My Dell Computer

[lowell holmes]

Just so you will know. . . .

My Dell opened with a message from Dell that I needed a massive repair to the operating system.
I did what the instructions said. I was out of the house for three hours and when I came back and
and checked the computer, it was really squirrely and I had to reboot. It eventually squared away
(I think). If you get the message I got, you might want to ignore it.

I appreciate your responses .

[Larry Frank]

I NEVER believe those kinds of messages. If in doubt Google the message and find out about it.

[Roy Petersen]

My Dell opened with a message from Dell that I needed a massive repair to the operating system.
Pretty sure Dell doesn't do that. Never did while I owned one.
What sort of instructions were they? Did it involve calling someone or visiting some website and allowing remote access?

[Matt Day]

I think you just sold your soul online, and your identity. Hopefully not!

[Michael Pyron]

I think you just sold your soul online, and your identity. Hopefully not!

I'm going to have to agree with this sentiment...

I would advise backing up all important information to an external drive, then doing a full clean install of the OS and everything else...

Better yet, considering I'm rather "paranoid" about such things, I would pull the HDD from the computer, stick it in a usb caddy, then use another computer to see that drive as a data source, then do backup (hopefully bypassing anything being "alive" in the OS) from it, then replace it into it's original machine, wipe it, then do the clean install...then of course import all relevant data and go on with life.

As a side note, I've done the above about pulling the HDD and such to recover data from a thrashed HDD with the OS on it...then replaced the HDD, did the clean install and went on with life...yeah, it's a royal PITA, but if the data is important...well, you should get it

[lowell holmes]

https://itstillworks.com/disable-dell-support-center-16420.html


Apparently Dell Has a support center. I ran the files they sent me and the computer runs crisply.

[Bruce Page]

Lowell, whenever you get any messages like that Google it before you do anything. More likely than not it's a scam that just needs to be deleted.

[lowell holmes]

I had been googling Dell for a fix and the message came. I was satisfied, did a low level format and the computer ls working fine.
It's been several hours now. If it comes up again, I will have a tech come in and deal with it.
I will give you more feedback as time goes on. Thanks for responding.
see this link: https://itstillworks.com/disable-dell-support-center-16420.html

http://www.dell.com/support/contents/us/en/04/article/product-support/self-support-knowledgebase/software-and-downloads/supportassist

[Roy Petersen]

Apparently Dell Has a support center. I ran the files they sent me and the computer runs crisply.
Dell sent you files? Curious to know what the files were/did.

Oh:

I was satisfied, did a low level format and the computer ls working fine.
Your PC had issues, and you formatted to bare metal. Severe/radical, but that would remove software problems, typically, as it removes everything. ;)

[lowell holmes]

You are correct. The computer is like new.
The Dell download performed a complete reformatting of the computer and downloaded files. It also recovered some lost information.

[Chuck Wintle]

You are correct. The computer is like new.
The Dell download performed a complete reformatting of the computer and downloaded files. It also recovered some lost information.

Just curious to know if you have ever scanned for a virus and/or malware?

[Robert Engel]

Good chance it wasn't Dell and you got spammed with one of those malevolent tech support messages. Never EVER open anything like this or respond to any email that looks like this.

I routinely receive emails concerning "important security upgrade" all they want is your login info. It can look very ligit like Bank of America, Western Union, etc. Checking the senders address will reveal it is bogus.

Be sure you have a good antivirus.

NEVER EVER download any malware type programs most of them are spyware.

[lowell holmes]

The files came from Dell. I checked before I ran them. They were from Dell.
They did a low level format and I restored my computer to the stage they were
in prior to the issues. I paid Dell for the download. My computer has been
running like it did when it was new.

Actually, I checked the Dell website prior to all of this.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/products

[lowell holmes]

They sent me a link. I had to open the link. It was from Dell. My computer has been running like a new one
for two days since I did it. I don't keep sensitive data on the computer. The message was sent to me from
Dell after I contacted them.

Google Dell Computers and you will see the link I was looking for. There was a nominal charge for the download.

[Curt Harms]

Good chance it wasn't Dell and you got spammed with one of those malevolent tech support messages. Never EVER open anything like this or respond to any email that looks like this.

I routinely receive emails concerning "important security upgrade" all they want is your login info. It can look very ligit like Bank of America, Western Union, etc. Checking the senders address will reveal it is bogus.

Be sure you have a good antivirus.

NEVER EVER download any malware type programs most of them are spyware.

I'm not sure about webmail services, I use Thunderbird. If there's a curious message that's clickable, I hover over the suspicious link and the real recipient shows up in the lower left corner. It's always something way different than it purports to be. One was from "Verizon" or another huge telecom company. I forwarded the scam to abuse@____ and added a note saying I'd have thought that they could afford their own email address :)

[lowell holmes]

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)