Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Technical Help and How To's HELP!!!!

I'm about ready to pull my hair out! FYI, I can't access USB or CD drive to load fixes from external source. I CAN'T DO SQUAT!! (Sit scream- does that count? )

Hey SQD,

I totally sympathize. I've been having some similar major issues with my computer lately (it's crashed three times in the last month... though I suppose spilling water on it once was my fault-- but the rest were because of viruses!!) My computer wasn't allowing me to even launch in SafeMode, and for the longest time was stuck in this never-ending loop of Startup searching for problems, finding some, not fixing it, and starting over again. Eventually I was able to get it out of that, but it took a while. Resetting it to an earlier point in time didn't work either, and ultimately I had to completely restore my computer to factory settings (which also allowed me to back up my most recent of files to access later on, though I had most of them backed onto external HD anyway). That seemed to clear out the problem, and virus scan showed nothing else. But even now my computer's still got a few glitches (though I assume that's from the water damage)...

Please note that resetting your HD is last resort! It sounds to me like if you're still having trouble when it can't find any problems then it's attached to some kind of file you've downloaded or that simply got corrupted. Those viruses can spread, too. I don't know what else to tell you except to back it all up, right now, just in case. If you can't use a usb/cd, then check to see if your manufacturer (Dell, in my case) has a backup program to save your data. Other than that though...

(Or you could always take out the HD and download everything separately yourself, then wipe it and put it back in your computer but that's a pain in the butt!)

I hope someone else has better answers for your question, because I definitely have more problems than answers! Just want you to breathe easy and know that the majority of the time, anything saved on your computer can be retrieved (short of a plasma ray shooting through it).

Hi SQD,

I'm sorry you are having such a frustrating time!

What version of Windows are you running? What service(s), specifically, is/are not running, according to Windows? If you could get the exact wording of the error message you are receiving, that would be helpful.

- Lynn

Thanks for the quick responses. I have a Dell, too. Can't back it up because I can't access the internet, USB ports, or CD drive. I'm running another virus scan in safe mode with networking as we speak. So far I'm seeing the scan has picked up 1 problem. Can't see what that problem is until scan is complete. Ran scan in command prompt and everything checked out fine.

The exact wording is 'the specified service does not exist as an installed service.' But all diagnostics tests show everything is fine and in working order. Had this problem twice before and system restore was able to restore all files. Not working this time. Services not working are internet, sound (and both of those are inaccessible even in safe mode) and just about everything else in normal mode. I'm not even sure if the dang thing would recognize my reboot disc to restore! So tired of this.

SQD (any help is appreciated)

So the error message just says, "the specified service" without actually specifying *which* service?

Unfortunately, most of my suggestions would have involved accessing either the Internet or an external drive.

Have you tried changing the boot sequence to see whether you could boot directly from a CD or thumb drive? Perhaps if you could bypass your hard drive in the boot process, you could boot to your system repair disk and proceed from there. (That is assuming, of course, that you made a system repair disk when the computer was fully functional.)

- Lynn

Is it under any sort of warranty still? You could always take it in if you must... though I certainly hope you don't go to Staples if you do. Awful customer service. I think Best Buy will take a look at it without charging you but won't fix it without $. But that's still better than Staples. (Can you tell I've had problems with them? Or am I being too subtle? :rolleyes: )

The reason I ask about this is that many warranty programs will become voided if you tamper with the HD of your computer. SO just be sure that's not the route you want to go before messing with screws. Otherwise, I would think (if none of the things that have been mentioned above are working, which you indicate they are not) you might have to do a complete HD reformat. But, again, last resort. Maybe let it sit for a while, , go get yourself some food and come back to it afterwards. (I know when I'm stressed I don't eat and low blood sugar makes everything seem like the end of the world.) Or take it in to someone who knows more about computers than me. :p

After completed virus scan, I had an issue of adware-onestep.b. McAfee said it couldn't delete it from my system. Looked it up and tried the suggestions for manual deletion. Could not find any instances of it in the suggested files or registry. Was going to do system restore again, but said there were no restore points.

It's not under warranty. It's 6 or so years old. I guess at this point, reformatting HD is my only option left.

SQD (who feels like this cat )

Hey Guys... just wanted to let you know that I finally had to reformat the HD. The more I worked to fixed it, the worse it became. Thanks for trying to help.

SQD (who is seriously thinking of developing a virus that hunts down the guys who make the dang things... so when they upload it, it automaticaly crashes their equipment )

How frustrating that you had to go through all of that.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome. May you now remain malware free for many years to come.

Joy,
Lynn