Windows 95:

Click Start/Shut down/Restart the computer. Hold down the F8 key when you see the "Starting Windows 95..." message. At the menu, choose selection 6, command prompt only. Now run this command.

DOS 6.x & Windows 3.x:

Restart the computer. Hold the F5 key when you see the "Starting MS-DOS..." message. This will bypass the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Press ENTER twice to clear the @ signs (if any). At this point the system is waiting at a command prompt (C:\>). Now run this command.

Type the following command:

    chkdsk | find /i "total bytes"

If the line reports anything else than "655,360 total bytes memory" a virus is a possibility.

See the Sample to see what yours should look like. Actual numbers for bytes free and used will vary.

Shareware virus scanners are available on CompuServe from the SYMDOS, SYMWIN, and SYMNEW, for DOS, Win3.X, and Win95 respectively, or you could download the latest McAfee Scanner (GO MCAFEE).

Sources of Anti-Virus software on the internet:

• McAfee
• Symantec
• Other computer virus information may be found from search engines such as Yahoo! by SEARCHing with the keyword VIRUS.

Check all floppies in contact with the computer in question. If a virus is found on the hard disk it is very very likely that every floppy not write protected and inserted into the machine is infected also. These floppies should be scanned and cleaned. One single infected floppy can re-start the viral infection.

Sample CHKDSK report (numbers on your computer will vary )

    Volume Serial Number is 0A42-01B3

    261,505,024 bytes total disk space

    10,108,928 bytes in 18 hidden files

    942,080 bytes in 212 directories

    239,472,640 bytes in 4,983 user files

    10,981,376 bytes available on disk

    4,096 bytes in each allocation unit

    63,844 total allocation units on disk

    2,681 available allocation units on disk

    655,360 total bytes memory

    Instead of using CHKDSK, try using SCANDISK. SCANDISK can reliably detect and fix a     much wider range of disk problems. For more information, type HELP SCANDISK from the     command prompt.