program files and I hate messing with those. So I assume it's a virus.
Next, I can rule out overheat and hard reboot, because I can count the times I've done that on one hand. As for overheat, well it was off before I realized something was wrong. It went into a screen after I turned it back on, saying Windows couldn't start up. I've had this before, and so I just tried safe mode and previous settings, no dice. Then I did a system recover, and that works, but the results were considerably different. After, began the reboots, in which I mean, the computer would internally click, then restart. Not turn off, note, but restart. Right now I'm using a laptop(not mine) and also managed to start a scan on my comp, hoping to find something. In any case, if I can get it working, the files weren't really important.
Thanks guys!

 

[cantab]

the computer would internally click

Clicking sounds can be due to a failing hard drive. That would explain the files being lost too. Check the SMART diagnostics on your hard drive - I'm not quite sure how you do this in Windows, but these tools may help (note that I have not verified they work, aren't spyware, etc)
http://www.ariolic.com/activesmart/hard-disk-smart-status.html
http://www.almico.com/sffaq.php

If the tools report your hard drive is failing, replace it. If your drive is fine, and you're not bothered about your data, I'd suggest reinstalling Windows.

 

[J-M]

Thanks!
Upon turning on my computer again, I quickly scanned it, and also seemed to have regained use of sound, which is an improvement. I'm still scanning it, though hopefully, this will be remedied by less use of my computer. I think it's more or less fine, and I also found my files; they were moved. In any case it seems all I have to do is reinstall some software, and lament the loss of my bookmarks, which I had a lot of, and don't remember all of them.