Desktop

Ask something
Discussion Locked

The Mystery 7s

0 helpful
13 replies

by james.wilson

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

Hello everyone.
Has anyone been exposed to a PC that will randomly generate numerical characters in open fields? Usually 6s or 7s. I know what most of you will say, but this issue doesn't seem to be hardware related, as we've replaced all questionable hardware that could have caused this behavior, ie, keyboard,
systemboards, etc. Pls keep in mind that of the 120 workstations that were involved in this roll-out, only 6 show these symptoms. ALL workstation were distributed with IDENTICALimages which would seem to eliminate software as the culprit. Doesn't seem to be vendor specific as we've seen it on both Dells and Compaqs. Neither of their sites have any information related to this issue...shocker. The issue simply "appears" -- one second its fine, but turn away for a minute and whatever field you were working in is filled with 6s or 7s. I have been unable to locate any information virii that may cause similar issues. If anyone has any insite it would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks.

13 replies

by djent

You don't mention which applications incur this problem. It could be a glitch in an app that reacts to a hardware driver or BIOS version.

by djent

This sounds more like a trojan horse or virus, try a query on Mcafee or Norton AV. Maybe check with hardware vendors for direction. Try a fresh install on one of the affected machines, if that works clone that image to the other affected machines. One of the problems with cloned images is diverse hardware configs and driver compatability. Thats why OS deployment is such a pain.

by james.wilson

Not that I dont appreciate the suggestion, however I have been down all those roads already to no avail. These machines are located at remote sites and its very difficult to capture any of the boxes for lab testing. I have searched all the major AV sites, searched all the major meta engines, and posted to several usenet groups. The manufacturer insists that the problem is software related, but there is no valid reasoning behind that assessment. This IDENTICAL image made it to over 100 identical workstations over the past 30 days and only 6 have come back with this issue...ive checked BIOS revisions, service packs, etc.

I am at a complete loss here...I have no where else to turn!!

by djent

It is often hard to find the cause to these kind of interactions. It probable is a software issue interacting with either hardware or associated drivers. I would try removing peripherals and drivers till the only thing left was the display card and then replace that. if the problem persists the MB and BIOS are all that is left. Another approach is to try a different OS, if your using NT4 try Win 98 or W2k. I have seen alot of odd problems on OEM machines and therefor build white boxes for compatability.

by dbgirl

Have you actually had this happen to you on these machines? Or is it just something that the users are telling you about? It may not hurt to just casually observe the user in action for awhile.

by zman750

Do a netstat at the command prompt to reveal all open connections. If the problem boxes have one more than the safe ones then it's probably malicious.

by madmark

I see that you have multiple vendors listed, but you say "identical image".

Some suggestions:
1) Grab one of the offending boxes or recreate it on a local system.
2) Re-install manually, and make sure that you use the vendor supplied installatio CD and drivers, especially for the motherbaord.
3) Replace the keyboard with a known working one.
4) Have the vendor troubleshoot or replace the systems effected.

Only time I have seen similar issues is due to drivers, incorrect image for h/w platform, bad keyboard with stuck keys or liquids, or reversed or bad keyboard/mouse ports.

Good luck!

by zlitocook

Tried this but run scandisk both from windows and from a boot disk. Then remove all unneeded files, tmp, chk, gid, cookies ect. And run defrag. I had a problem with a few computers that odd numbers, letters and other things were showing up in fieldsthat were suppost to be just one color and nothing else. Scan disk fixed it. Your image file could be corrupt or just enough diffrent to make a problem.

by james r linn

theory suggests you start with an IS/IS NOT chart. Try and exhaust all you can determine about these machines, no matter how irrelevant you might think it is, and put it into an IS/IS NOT chart. That includes; HW types, BIOS, video cards and anything else that might have different drivers, whether the machines have internet connections, updated copies of software since the image, the time of day it occurs and what application it occurs in.

Once you have your chart, then you can start with some theories and line them up against the chart. Usually what the IS/IS NOT does is shorten the time to eliminate false theories.

Hope that helps.

James

by cglrcng9

...to the lowest setting and watch to see if the mystery entries slow down, if so I'd open up 1 of those keyboards on an affected machine. I've see the prob. before, it was a fold in a printed circuit of a keyboard, can't remember the manuf. though.

by james.wilson

ok...so I'm just going to bite the bullet and capture the machine. Once the box is in the lab, I should have a better idea of what the next step should be. Thanks to all for your suggestions. When the issue is resolved...Ill post the results.

James

by isamarjaj

A)Have you tried to make a new boot record on HD? (For MS fdisk: fdisk /mbr)
This should eliminate viruses in boot record.

B) Check the humidity in the rooms those PCs are in.

This discussion is closed to new replies.