What just happened to my computer?
Why do computers hate me? First my laptop and now… Well, I was working on my parent’s desktop (Windows 7) with a windows movie maker project for school. Then I opened my flash drive and clicked on a song that I had downloaded to listen to it. It opened, and about 30 seconds into it, the screen went blue and I got some error message. I don’t remember what it was now. Then it said that it was beginning a crash dump and the computer restarted. After turning it back on and checking it out, it seems to work, all the files are intact. We have Norton Antivirus and it hasn’t said anything. What just happened, and did I break my parent’s computer (again)?
Technology hates me.
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19 Answers
Maybe you might want to think about what you’re downloading and the potential that it carries a virus with it.
@klutzaroo
Anything can carry a virus. You just have to cross your fingers and hope that it doesn’t.
Sounds like your average blue screen of death, likely not a virus.
If it keeps happening regularly and with different things, start to worry, but if the incidents are few and far between don’t worry.
@dverhey
Thanks. You don’t think the audio file is infected, then? What do I do with it?
Dumb question; is the thumb drive itself still good? I can see USB-related issues causing a mini-seizure like that in any computer you plug a bad USB device into.
Copy the music to the computer and then try to listen to it.
If it works, then it is probable the flashdrive has some issues.
@jellyfish3232 No, you have to be selective of where you download things from and screen them after you do to make sure that they’re safe. Not doing these things, downloading from random places to get free (i.e. most often illegal) media especially, is an easy way to get a virus. Even if you don’t have one now, you’re just looking for one if you download random things from random places. Never knowing what you’re getting.
@ragingloli
I would, but what if listening to the music again kills the computer?
@jerv
Dumb answer: It had BETTER still be good. All of my stuff is on it. I haven’t remembered to back it up in a while.
Firstly, do you regularly update your Norton Antivirus? While the current situation doesn’t look like virus-infection, regularly updating your antivirus will help you prevent a lot of possible future threats!
Maybe this blue screen episode wont happen again- but if recurs, then first thing to do whould be to check if your RAM is fine and properly connected.
Haha, blue screen of death. Sounds like you may have picked up a virus. I’d use more than one virus scanner, because sometimes they’re tricky to detect.
Not backing up your files and hoping nothing crashes is like having sex without birth control and hoping pregnancy doesn’t happen.
Considering how many times I’ve found a flash drive in the laundry (and not always mine!) and having had one spend a couple of months in a snowbank/mud puddle, I always have at least two backups of my important stuff. That way I can lose a flash drive and have one of my computers suffer hard drive failure without losing anything.
I’m with dverhey. Sounds like a normal BSOD and I wouldn’t worry about it unless it starts happening a lot. More than once a month and I would start to investigate. Most likely the music file was just a coincidence.
Your parents computer has become self aware, unplug it now before the Terminators show up!
@thecaretaker
Actually, that… Huh. Maybe.
@Ivan
Yeah, I know. My laptop is a mac and I love it, but I needed the windows for the school project.
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