[RTTY] Something to remember!

[Phil Cooper]

Hi all,

Last week, I managed to get a nasty Trojan on my shack PC. Luckily, I
managed to remove it but in the process, I had to perform a re-boot on the
PC (it normally stays up 24/7), and when it powered up again, it froze just
after the bit where it says "Checking NVRAM".

To me, that caused a great deal of panic, as I thought the Trojan must have
blasted the BIOS.

I tried numerous times to get the PC to boot, and it did after dozens of
attempts! Since then, I have left it on, and not dared to turn it off. My
intention was to replace the motherboard, and maybe the RAM, after ANARTS
this weekend.

However, I was chatting with Keith GU6EFB this afternoon, and he asked what
USB devices I had connected to the PC. I told him I had a 4-port hub, plus a
BlueTooth dongle. He suggested unplugging both, and then trying to reboot!
Lo and behold! It does indeed boot up properly!
It looks as though the 4-port hub is drawing too much current at power up,
and preventing the PC from booting!

I don't have that problem on this PC, to which several hubs are connected!

It was very disconcerting to get a Trojan, and then find that the PC
wouldn't boot! I just "assumed" the two events were connected.

So, the moral is that if you find your PC won't boot, remove the USB
devices, and try again!

73 all, and hope to see you all in ANARTS!
Phil GU0SUP




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