What is wrong with a computer when it says hard drive failure

[michael1951]

microsoft system recovery keep coming up for me to purchase. all of my icons are gone except internet explorer and my computer

 

[internetlad]

that's malware. Your icons and folders aren't gone, just hidden, pull your drive, put it in an external enclosure, take it to a freinds house, go to control panel>folder options and tick "show hidden files and folders" under the "view" tab. This will allow you to see your files again. After you back up all the stuff you want, go ahead and re-install windows.

alternatively you can attempt to clean the malware off with this tutorial http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-windows-recovery

I've always found it easier and cleaner to back up and wipe but it's up to you.

 

[hang-the-9]

Start the PC in SafeMode with Networking. Download and install Malwarebytes, run it. Do a Full Scan, remove whatever stuff it finds, reboot, see what happens.

If you got hit with a really bad virus, you may need to do waht internetlad suggested and attach your drive to another computer to back-up your files, and format the thing and start with a fresh Windows setup.

 

[internetlad]

System Restore is a pretty big virus in the last couple of weeks, i've seen it a few times just at my job.