I believe you might have a virus, and changing or deleting your drives could help eliminate it.
I believe you might have a virus, and changing or deleting your drives could help eliminate it.
I believe I caught a virus while setting up VR chat features for an avatar; it didn’t install properly. It seems the infection came from one of the downloads, and I’ve tried resetting my Windows PC, but it’s still not working. I’m unsure about the exact recovery method or how reimaging functions. Replacing and removing the two other drives might help eliminate the virus, especially since I just ordered a new 2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 980 Pro drive to install tomorrow. Want to know if that will resolve the issue?
You purchased additional storage due to a malware incident? That’s unnecessary. Simply install a reliable antivirus (try Malwarebytes free trial) or, for a clean setup, use a USB drive or DVD.
It varies based on the virus type. Typically, operating systems and applications are affected, while media files on other disks usually remain safe. Buying new drives isn't a recommended solution. Before reinstalling Windows, run antivirus or antimalware software and scan additional drives if needed. Some malware can reach the BIOS, but this is rare.
Some viruses can stick to memory instead of storage, though that might not always work. If infected storage is removed and not shared with other devices, you could relocate necessary files temporarily and then clear the infected item. Consider backing up data as a precaution. Still, moving infected files could unintentionally spread the virus to new locations. Targeting BIOS changes could be risky if outdated or faulty, potentially exposing your system to further threats. Updated November 4, 2023 by Quackers101
You just need to clean those drives after backing up your crucial files, reinstall Windows, and you're all set. If this occurs—though I’m not sure if viruses linger after updating BIOS—your only task is to desolder the BIOS chip and use an affordable programmer such as the ch341a to erase it. After that, just re-flash the BIOS, and the virus should be gone since you wiped the whole chip. A good number of boards come with an SPI header, so you might not need to desolder at all. You can connect a simple Dupont female-female header to the SPI header for wiping and flashing the BIOS chip.
If the malware affected the files on the drive, then creating backups of essential data can also capture the infection. The severity determines the approach. We currently have limited details. Honestly, most individuals likely won’t want to reprogram anything. The terminology suggests ease, but few understand it well, so it isn’t necessarily straightforward. As I mentioned, few people have the skills or tools—like desoldering BIOS chips or soldering—to handle that. Some BIOS chips are located in accessible sockets where you can remove and reinstall them. Updating the BIOS probably removes the malware if the entire chip is cleared before installing the new version.
It's still quite straightforward, you don't necessarily have to solder anything because many boards come with SPI headers. It's basically just connecting the dots when wiring the header to the programmer, and programming the chip is as easy as a few clicks in software like ASProgrammer. Regarding soldering, you'd need some solder paste, flux, a heat gun, Kapton tape, and aluminum foil. Most of the time I update BIOS by flashing the chip directly; sometimes I also do crossflashing. Before getting my programmer, I checked the BIOS updates on a P5QPL-A or similar device, and the progress bar showed which part was being erased and updated. Sometimes it wiped everything, other times it left the bootblock intact. Probably because newer boards behave differently, though I'm not sure.
You can guarantee it's fully wiped clean. The only real advantage is crossflashing, but I don’t believe newer boards are affected like those older low-end ASUs were. Even if there are voltage range issues, they’re probably fixed by a simple voltmod. I’ll have to check it out myself.
This is caused by how NAND flash operates. When an SSD needs to store new data in a block that already holds information, it first reads the existing content, clears everything from that block, and then writes the new data—including the old data—in one continuous process. You're not completely wiping the chip, just certain parts of it. The situation gets more intricate with layered storage inside each cell. Essentially, you don't always have to erase the whole chip. A partial reprogramming can occur during a BIOS flash, depending on how the re-flashing is managed.
Edited November 5, 2023 by Godlygamer23 Correcting terms.