Weird Hard drive problem. EXEs disappeared.

[Desmond]

Hi,

I am now facing a weird problem with my Seagate 1TB external hard drive. One day, i found that it was not getting detected. When it did, many of the EXEs have disappeared and random TMP files are scattered around various folders, bearing names like: trz3A7B.tmp, trz69F7.tmp, etc.

So, someone please tell me what in God's name is going on and how do I reclaim my data.

Thanks.

 

[Zangetsu]

^I think its affected by virus...scan it with good antivirus

 

[Neeraj J]

It is surely a virus issue. Scan your system with Stinger , Malwarebytes and Super Anti-Spyware. Also if you have any Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware installed, probably exe files are infected with some virus,worms and your AV software might be deleting all exe files. So recommended is to complete scan your system by using tools mentioned above.

 

[Desmond]

Scanned with Norton, found and got rid of all malware. Also, there was a worm called W32.Licum, which is said to infect exes. My hard drive was not with me when this case occured. So, I am guessing that the anti-virus at home detected all infected files and deleted them or changed them into temp files, I don't know. So, any idea how do I recover my data?

 

[thetechfreak]

Would recommend you to uninstall Norton now. Download Free avast antivirus in a secured computer and move to a pendrive. But better to get a CD.

Boot into Safe mode, install the AV and do a complete scan. Dont install in normal usage. AV would also end up getting affected.

 

[coderunknown]

So, any idea how do I recover my data?

use any file recovery software like recuva. but remember it'll recovery pretty much everything including virus. do deep scan for better result but depending on hdd size it'll take time. several hours.

 

[Zangetsu]

^yes data recovery need huge amount of patience.

some good software are
Recuva,
miniTool Power Data Recovery,
EASES Data Recovery

 

[Desmond]

Ok...will try Recuva. Will keep you posted.

Would recommend you to uninstall Norton now. Download Free avast antivirus in a secured computer and move to a pendrive. But better to get a CD.

Boot into Safe mode, install the AV and do a complete scan. Dont install in normal usage. AV would also end up getting affected.

Buddy, I got avast on my home machine. Didn't do a whole lotta good back then.

 

[coderunknown]

i got avast on my pc too. its virus scanning is on par or better than paid AVs but when it comes to detecting spywares, it fails a lot. you can try avira without the protection module so that Norton & Avira both are installed on your system without conflict.

 

[digitalage]

Seems like a virus but I would also suggest to contact Seagate support... check out this link.. *services.seagate.com/ (found in google looks helpful)

 

[mitraark]

New Avast 6 has this Sandbox feature which keeps exes in Hidden folders and links them via Shortcuts