Topic: Virus from freeware audio programs?

[cottle]

Has anyone here ever contracted a computer virus from programs like audacity, cdwave or trader's little helper?  I recently had a PC crash, and i'm not quite sure why.  It was built from parts, and I was the third owner, so I figured it had had a good run.  I got a new PC about a week ago, and installed the programs mentioned above, and after tracking out a few shows, my new PC crashed, now it won't recognize the hard drive.  I'm trying to figure out if it's just a coincidence, or if one of the programs could be to blame.  The only commonality between the old PC and the new one was the installation of those programs.  I used all three successfully for a year or more with no issues, so it may not have anything to do with the software, but I just thought I'd see if anyone could offer any input.

Thanks!

[dgodwin]

If you've had hardware problems on both computers, I would think that a power issue would be more likely.

[notlance]

I've never had a virus from the various versions of Audacity I have downloaded over the years.  I have not downloaded the other software you mention, so I cannot say how clean they are.

[cottle]

If you've had hardware problems on both computers, I would think that a power issue would be more likely.

thanks for the input... what kind of power issues?  Forgive me, but I'm not tech saavy at all.  The A/C power adapter that plugs into the PC is fairly standard.. shouldn't be an issue there.  Is this something a proper surge protector would prevent?  I think I'm only running through a power strip at this point, and not a bona-fide surge protector... but I haven't had any power outages or anything like that (at least not with the new machine... only had it about ten days).  I have a couple of friends who could look at it/work on it for me, but since it's under warranty I'm just going to send it back for a replacement.  If it fails again, i guess it's time to just let someone i know tinker with it, and say screw the warranty.  But I'd love to prevent having another hard drive crash, if at all possible.  I've already lost several gigs of music with the demise of the last hard drive.

[OFOTD]

First things first.  What OS are you running?  What hard drive is the OS not detecting?  The internal drive or your own external drive?

[cottle]

The old computer was windows XP, the new computer is windows Vista (which i've not heard many good reviews of).  The hard drive that failed (in both instances) was the internal "master" hard drive.  It gets to the point where the computer tells me to reboot, but then it says it can't detect a hard drive.  I install the windows recovery disk, and it gets me nowhere.  I either get the "no hard drive disk detected" message, or the "insert proper boot media and retry again" message. 

Just from talking with my IT guy here at work, and my buddy who services apples, it sounds like I may have cheaped out when I bought my "surge protector" and actually just bought a power strip instead.  He said that a power surge could occur without even being noticed... that it wouldn't necessarily be from a storm or power outage, it could be something as simple as having the dryer kick on while the computer is on, but that it could cause the motherboard to fry.  As long as newegg doesn't realize this before they send my replacement... I'm hoping a simple trip to wal-mart will fix the issue.... hoping....

[rastasean]

I have not had a computer virus from the mentioned programs and I don't think TOO many virus' would render the entire hdd useless.

something is wrong with the hdd. you mention master so does that mean there is another drive in the computer? does that other drive have any OS on it?

[cottle]

I have not had a computer virus from the mentioned programs and I don't think TOO many virus' would render the entire hdd useless.

something is wrong with the hdd. you mention master so does that mean there is another drive in the computer? does that other drive have any OS on it?

No, I don't think there's another drive in the computer.  I have a couple of external hard drives, but none of them were ever hooked up to the new computer.  The more I learn, it sounds like it was the result of a power surge, and insufficient surge protection.  A new surge protector with the replacement computer will be the test, I suppose.  Fingers crossed!

[EarlyMorningRain]

there is also a good chance that your "new" pc can run in true SATA mode, from the BIOS that is. I've seen machines (basically forget what they are supposed to do) and not boot up anymore, and changing the BIOS off of SATA mode (to compatibility mode) will at least get the pc to boot up to the hard drive.

Or else the HD in this new pc died on you. 

Bummer to hear about your computer woes though