Hey guys, I'm in a bit of a jam. I accidentally downloaded malware yesterday, and now my Windows laptop is going haywire. My D: drive has vanished, which had a ton of important files. The laptop is super slow, apps don't respond, and it keeps restarting itself with error messages. I've tried Safe Mode, but it's still lagging. Malwarebytes and Windows Defender aren't cutting it either. I just want to recover my files from the D: drive before considering resetting or reinstalling Windows. I have a USB drive available and I can use another PC to create recovery tools. Any advice on recovering my files without making things worse or properly cleaning the system afterward would be a lifesaver!
4 Answers
Have you tried using a dedicated malware removal tool? I’d recommend downloading Malwarebytes if you can get your system stable enough for it. A full scan might help clean up some of the infection. But first, if possible, focus on recovering your files as outlined by GamerGeek77.
If you absolutely need those files, my suggestion is not to reinstall anything until you’ve secured what you can recover. Once you've saved the important stuff, then consider wiping and reinstalling your OS. Just be careful; you might accidentally wipe data you want to keep!
First off, shut down your laptop if you haven't already. You need to isolate the infection. Disconnect from Wi-Fi and unplug anything external. After that, create a Ubuntu Rescue USB on another computer. Download the Ubuntu ISO, use a tool like Rufus to flash it to the USB, and boot your laptop from the USB. Once in Ubuntu, you can try to access the D: drive and copy your important files to the external USB. Be careful not to install Ubuntu; just choose 'Try Ubuntu'. After backing up, you can then wipe your infected drive and reinstall Windows properly.
Just a heads up: if there's nothing crucial on there, you could consider wiping the entire drive clean and starting fresh. But I get it, if you have stuff to save, go with the recovery approach first. Good luck!
Yeah, wiping sounds tempting, but I'd hate to lose my important files. Better to try recovery first.
Sounds complicated! But definitely a solid plan to save your files. Just make sure to scan everything later!