Computer problems

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Will describe as succinctly as possible because I don't know when it'll crap out again:

1. Battery intermittently 'not detected'.
2. Probably as an outgrowth of the same basic issue as 1., computer randomly turning off (as in, complete black screen), like, a lot, especially if I jostle or move it.
3. I did a three-hour-long pre-boot diagnostic scan and it said everything checked out; but then, I had it plugged in while the scan was going on.
4. Help me out here?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm not a tech expert unfortunately, but the word that comes to mind for me here is "trojan."  Have you looked into that?  It sounds like you have some kind of virus/hack that's bypassing the diagnostic scan.

Someone can probably help you better if you post what type of computer/operating system you're using.  Also, how old is it?

[muon2]

How old is the computer? Is there ever a problem when the computer is on AC, or just on battery? When the computer is on AC does the battery charge to 100%? When the computer is on battery does it discharge faster than it did in the past?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Update: As muon's indicating, I think I've isolated the problem to the battery. When the computer's on AC the battery charges and there's no problem.

The idea of a trojan is definitely worrying but I'd rather focus on the battery first because that'd be a way easier fix.

[muon2]

I had a machine with a dying but not dead battery a few years ago. It would occasionally discharge rendering the computer without power. Eventually Windows noticed that when I was on AC the "battery is nearing the end of its useful life." The problems had started before it got to that message. In the end I ordered a new battery and the machine has worked fine.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I had a machine with a dying but not dead battery a few years ago. It would occasionally discharge rendering the computer without power. Eventually Windows noticed that when I was on AC the "battery is nearing the end of its useful life." The problems had started before it got to that message. In the end I ordered a new battery and the machine has worked fine.

That's what I'll probably do. I'm taking it to university IT in a couple hours and I'll see what they say.

[DavidB.]

Install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to see if the problem is due to malware your virus scanner cannot detect. Has been a lifesaver for me, and it's free.

[Ban my account ffs!]

It's probably not malware.  If your computer is shutting off or not detecting the battery but works fine plugged in...the answer would seem obvious.  See if you can get the battery tested. 

I hope it's just that. 

[IceAgeComing]

Sounds like a hardware problem to me; if its malware then its a very odd form of malware

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I've only had to deal with Malaware a few times (hence why my youngest brother is not allowed on my laptop due to his inclination to watch bad movies on sketchy Chinese hosted sites), but I've never seen it shut down my computer.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

While the first thing people jump to with any computer problem seems to be software (in this case malware), in my experience whenever a severe problem with the machine occurs that impedes it even running, it is typically a hardware problem of some kind. I think battery problem is the most likely culprit and certainly the one to start with.

I've only had to deal with Malaware a few times (hence why my youngest brother is not allowed on my laptop due to his inclination to watch bad movies on sketchy Chinese hosted sites), but I've never seen it shut down my computer.

Depends on what the malware is.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I know next to nothing about computers, but if yours is 3-4 years old or older then my first guess would definitely be that the battery is gone. Batteries don't last very long and there's nothing we can do about it.

If that's what it is, then the only solutions would be to buy a new battery (or a new computer) or bring your charger whenever you need it and find a power outlet to connect it to. That's what I did for over 2 years after my battery died.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Come to think of it, last year I had a similar battery problem with my old PC.  Turns out it just needed a new battery and it was fine.

(This was shortly before me and my mom were sick of being bombarded with severe virus/hacking attacks and ended up switching to Mac products.  Expensive as hell, but seeing as we were literally buying new laptops every six months for a period of how many years, it ended up costing us way less.)

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've been using PCs uninterruptedly for over 10 years, and never had a single virus. I think a decent antivirus is usually enough, unless you're downloading stuff like crazy or surfing some particular corners of the internet.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I've been using PCs uninterruptedly for over 10 years, and never had a single virus. I think a decent antivirus is usually enough, unless you're downloading stuff like crazy or surfing some particular corners of the internet.

Neither of us are prone to downloading weird stuff or surfing particularly suspicious websites.  We tried Norton, McAfee, Malwarebytes - literally every antivirus program that had a good reputation.  That didn't stop the dirtbags from stealing my mother's personal information and exploiting it and then using our phones to totally cut off communication between us while I was at college.  All I have on my Mac is a free mini-version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware which works just fine, and Apple products are virtually unhackable.  (Naturally I'm inclined to recommend Apple to anyone now, but certainly most people haven't experienced that level of cyberattacks.)

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've been using PCs uninterruptedly for over 10 years, and never had a single virus. I think a decent antivirus is usually enough, unless you're downloading stuff like crazy or surfing some particular corners of the internet.

Neither of us are prone to downloading weird stuff or surfing particularly suspicious websites.  We tried Norton, McAfee, Malwarebytes - literally every antivirus program that had a good reputation.  That didn't stop the dirtbags from stealing my mother's personal information and exploiting it and then using our phones to totally cut off communication between us while I was at college.  All I have on my Mac is a free mini-version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware which works just fine, and Apple products are virtually unhackable.  (Naturally I'm inclined to recommend Apple to anyone now, but certainly most people haven't experienced that level of cyberattacks.)

Have people specifically been targeting you, or was it just bad luck? I really don't think most people had this kind of experience with Windows.

[muon2]

I've been using PCs uninterruptedly for over 10 years, and never had a single virus. I think a decent antivirus is usually enough, unless you're downloading stuff like crazy or surfing some particular corners of the internet.

Neither of us are prone to downloading weird stuff or surfing particularly suspicious websites.  We tried Norton, McAfee, Malwarebytes - literally every antivirus program that had a good reputation.  That didn't stop the dirtbags from stealing my mother's personal information and exploiting it and then using our phones to totally cut off communication between us while I was at college.  All I have on my Mac is a free mini-version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware which works just fine, and Apple products are virtually unhackable.  (Naturally I'm inclined to recommend Apple to anyone now, but certainly most people haven't experienced that level of cyberattacks.)

Have people specifically been targeting you, or was it just bad luck? I really don't think most people had this kind of experience with Windows.

I agree that your experience does not sound normal for careful users. It sound a lot like what would happen to my kids' machines when they were teenagers. They were not very careful about some of the sites they downloaded and we had to take their machine in for a professional scrubbing more than once.

I use TrendMicro on some machines and Kaspersky on my main laptop. They both seem to do a good job at blocking malicious web sites and scanning for viruses on downloads. My only problem has been certain ads that seem to target Chrome but not Firefox. Even then, they only lock the browser, not the whole machine.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Well, one of the people who helped move us out of CT discovered a major hole in our internet security.  Basically, for years our network had been completely open to anyone in the area, so all one would have to do is park or drive near our house to hack into it.  This hole could have existed for years, but we don't know.  That's likely what started all of this.

We don't believe we were targeted specifically or for any particular reason, but it definitely felt like it and we were followed.  My mom even found a forged "suicide note" that was supposedly written by my dad on the night he died (even though all evidence point to the contrary - it was obviously written by a stalker).  We feel like there may have been a connection there, along with our belongings being rummaged through.  I don't have the stomach to try and put it all together.  But there is this thing called the "Deep Web" where people have gotten similar treatment - all from a bunch of sadistic nihilists who have nothing better to do with their lives.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Well, one of the people who helped move us out of CT discovered a major hole in our internet security.  Basically, for years our network had been completely open to anyone in the area, so all one would have to do is park or drive near our house to hack into it.  This hole could have existed for years, but we don't know.  That's likely what started all of this.

We don't believe we were targeted specifically or for any particular reason, but it definitely felt like it and we were followed.  My mom even found a forged "suicide note" that was supposedly written by my dad on the night he died (even though all evidence point to the contrary - it was obviously written by a stalker).  We feel like there may have been a connection there, along with our belongings being rummaged through.  I don't have the stomach to try and put it all together.  But there is this thing called the "Deep Web" where people have gotten similar treatment - all from a bunch of sadistic nihilists who have nothing better to do with their lives.

That's terrifying. I'm sorry you and your mother had to go through this. Some people are really just scum.

[IceAgeComing]

(This was shortly before me and my mom were sick of being bombarded with severe virus/hacking attacks and ended up switching to Mac products.  Expensive as hell, but seeing as we were literally buying new laptops every six months for a period of how many years, it ended up costing us way less.)

I'm someone who uses Mac stuff most of the time (have a PC at home but only for games) and this isn't a normal thing and suggests that you were doing something really rather wrong.  You shouldn't need to replace your stuff after being "hacked"; unless its the sort of virus that eats the BIOS or something (and those are really, really rare) you should be fine with a re-format and reinstall job. 

I mean Macs do have security advantages over PCs but it is beginning to diminish, as the Mac becomes a more popular platform and as home users begin dropping the PC entirely to move towards tablets or other platforms that use mobile operating systems.  I've ran very basic security stuff on both of my computers (Windows Defender on my Windows 10 PC, nothing on my Mac; installing regular OS updates on both and not letting old versions hang around for very long, that sort of thing) and I've had one virus-like thing on my PC (one of those fake anti-virus scam things; a bitch to get rid of but nothing that causes permanent harm) and nothing on the Mac side.  I love my MacBook and I don't think I could ever move away from my current way of doing things; but you're making it sound like the Mac is this godly platform which is really isn't...

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

We did all the reformatting and reinstalling many times.  Mostly, it was my mom working on this, who used to fix computers for a living and is generally better at diagnosing computer problems.  There wasn't much else for us to do.  We brought our laptops in to Microsoft, Major Geeks, etc., and even they had no idea what was going on.  As I've said, the roots to our problems likely go way back.  This was not an ordinary virus.

Anyway, I don't really want to comment much further on this in a public forum.  Call me paranoid, I guess.

(Apologies to Nathan for hijacking the thread; feel free to update us when you can.)

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I took the battery out and put it back in again and most of the problems are fixed, although I'm still going to get the battery replaced just to be safe.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I took the battery out and put it back in again and most of the problems are fixed, although I'm still going to get the battery replaced just to be safe.

You might want to take the battery out again and check if any of the contacts look bent (unlikely) or tarnished. A loose connection might be the main culprit for it cutting off unexpect...